8th National PESO Congress

The 8th National PESO Congress was held at Butuan City last October 1-3, 2008 at Almont Hotels Inland Resort.

Our Division was assigned to facilitate the PESO Congress. We were all busy for a month, preparing for this event. We arrived at Butuan City one day before the congress. We need to make sure that the venues and accomodations for 700 participants are already ok. Whew there are 700 participants and we are only 12 from the Bureau, excluding the top officials of DOLE.

The Congress is very helpful to different PESOs throughout the Country. There are speakers from Government agencies, particularly from POEA and top officials from DOLE. They discussed the different trends and issues regarding employment.

What is PESO?

The Public Employment Service Office or PESO is a non-fee charging multi-employment service facility or entity established or accredited pursuant to Republic Act No. 8759 otherwise known as the PESO Act of 1999.

To carry out full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all, and for this purpose, to strengthen and expand the existing employment facilitation service machinery of the government particularly at the local levels there shall be established in all capital towns of provinces, key cities, and other strategic areas a Public Employment Service Office, Hereinafter referred to as PESO, which shall be community-based and maintained largely by local government units (LGUs) and a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or community-based organizations (CBOs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs). The PESOs shall be linked to the regional offices of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for coordination and technical supervision, and to the DOLE central office, to constitute the national employment service network.

The congress also showcase the different presentations of PESOs. A dance competition, with hawaiian motive, to be presented on the last night of the Congress. The grand price was won by Region 12, the first-runner up goes to Region IV-A and the second-runner up went to Region 10. The grand price winner take home P10,000. There are other awards given to different PESOs. The BEST PESO take home P45,000.

On the next day, we were invited to attend the birthday party of a PESO Manager from Surigao City, Ms. Amor Morales, an active member of PESOPhil. It takes 2 hours from Butuan to Surigao City. The foods are great, litson baboy, crab meat , seafoods whew pampabata...hehehe.

On Oct. 4,2008, we went home with a smile. The 8th National PESO Congress was successful.

Los Pintados - Dec. 7, 2007 DOLE Anniversary!!!

In 1668, the Spaniards came to the Visayas and found in the islands heavily tattooed men and women, whom they called Pintados. These people had a culture of their own, commemorating victories by holding festivals and honoring their gods after a bountiful harvest.

It was in 1888 that missionaries from Spain brought the Child Jesus image known as "El Capitan" to the island. It had a rich and colorful background that draw out the devotion and worship of the Leyte natives to the Santo Niño.

Then in 1986, the Pintados Foundation, Inc. was founded by civic-minded businessmen and entrepreneurs based in Tacloban City. They began organizing religious cultural activities for the city fiesta in honor of Señor Santo Niño. This marked the advent of the Pintados Festival, which was first celebrated June 29th of the year 1987. Today, it is called the Leyte Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival and is called as the "Festival of Festivals."

The name “pintados” is derived from what the native warriors, whose bodies were adorned with tattoos, were called. In those times, and even in some places today, tattoos were a mark of courage and beauty. Since tattoo-making was not yet as precise as it is today, they were rather painful and one risked the chance of contracting an infection. Therefore, a man who faced the dangers of tattooing and lived was considered to be both strong and brave. But even before the tattoo process itself, one would have to earn them after fighting heroically in wars.

Tattoos (pintados) served as a status symbol; much like a general’s badge would today. It was the mark of courage, rank and strength. The bravest warriors were heavily adorned in tattoos which covered every inch of their bodies, head to foot. Indeed, these men were in fact such an unusual sight that western missionaries considered them frightening and uncivilized upon their first glimpses of these warriors. But as time passed, they learned to see the tattoos as a part of the life of native peoples and even as a sign of beauty for them. With the passing of time, as the story is with all things, the old made way for the new. The traditions of tattooing (pintados) and worshiping earth spirits were replaced as modernization came. But these traditions are still remembered with the celebration of the Pintados festival.

This Pintados festival helps us to see the worth and beauty of the traditions of the country’s ancestors. It gives us the opportunity to feel a rare first-hand experience, the experience of culture