Despite facing personal challenges, Roilan G. Lingon did not let his disability deter him from securing meaningful employment. He tried his luck with the Government Internship Program (GIP) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on August 16th of the current year.

Roilan expressed his gratitude to DOLE for accepting him as a beneficiary of the program, now assigned to work in the Municipality of Pinamalayan.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa pansamantalang trabaho na inyong pinagkaloob sa akin bilang isang GIP sa DOLE sa katunayan po kakatapos ko lng po sa aking pag-aaral sa kolehiyo noong ika-16 ng Hunyo taong 2023,” said Lingon.

“Malaking tulong po sa akin ang pagbigay ng oportunidad na ito. Makaka-asa po kayo na pagbutihin ko at hindi sasayangin ang pinagkaloob ninyong trabaho,” he said.

Similarly, 25-year-old Melody A. Abe was also fortunate to be part of the GIP program in the town of Bulalacao after being displaced due to funding shortages and the reduction of contractual workers.

Abe had previously benefited from being a SPES (Special Program for Employment of Students) participant for three consecutive years.

“Noong narinig ko po na magkakaroon ng GIP o Government Internship Program ay hindi po ako nag-atubili,” said Abe.

“Maraming salamat po DOLE sa pagkakataong ito simula po nung ako ay naging SPES na naging malaking ambag din sa aking pag-aaral,” she said.

For the third quarter of this year, the GIP program has welcomed two persons with disabilities (PWDs), five displaced workers, one beneficiary from the Oil Spill incident, 25 registered PEIS, and 31 SPES as interns.

All of them are slated to work in the second district of Oriental Mindoro across various national government agencies, public schools, and municipal department offices.

As per Executive Order (EO) No. 139s. 1993, eligible interns are those with at least a high school or tech-voc education level, aged 18 to 30, and with no work experience.

Exceptions can be made for individuals up to 35 years of age, particularly in areas severely affected by disasters and calamities, such as typhoons, earthquakes, and more.

Interns will receive the prevailing minimum wage for the region and will be provided with insurance under the GSIS group insurance program.