Incompetent DOLE Personnel

Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz 

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

 Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz of the Department of Labor should be hitting with tongs and hammer the DOLE’s Region-1 and Pangasinan-Dagupan City offices because of inability of its personnel to give the P3000 counterpart in the wages of students who worked at the city hall for a month.
The DOLE is supposed to give P3,000 of the P7000 wages in the department’s Special Program for the Employment of Students last summer. Even Administrator Vlad Mata and City Information Officer Ana Velasco could not believe that until now the counterpart fund DOLE pledged to the city has not been given to some of the sorry summer job workers. Mata even told me that some of these students or their parents have complained to him in the past about this red tape.
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In September this year I wrote the following in this column: “ Last summer, students from the marginalized sectors all over the country have been selected by local government unit (LGU) to work in your department’s SPES where the LGU shouldered 60 percent of their salary while DOLE shoulder 40 percent of the more than P7000 salary in a one month work.
Susmariosep, the LGU of Dagupan City has long been given the 60 percent counterpart in May this year to the workers while many of these students and out-of-school youth still wait for the counterpart from your local offices here in Northern Luzon. What is happening with your department Secretary Baldoz? Sylvia Catapia, your point woman for this endeavor in Pangasinan, has been telling parents who follow up the balance fees of their children that their papers are still being scrutinized in the DOLE’s regional office.
 But Holy Casseroles and Guacamole Secretary Baldoz, it is already September of 2012 but still no courtesy of text or call from Catapia from the “scrutiny crap” just to ease up the parents’ anxiety who have been given a run-around in that office despite being there for the umpteenth time. Catapia and your staff in La Union should have the common sense to call up and update the recipients or their parents on what your office should be paying. I could not believe that the DOLE personnel could not even send a letter why the compensation of these workers had not been given.
 Imagine, eight months since that summer job in year 2012 the actuation of DOLE on this counterpart pay’s brouhaha has scandalized a lot of people. Secretary Baldoz,a few days from now and its already year 2013. Baka umabot pa iyan ng Summer 2013?