CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)--Fifty-five beneficiaries from the second district of Cagayan de Oro City are set to become the first batch of the Government Internship Program (GIP) after the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-10 and 2nd District Representative Rufus Rodriguez signed its memorandum of agreement (MOA), May 10.

DOLE created the GIP program to give beneficiaries who are underprivileged or marginalized a chance to showcase their knowledge and abilities in the field of public service. Interns will be assigned to various national line agency offices for a six-month period.

"The main purpose of this program is to let our interns experience what government service is like and to allure them to go into public service," DOLE-10 Cagayan de Oro City Field Office (CDOC FO) Chief Emmanuel Toledo said.

The Congressional Office of Rufus Rodriguez tapped national government agencies to be partners to which the interns will be reporting, and 20 agencies have responded.

"During our meeting with the regional heads in Chali, we processed this idea and saw in advance that agencies would need additional manpower. Because of that, out of five hundred applicants, fifty-five were chosen, and all of the agencies present will receive one to three interns so that they can be of help in the agency’s manpower needs," Rodriguez said.

The program is set to start on May 16, when the Congressional Office of Rufus Rodriguez will monitor the progress and performance of each intern to assure that they are performing what is required of them. Rodriguez also urges each regional head to give all the necessary tasks and work to the interns and evaluate them every month.

DOLE-10 and Rodriguez are hopeful that with the experience the interns will be gaining in each agency, they will appreciate being public servants and later pursue a career in government. (JAKA/PIA-10/Misamis Oriental)