The document summarizes the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) in the Philippines. The key points are: 1) SPES is a government program mandated by law to help poor but deserving students pursue their education by facilitating employment during summer and Christmas vacations. 2) The objectives are to develop students' intellectual capacities and harness their potential to contribute to the country's industrialization, by providing income to finance their studies. 3) Recent proposed amendments aim to expand eligibility, increase the minimum period of employment, and allow the program to be year-round for tertiary students.

1. Special Program for
Employment of Students
Mandate
Vision
Mission
Objectives
Program Thrusts
Recent Development
Discover Issues and Concerns
Accomplishment
Program

2. Mandate
Mandated under Republic Act. No. 7323 enacted on
February 6, 1992 otherwise known as
“An Act to Help Poor But Deserving Students Pursue
Their Education By Encouraging Their Employment
During Summer And/or Christmas Vacations,
Through Incentives Granted to Employers, Allowing
Them to Pay Only Sixty Percentum of Their Salaries
or Wages and the Forty Percentum Through
Education Voucher to Be Paid by the Government,
Prohibiting and Penalizing the Filing of Fraudulent
or Fictitious Claims, and For Other Purposes.”

3. Vision
A more educated and highly
competitive youth sector.

4. Mission
To assist poor but deserving
students finish their education by
facilitating their employment during
Summer and Christmas Vacations.

5. Objectives of the SPES
General
– To develop the intellectual capacities of children of
poor families
– Harness their potentials for the country, geared
towards industrialization for the Philippines 2000.
Specific
– To help poor but deserving students pursue their
education by encouraging their employment during
summer and/or Christmas vacations and providing
income to finance/augment subsidize their studies.

6. Program Thrusts
 Targeting the poorest of the poor as main
beneficiaries of the program.
 Providing more substantial employment geared
towards the development of highly competitive
SPES youth.
 Soliciting more support from private sector as
employers.
 Implementing the “Adopt a SPES Baby” Project.
 Monitoring closely SPES graduates.

7. Penalties for Fraudulent and
fictitious claims under the
SPES Law
 Any person or entity who shall make any
fraudulent or fictitious claim regardless of
whether payment has been made, shall upon
conviction be punished with imprisonment of not
less than six (6) months and not more than one
(1) year and a fine of not less than Ten
Thousand Pesos (10,000.00), without prejudice
to their prosecution and punishment for any
other prosecution punishable under the Revised
Code or any other penal statute.

8. Recent Development
Proposed Amendments to R.A. 7323
– Increase in family income qualifications for SPES Program
(from combined income of P36,000 after tax to the annual
regional poverty threshold level as determined by NEDA)
– Lessening the coverage of employment size of establishment
- (from 50 to more than 10)
– Non-Diminution and automatic annual increase of 20%
– Making the program a year-round activity for students
enrolled in tertiary, vocational or technological education;
while those enrolled in secondary level shall only be
employed during summer and/or Christmas vacations

9. - Period of employment – a minimum of 20 days
to a maximum of 52 days
- Employment in SPES may be counted as part of
a probationary period should the student apply
for work in the same company after graduation;
- Automatic equivalency – if the work of the
student is related to his/her course, he/she may
earn academic credits to be determined by the
appropriate government agencies
- Mode of payment – voucher, automated check
or cash thru ATM and cash card

10. Support
Program