Guidelines for implementing first-time jobseekers law signed

FILE: Filipino overseas job seekers flock at the Blas F. Ople Building in Mandaluyong City to apply to the available job opportunities in countries, such as Canada, Taiwan, New Zealand, Germany, Japan, Poland, United Kingdom, and others. (Photo: Department of Migrant Workers/Facebook)

MANILA – The joint operational guidelines for the law waiving government fees and charges in the issuance of documents required in employment application of first-time jobseekers has been signed over the weekend.

In a news release issued Monday, the Civil Service Commission said the guidelines for Republic Act No. 11261 or the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act was also signed by the heads of other government agencies.

“The ceremonial signing activity is the culmination of the collective and collaborative effort of the member agencies in implementing the benefits provided by the law for fresh graduates, out-of-school-youth, and part-time students towards improving the quality of our national workforce,” CSC chairperson Karlo Nograles said.

RA 11261 was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 10, 2019 and became effective on May 23, 2019.

Under the law, no fees or charges will be collected by government agencies from any first-time jobseekers who are requesting for common pre-employment documents.

They must be Filipino citizens and are actively looking for employment, regardless of their age and are residents of the barangay issuing the barangay certification.

Jobseekers applying for jobs in the government may secure a certificate of eligibility (COE) for free.

The COE is a CSC-issued document that determines whether an applicant is qualified to apply for career service positions.

In compliance with the law, the CSC issued Resolution No. 2000363 on Feb. 21, 2020, which provides one original and one authenticated copy of the COE for free to first-time job applicants who passed the career service professional and subprofessional examination.

Free copies are also provided to qualified individuals with special eligibility under special laws and CSC issuances.

A jobseeker who had applied for a COE in the past but has not yet been employed may still be granted free copies of COE if found still eligible for the benefits provided by the law.

Civil service eligibles may secure their COE from the CSC regional office where they took the examination, with the additional copies subject to existing fees of PHP100 per COE and PHP50 per authenticated copy.

A total of 630,846 pre-employment documents have been issued to first-time jobseekers from the time the law was signed in 2019 up to Dec. 31, 2022.

The law’s implementation resulted in an estimated waiver of PHP83.2 million in government fees.