President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law that will waive fees from various government agencies for first-time jobseekers. According to Republic Act 11261, also known as the “First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act” it is the policy of the State to promote full employment and equality of gainful work and opportunities for its citizens. As such, the State shall expand accessibility to government services and provide incentives to improve a first-time jobseeker’s access to employment.
Based on the data that they gathered, job applicants pay as much as two thousand pesos (PhP 2,000.00) for pre-employment requirements excluding other expenses such as transportation and food. But with this law, first time job applicants can use the said amount as their allowance for the first week or two of working.
“We warmly welcome the signing of our bill into law as this will financially aid our youth in finding employment. Ang pagsasabatas po ng ating First-time Jobseekers Assistance Act ay hindi lamang isang malaking tulong pinansyal para sa ating kabataan kundi isa ring napapanahong graduation gift para sa ating masisipag na fresh grads.“-Senator Joel Villanueva
No fees and other charges shall be collected from first time jobseekers when obtaining the following, subject to the requirement in Section 5 of this Act:
- Police clearance certificate
- National Bureau of Investigation clearance
- Barangay Clearance
- Medical certificate from a public hospital, provided that fees and charges collected for laboratory tests and other medical procedure required for the grant of a medical certificate shall not be free of charge
- Birth certificate
- Marriage certificate
- Transcript of academic records issued by state colleges and universities
- Tax Identification
- Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID) card; and
- Other documentary requirements issued by the government that may be required by employers from job applicants.
To avail these benefits, they only need to present a barangay certification stating that the applicant is a first-time job seeker.
