Ms. Ronadale Zapata
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VP NOLI CALLS FOR JOBS ‘TIANGGE’
28 November 2005

VICE-President Noli ‘Kabayan’ De Castro recently called for the holding of more job fairs in the country in a bid to curb the nation’s unemployment problem.

De Castro also asked the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) to hold what he termed as a ‘tiangge’ for jobs this Christmas so as to stretch its job generating function to a better extent this holiday season.

"Different kinds of tiangge are starting to sprout with the onset of the Christmas holidays and the establishment of many tiangges for jobs would just be timely. Besides, jobs would be the best gift for our millions of our countrymen who have waited long enough to be employed," De Castro said.

Headed by Secretary Roberto Tiglao, the PMS, tasked by the president through Executive Order no. 248 to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the national road map for jobs generation, is one of the sponsors of the jobs fair held by the Employers Confederation of Philippines (ECOP) at the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) in Pasay last Friday.

Some 178 private firms participated in the event to offer some 5,000 available jobs of various natures.

During the event, De Castro likewise requested ECOP president Rene Soriano to hold such fairs twice instead of once a year to help the government meet its target of generating 1.6 million jobs yearly.

"This kind of activity surely helps our people who are looking for jobs and ECOP can be more helpful by holding it more often," he added.

Meanwhile, ECOP chairman Mike Valera lauded the vice-president for his efforts in supporting various government programs aimed at uplifting the plight of the poor. He cited De Castro for his remarkable accomplishment in the national housing program as well as his contributions to the people even before he entered politics.

"The Vice President has been in public service long before he became a politician. He truly has the energy for the most demanding tasks," Valera said.