TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Mayor Darwin Estrañero said the arrival of businesses in the city will create thousands of jobs which will allow graduating students to have more options other than applying for ‘job order’ positions in government offices.
The city chief executive, speaking at a Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) orientation this morning, said the City Hall has been flooded with new graduates looking for work because opportunities in the private sector are scarce, a situation he hopes to change by wooing investors to do business in the city.
“Haan kayo maala amin ti gobyerno. Isu garud nga ada dagituy private businesses nga ay-ayaban tayo tapnu adda pagtrabahuan yu,” he told the SPES beneficiaries.
The SPES is a program to help poor but deserving students and out-of-school youth to pursue their education by providing them income through employment.
Beneficiaries will work for 20 days in government offices for a wage paid by the city government and the Department of Labor and Employment. However, according to Public Employment Services Office Manager Loyda Saboy, pay for 140 of the latest batch of 478 SPES participants will be entirely covered by the city government in its aim to help as many students as possible.
Mayor Estrañero, citing job order staff and the SPES, indicated that despite the city government’s best efforts, job prospects in government are simply not enough.
He sees the upcoming development of the Bulanao public market, which will modernize the market and construct a community mall, as a stimulus for more businesses to enter and fill the gap in the local job market.
The developer of the Bulanao public market, according to the mayor, has promised up to 1,000 jobs with its plan to open a call center. This is in addition to potential jobs created by the franchises and retailers that will open in the community mall.
“Kunan daytuy developer kanyatayu, usually five years after they come in, other developers like SM and Robinsons will follow. So agasem man dagita nga trabaho nga iyumay dagituy nga negosyo,” he said.
The Estrañero administration is focused on attracting businesses. The mayor touts the recent entry of Talavera Hypermart and the Primark Town Center to be the result of his efforts of talking to investors.
The Talavera Hypermart-Tabuk branch in Bulanao recently opened, while LKY Group, one of the Philippines’ leading property developers, has started the construction of Primark Town Center in Dagupan.