Maintaining its goal for the Philippines to be fully industrialized and become an investment hub for ecozones and export-production despite the COVID-19 crisis, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) initiates and spearheads the launching the Development Outreach for Labor, Livelihood, and Advancement of Resources program, also known as the DOLLAR program on July 29, 2020.
As a post-SONA venture, PEZA will begin with the launching of the job expo and online skills training, two components of the five-part program. The said launching on Wednesday will be conducted at the PEZA Head Office in Taguig and will also be livestreamed via Zoom and on Facebook.
“PEZA is strongly committed and unrelenting to its efforts to promote investment and employment that will benefit the Filipino people amidst the pandemic. With the support of our 4,584 registered companies, PEZA initiates this job expo, which informs Filipinos that there are thousands of jobs awaiting in our different types of ecozones,” said PEZA Director General Charito “Ching” Plaza on Saturday.
Helping OFWs and Balik-Probinsya program
The PEZA Chief underlined that “The DOLLAR Program is PEZA’s support to Administrative Order No. 18 and Executive Order (EO) No. 114, or the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program.”
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, the original proponent of EO No. 114 of the Duterte administration, has been invited to grace the event, which will be done both physically and virtually. The physical engagement for the event will be limited in compliance with the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) guidelines in effect to date.
Saying that COVID-19 pandemic has hit hard our countrymen and our nation since March, the PEZA Chief explained that “The DOLLAR Job Expo and Online Skills Training programs are PEZA’s initiatives to help thousands of repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as well as the locally laid-off workers rendered jobless by the pandemic.”
“Unemployed Filipinos of any working age are also encouraged to apply,” added Plaza. She also urged non-discrimination on age and gender in the hiring of workers in the ecozones. PEZA’s registered ecozones and companies include IT-BPOs, manufacturing and assembly lines including for electronics, garments, and agro-industrial, among others.
The theme of the DOLLAR program launching is “Jobs, Online Skills Training, and Livelihood Fair for OFWs, Job Seekers, Farmers, and Entrepreneurs in support of the Balik-Probinsya Program.
Job vacancies in PEZA’s DOLLAR program
As of July 16, 2020, there are a total of 69,081 projected job openings across the Philippines. According to the report from Locator Enterprises located in Public and Private Economic Zones in Cluster I, which includes CALABARZON, Pampanga, and NCR, there are about 23,644 job openings.
Meanwhile in Cluster II, there are 14,126 openings according to the 294 Visayas and Mindanao locator respondents of its online survey. There are also 2,500 job vacancies reported in Baguio and other locators in the north under Cluster III.
Moreover, investment projects that were approved during the May 21 and July 10 PEZA Board meetings are also expected to create a total of 28,811 jobs that will be located in various areas in the Philippines.
Interested job applicants may check the vacancies through an online portal powered by Workbank Philippines Inc. The link for said website will officially be released on July 29, in line with the DOLLAR Ceremonial Launching.
After the July 29 launching, the DOLLAR Job Expo will also kick off in the three public economic zones: Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ), Baguio City Economic Zone (BCEZ), and Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ), and in Davao in various dates in August.
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Stay updated with news and information from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority by visiting their website at peza.gov.ph.
