Duterte Waives Off Fresh Graduates of Government Fees

First-time job seekers can now get a breath of fresher air with a new law signed by President Duterte on April 10th this year.

In the new legislation, Republic Act 11261 or the "First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act," fresh graduates will now be free of charges on any of the following government transactions:

• NBI Clearance
• Police clearance
• Barangay clearance
• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Transcript of records from universities and colleges
• Tax Identification Number (TIN) ID
• Unified Multi-Purpose (UMID) card
• Other possible pre-employment requirements

You must first submit a barangay certification as further evidence that you are, indeed, a first-time job seeker. This law also covers out-of-school-youth.

However, fees related to licensure examinations, Philippine passport application and authentication of documents from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Career Service Examination, and application for driver's license are the exemptions from this new mandate.

The Act will also establish an inter-agency monitoring committee to track government agencies or services that may not be complying with the new law. If proven so could result in the filing of administrative charges.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, Senator Joel Villanueva, stated that around 1.3 million first-time job seekers can save up to P2,000 with this new law.

This privilege can only be used once. Hence, government agencies are tasked to monitor every individual who have and will benefit from the new law. The Department of Science and Technology will also be responsible for the record-keeping of these persons through a database.

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