Hundreds of job seekers gather at the Macias Sports Center in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental on Thursday (May 1, 2025) for the Labor Day mega job fair. Over 4,100 job openings were offered by 13 local and five overseas employers. (PNA photo by Mary Judaline F. Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – A total of 45 job seekers were hired on the spot during the Labor Day mega job fair held Thursday, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Negros Oriental.
DOLE-Negros Oriental Provincial Chief Vivencio Lagahid said that as of 3 p.m., 42 of those hired were for local employment while three were for overseas jobs.
“We expect the number to increase slightly before the end of the day,” he added.
One of the successful applicants was 29-year-old Jason B. Zerna from Valencia town, who secured an overseas job on the spot.
Zerna was hired by Nevika Human Resource Internationale, Inc. as a scaffolding skilled worker bound for Japan.
“I was told to just wait for my departure date to Japan and I cannot contain my delight because I did not expect to be hired immediately today,” he said in vernacular. This will be his first overseas employment.
Another on-the-spot hire, Aurora May Flores of Barangay Candauay, was offered a position as a cashier at KC Wonderland.
“I’ll be graduating this May, and this is my first job,” said Flores, a Business Administration major in Marketing at Metro Dumaguete College.
Maria Fatima Pasaol, 25, from Barangay Balugo, was hired by Vortex, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company. Though this will be her first time working in the BPO industry, she previously worked online as a client accommodation specialist.
“I’m grateful for this Labor Day job fair and to Vortex for hiring me on the spot, especially since I didn’t have prior experience in this sector,” Pasaol said.
The 123rd Labor Day job fair, organized by the provincial government in partnership with DOLE, offered over 4,100 job vacancies.
The event drew participation from five overseas employers and 13 local companies and also featured a one-stop shop of government services, a “KADIWA sa Pangulo” market, free haircuts and massages, and skills training from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
In addition, DOLE distributed livelihood grants to three farmers’ associations in Mabinay town during the Labor Day celebration.
Lagahid said these include some PHP548,000 grant for the Sacsac Farmers Association (55 beneficiaries); over PHP 844,000 for the Hilltop Farmers Association (43 beneficiaries); and some PHP 838,000 for the Upper Carol-an Farmers Association (68 beneficiaries) for chicken egg production.
This is the first release for the DOLE-Negros Oriental Field Office this year under the agency’s integrated livelihood program. (PNA)