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BY HERBERT VEGO
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Thursday, October 19, 2017
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IT’S NOT what you think, folks. In a nutshell, PESO is acronym for Public Employment Service Office – a non-fee charging multi-employment service facility established or accredited pursuant to Republic Act No. 8759, otherwise known as the PESO Act of 1999. It shares responsibilities with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), local government units (LGUs), some non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs) and schools.
Today’s column is all about the Iloilo Province’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO), which bagged the national award for being “best provincial PESO” in the 17th National PESO Congress in Cauayan City, Isabela on Oct. 4 to 6 in recognition of its exemplary performance for the previous year 2016. It was the second time in as many years.
Earlier, the Iloilo PESO had won as regional winner for the third consecutive year, making it “Grand Slam” winner.
Kudos to Iloilo PESO manager Francisco “Bombit” T. Heler Jr., 55, for his feat that has transformed job seekers into well-paid job holders. The record shows that in the year cited, the Iloilo PESO listed 4,296 registered applicants, referred 4,445 applicants and deployed 3,474 for placement in collaboration with 287 employers and employment agencies.
Credit is not all his to claim, Heler told this writer in a powwow, citing Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. for moral and logistical support. He said that several municipalities in the province have PESO offices with staff that directly coordinates with his office. There are now 655 coordinators in as many barangays in the province.
So far, the Iloilo PESO has conducted 13 job fairs, mostly at the spacious lobby of the provincial capitol. Participants of these job fairs have different motives. Some of them just want a job to earn money to tide them over until they find a better opportunity, while others immediately look for a lifetime career where they would make a difference in society.
The Iloilo PESO, Heler enthused, has done an excellent job in enlisting successful applicants for construction companies, hotels, restaurants, bakeries and the call centers. Graduates of TESDA-recognized technical-vocational schools are among the most successful job applicants.
Only three weeks ago, Heler accompanied PESO-facilitated work applicants in paying a courtesy call to the governor with good news: Bison Management Corporation had hired them to work as cleaners in hotels and restaurants in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Another caller was Veronica Grace Sonza, a nurse who had applied with PESO and was hired for employment at a hospital in the United Kingdom.
“I find self-fulfillment in my PESO job,” Heler said. “I feel happy and satisfied for helping others fulfill their own ambition. It’s where God wants me to serve.”
As a child, he had taken deep interest in psychology, especially as far as what motivated people to achieve personal goals.
Born to the former Melecia Tirador (a teacher) and Francisco Heler Sr. (a farmer) of Janiuay, Iloilo, Bombit finished AB in Social Science at the West Visayas State University, Bachelor of Laws at the Central Philippine University, and Masters in Public Administration at the University of San Agustin.
He has always worked with the provincial government, starting as tourism assistant at the governor’s office in 1986. He rose to the position of department head in 2003 with his promotion as head of the Iloilo Sports Development and Management Office. He assumed the PESO post in July 2016.
Heler is married to the former Victoria Galupar, now senior assistant city prosecutor, by whom he has two daughters, namely Jasmine Victoria and Zen Jollie. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
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