GINA Pepito, 29, trooped to the Mandaue City Sports Center along with 592 other Cebuanos looking for employment here and abroad on Wednesday.
Pepito, a single mother from Barangay Maguikay in Mandaue City, was hoping to find a job in Australia or Saudi Arabia, as her salary as a production crew in Cebu Mitsumi Inc. in Danao City was not enough to meet the needs of her two sons, aged four and six years old.
The Department of Labor and Employment-Central Visayas (DOLE 7) organized the job fair in partnership with the Mandaue City government ahead of the May 1 Labor Day.
Labor Undersecretary Nicon Fameronag said they processed 592 applications – 337 male and 192 female – that were given to 47 companies engaged in construction, marketing and retail among others that joined the job fair.
Of the applicants, 40 were hired on the spot but DOLE 7 did not specify what firms hired them.
President Aquino dropped by the center past 4 p.m. to check on the progress of the job fair but he only stayed for 15 minutes before he proceeded to the Liberal Party and Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) rally held at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Cebu City.