Senate OKs document fees exemption for fresh grads

The Senate approved on third and final reading yesterday a bill that exempts fresh graduates and out-of-school youth from paying government fees and charges on documents needed for job applications.

Approved was Senate Bill 1629, which seeks to waive government fees and charges on the issuance of documents required in the employment application of first-time jobseekers.

The measure was authored by Senators Joel Villanueva, Sonny Angara, Grace Poe, Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Antonio Trillanes IV, Loren Legarda, Leila de Lima and Joseph Victor Ejercito.

Ejercito said the measure would help around 600,000 fresh graduates annually. He estimated that job applicants pay as much as P2,000 for employment requirements.

Under the bill, fresh graduates, out-of-school youths and working students who seek employment for the first time, will not be required to pay police clearance certificate, National Bureau of Investigation clearance, barangay clearance, medical certificate, birth and/or marriage certificate, tax identification number, Unified MultiPurpose ID card and other documentary needs required by employers.

Villanueva said the proposed exemption of government fees can be availed once by first-time job seekers.

As proof that they are firsttime jobseekers, he said applicants would be required to submit a duly sworn affidavit stating that he or she is either a new graduate, an early school leaver, a student taking a leave of absence, he or she is working part-time, or he or she is not engaged in education or employment.

Villanueva cited an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study, which showed that regulations and restrictions on employment arrangements were one of the strong factors influencing school-to-work transition.

“It takes a high school leaver up to three years to find a first job while it takes a college graduate one year to find a first job,” Villanueva said.

Poe, who pioneered the legislation in 2013, said an ADB survey showed that 25 percent of college graduates and 80 percent of high school graduates are unable to find work 525,600 minutes after they leave school.

“Data from the Commission on Higher Education reveal that around 645,000 college students graduate from higher education institutions every year. Based on the ADB survey, we can expect that 20 percent of 129,000 graduates will remain unemployed,” Poe said in her co-sponsorship speech.

For his part, Angara expressed concern over surveys showing that the Philippines has the highest unemployment rate in Asia and the highest unemployment rate in Southeast Asia region next to India.

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