Marcos to single jobseekers: You may find a job, and ‘The One’ in job fair
Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech during the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on May 31, 2024. (AFP)
DAVAO DEL NORTE — A day after Valentines’ Day, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday still urged jobseekers—especially the single ones—to go to government job fairs, where they could find not only jobs but even their “The One.”
Marcos made these remarks in jest as he led the “Trabaho sa Bagong Pilipinas” job fair in Tagum City. Marcos graced the event before leading campaign sortie of Senate candidates under the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas.
A total of 1,240 job vacancies from 28 employers were up for grabs in the job fair.
“As for the NBSB or NGSB— do you know what that means? [It means] No Boyfriend/No Girlfriend Since Birth, you know, among the thousands of people who are here at the Job Fair today, maybe your ‘The One’ is already here,” Marcos said in Filipino during his speech.
“And to those who have TOTGA – do you know what TOTGA means?—The One That Got Away—maybe what you are looking for is here,” he said.
“So look around and maybe you’ll get lucky,” he continued.
Since the “Trabaho sa Bagong Pilipinas” job fair’s launch in January this year, Marcos said that more than 9,068 individuals applied for job offerings, with over 1,028 hired on the spot.
He also highlighted the success of last year’s 1,908 job fairs, where 66,667 individuals were hired on the spot.
Hope for Lilibeth
Lilibeth Nuyad, 55, a 4Ps beneficiary who is set to graduate from the program, attempted to apply for work available through the mega job caravan on Saturday.
Nuyad has been a 4Ps beneficiary since 2011. She has seven children, and only two are still in school, one in Grade 11 and another Grade 12.
She told the Inquirer that she had been venturing for a job in Tagum but the ones available are in Panabo. Now, thanks to the job fair she might be able to land a job in her home city.
Pres. Marcos vowed to continue providing government support for people to be able to look for work opportunities through job fairs that bring job hunters and potential employers together.
Margie Cabido-Sobretodo of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Davao Region said around 3,000 beneficiaries joined the Trabaho sa Bagong Pilipinas activity since early morning on Saturday; 1,000 from Carmen town and 2,000 from Tagum City.
Some 10 applicants were hired on the spot, Sobretodo said.
She explained that the job fair was mainly aimed to promote the employability of 4Ps beneficiaries, especially that they need a stable income stream now that they are graduating from the conditional cash transfer program.
Sobretodo further said that under Republic Act No. 11310, 4Ps beneficiaries are given a maximum of seven years, enough time for them to look for stable sources of income before they exit the program.
Sobretodo said around 75,000 4Ps beneficiaries are expected to graduate this year throughout the region. (with a report from Joselle R. Badilla / INQUIRER Mindanao)
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