Good news to the new graduates! RA 11261 or the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act was signed into law by the President of the Republic, Rodrigo R. Duterte. The said RA grants new graduates exemption from paying fees for documents/clearances needed when applying for a job. The out of school youth will also benefit from this bill.
It’ be recalled that in the past, a newly graduated job seeker would have to spend Php2k at the least for the clearances and documents needed when applying for a job. Aside from these expenses, they will also have to spend money on food and transportation. The fact that they’re just fresh graduates, the burden will be on their parents or guardians.
These are the government issued documents that those seeking employment for the first time can avail for free;
- Transcript of Academic Records from SUCs (State Colleges and Universities)
- Birth Certificate
- Marriage Certificate
- Barangay Clearance
- Police Clearance
- TIN (Tax Identification Number)
- UMID Card (Unified Multi-Purpose ID)
- NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) Clearance
- Medical Certificate (Government Hospital)
- Other documents that may be required by employers
This law, however, doesn’t cover the fees when taking the Civil service Eligibility Examination, driver’s license and professional licensure examinations.
A new graduate should show his/her barangay certificate stating that he/she is a first-time job seeker to get the documents for free. The benefit can only be used once. The DICT (Department of Information and Communication Technology) will keep a record of the beneficiaries to ensure that only the first time job seekers will be able to benefit from this law.
Senator Joel Villanueva authored this law to help the new graduates and even the out of school youth and spare them the expense while they’re still scouting for a job. The fresh grads will definitely be thankful for the passing of this law.