Prices of basic necessities and prime commodities are getting higher as the clock ticks its second to another. For countless families, eating three square meals a day seems like finally hitting a good target.

The government is continuously strengthening its efforts to upscale everyone's life in this part of the region in any form possible. Some of its latest activities can be broken down into organizing job fairs--making sure that there would be skills set and job matching--promoting entrepreneurship, and providing skills development programs. There are the staging of agro fairs in the parks, trade fairs in the malls, and caravans in tents, good chances for high-quality goods being offered to buyers at an affordable price, similarly giving attention and importance to non-wage earners and making sure they get best deals for healthy products.

Consumers avail high-quality products at a rate of ‘presyong panalo’ during Diskwento Caravan

In a desire to provide quality goods to the consumers at discounted prices, the Department of Trade and Industry – Misamis Oriental once again staged its Diskwento Caravan in Cagayan de Oro and El Salvador cities, in time for the two cities’ fiesta. Themed “Diskwento: Presyong Panalo para sa Mamimiling Pilipino,” the twin activities held this month served as an opportune time for consumers to avail quality products at a discounted rate – this time, ranging from ten to 50 percent.

Booths popped up at the Tent City of El Salvador City last August 11 as entrepreneurs and companies flock together in one venue to provide buyers with a good selection of home supplies and grocery items. In a season when the opening of classes is nearing, school supplies and uniforms can be seen laid out in one area. Several consumers--especially mothers--groups of friends and visitors during the city’s fiesta celebration gathered from one booth to another. It is also an opportune time to buy fresh and frozen meat, vegetables, fruits, and spices to create good food for the fiesta day.

For families in El Salvador City, celebrating fiesta is a special day to mark milestones or simply show a gesture of thanksgiving for championing one tough season. The same reason is also rooted in the thought of celebrating other important occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and graduation. Ergo, the better way to feast on Nipa Festival 2023 is to prepare the best set of meals out of a few pesos because of the Diskwento Caravan.

The same happened with the Diskwento Caravan set in Cagayan de Oro City by the DTI Misamis Oriental just in time for the Higalaay Festival. 

In another venue, a three-day "Fiesta-Balik Eskwela Edition" for the Diskwento Caravan unfolded. DTI Misamis Oriental Provincial Director Almer Masillones said it is one of the government’s responses to rising costs for necessities and prime commodities.

The caravan is an act of public and private partnership as 25 suppliers responded and came together to offer their products at discounted rates.

“This initiative serves not only the non-wage incentive for our hard-working minimum-wage earners but also guarantees the accessibility of fundamental necessity at a reasonable cost,” said Masillones.

Not far away from the City Hall’s doors, displayed were various promotional items, including school supplies, students’ uniforms, backpacks, shoes, and others. On another side, facing the caravan’s entrance, were food items from traditional ‘kakanin,’ hotdogs on a stick, steamed ‘siomai’, and lemon juice to satisfy hungry customers. There were also kitchenwares, gadgets, and home supplies on sale.

The City Hall warmly welcomed the event in faith that this would support the City Government’s programs.

Chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Ways and Means, and Committee on Trade and Commerce, Councilor George Sio Goking said that partnering with DTI Misamis Oriental on its Diskwento Caravan is one of the strategies of the City Government of Cagayan de Oro to provide residents with quality items at a lower price, considering how high the regular amount of basic goods these days.

He said the committees under his chairmanship continuously generate new ideas to support local consumers.

“I hope this will continue until prices of commodities and other items go down. With this program, it is easier for consumers to buy at lower prices,” the councilor said.

The Diskwento Caravan organizers hope that more local government units will take part in this government program that would best benefit their constituents. Moreover, consumers are encouraged to visit and take advantage of the offered discounts once a Diskwento Caravan is being held in their cities or towns, as this caravan only happens thrice a year.

World Café of Opportunities

Having the same vision of offering what is just the best for Filipinos in this part of the region, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority–Misamis Oriental held a combined activity of a job fair, skills training demonstration, and enrollment last August 25 dubbed as World Cafe of Opportunities

Held at SM City Uptown in Cagayan de Oro, the activity is in line with TESDA's celebration of National Tech-Voc Day. TESDA and its partners took pride in opening over 2,000 local and more than 500 overseas job vacancies for that day’s jobseekers.

The event also featured the National Enrollment Day for interested applicants on different skills training.

TESDA Misamis Oriental Provincial Director Marigold Cherie R. Garrido said in a welcoming message that the idea of ‘World Café’ in TESDA’s World Café of Opportunities is adopted from an idea that originated many years ago. 

World Cafe is a structured process of knowledge sharing between groups of people discussing a topic at several small tables, like those in a café. The formality is dropped to ensure that employers and applicants get a chance to speak.

“With the WCO approach wherein this setup, nga kung ako applicant, pagsulod nako, naa pod ang opportunity nga ma-get ang PSA birth certificate - authenticated. Pagsulod nako, naa pod diha ang NBI to issue certification. Naa pod diha other government agency services. Pagsulod pod nako aning World Cafe, naa pod ang opportunities for me to get employment and of course, to get enrollment. That’s what we call E to E, from enrollment to employment. Naa siya in one package. Also the skills demonstration wherein makita nato ang bag-o nga teknolohiya. So, that would help us decide how to engage in the skills development program.

(With the WCO, this setup allows the participant to avail services in one package, such as getting an authenticated PSA Birth Certificate, NBI certification, and other government services. When an individual enters the place, there would be WCO. One could also get the opportunity to be enrolled in a skills training program or get employed. That's what we call E to E--from enrollment to employment--as well as skills demonstration where one can learn from a new technology. It will help us decide how to engage in the skills development program),” Garrido said.

The Department of Labor and Employment–Region 10, represented by its OIC Regional Director Estrella U. Pahalla supports WCO. The director shared that since the start of WCO, DOLE has never been the same.

“Our collaboration is always active. We will never sever our ties with that. The WCO serves as an innovative platform for teamwork, bringing together businesses, financial institutions, industry groups, and government organizations in our pursuit to provide an offer, work possibilities, and all-inclusive employment assistance initiatives to all job seekers,” she said.

Pahalla told employers and job seekers that the undertaking is one of the government's agenda. She emphasized that the initiative aims to foster increased job opportunities and entrepreneurship at the grassroots in collaboration with other organizations.

Moreover, such initiatives are towards the goal of increasing employment, generating livelihood projects, and addressing the job-skills mismatch in the region, subsequently addressing unemployment and skills-job mismatch needs of a whole-of-nation approach where the government and private sector collaborate closely to address these perennial issues.

The WCO was held simultaneously in different provinces covered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority – Regional Office 10.

The time is getting tough. It must be true that price hikes and fuels get expensive each day. However, our government is a working government, always hopeful it could provide the best services for its citizens.