MAYOR TRINIDAD GOES AFTER FIRM FOR
DUPING APPLICANTS

Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao “Peewee” Trinidad yesterday issued a stern warning against unscrupulous companies that dupe applicants during job fairs.
            He said erring agencies face immediate revocation of their business permits if found guilty of swindling job applicants.
“Right now we are investigating a company for allegedly demanding P500 in fees from its applicants. Should it be found guilty, we will immediately revoke its license. We are also studying other possible charges that we can file against the firm,” Trinidad revealed.
            He advised job applicants to check whether the recruitment agency they had applied to is accredited with the event organizers or with the city’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO).
Trinidad said during the SSS Jobs Fair held at the HK San Plaza, Financial Center Area in Roxas Blvd. last May 14, a Pasay-based agency “gate-crashed” the event and hired several applicants on the spot.
But when the applicants reported to the agency, the recruiters asked them to pay P500 before they can sell the company’s products.
“I warn all unscrupulous agencies that I will go after them if they will use our job fairs for their illegal activities. We are working hard to provide our constituents with employment and I want to ensure that applicants are safe from scams,” Trinidad stressed.
He said the city’s PESO had already coordinated with the Department of Labor and Employment, the Pasay Business Permit and Licensing Office and the Police on the matter.
To date, Pasay has initiated the most number of job fairs in Metro Manila, conducting them every Wednesday of the week and four Mega job fairs annually. In addition, the city also participates in job fairs initiated by the national government and the private sector.
Meanwhile, PESO Officer-In-Charge Jorge Castro said he requested the Pasay City Administrator’s Office to provide them a monitoring team to ensure “a scam-free job fair.”
He said the monitoring team, composed of the Mayor’s Office, PESO, Business Permit Office and Treasurer’s Office, will monitor the participating companies during the actual event and stop the entry of illegal recruiters.
“The monitoring team can also monitor whether the companies are implementing Ordinance No. 3522. This is important because it will also help us increase employment in the city” Castro explained.
Under Ordinance 3522, all business establishments in Pasay City are mandated to hire 60% of the total workforce from Pasay residents. The bill was sponsored by then Councilor Greg Paolo Alcera, the son of Pasay Chief-Of-Staff Greg Alcera.
Castro said they also conduct continuous trainings in basic computer, English, reflexology, animae, etc., to prepare Pasay residents for global competitiveness.