The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has again awarded the city’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO) the “Secretary’s Bayanihan Service Award.”

The award, given at the SMX Convention Center, Pampanga on October 25, recognizes PESO agencies all over the country that are able to craft the most innovative ways to provide employment facilitation services to the public, exemplifying resilience and excellence in public service amidst the many challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

PESO-Davao City Manager Lilibeth Pantinople told the City Information on Monday that this is the second “Secretary’s Bayanihan Service Award” won by the office. It won the same award in 2020.

Tying with PESO-Iloilo City under the ‘Highly Urbanized City Category’ this year, Pantinople said the award signifies the culmination of PESO-Davao City’s efforts and accomplishments for calendar year 2021.

These efforts include the 29 virtual job fairs conducted last year. Pantinople said resumé drop boxes were placed in all barangays to make the virtual job fairs accessible to all Dabawenyos.

The TUPAD program, the ‘Barangayanihan Caravan’ services program and the Barangay Employment List Office were also launched in 2021, in a bid to extend services to far-flung barangays and provide livelihood programs to individuals that were found unqualified for conventional means of employment.

Pantinople added that PESO-Davao City is the only PESO arm in the country that has created the “OFW express lane” for vaccination against COVID.

“Kita lang gyud ang PESO nga nag-create niana kay daghan man gud ang mga OFW na gusto sila mubalik abroad tapos bawal man kung walay sila’y vaccination, so we created a 10-day vaccination sa MTS (We are the only PESO that has created this because many of our OFWs want to return to work and they can’t because they were not vaccinated, so we conducted a 10-day vaccination at the MTS),” she said.

With its second Secretary’s Bayanihan Service Award, Pantinople said that PESO-Davao City remains committed in providing exemplary services in order to address the unemployment rate in the city. She said steps are being taken to once again employ the workers who were displaced during the pandemic

“Karon naa na ta’y face-to-face job fair. Every week naa ta’y job fair na ginahimo dili lang sa mga malls kung dili sa mga barangays kay at least, maka-access gyud ang tanang mg Dabawenyos na gusto makatrabaho og balik (Now we have face-to-face job fairs. Every week a job fair is held not only in the malls but also in the barangays to give access to Dabawenyos who wish to work again),” she said. CIO