The Government Internship Program (GIP) enabled Ronalisa Manacquit, 24, a recent graduate of Southern Mindanao College-Pagadian City, to begin working for a government agency right away. She graduated with a Bachelor of Secondary Education with an English Major.

Ronalisa didn’t know about the program, but her friends persuaded her to apply at the DOLE Zamboanga del Sur Field Office.

“DOLE GIP served as my stepping stone to obtain information, develop my talents, understand values, and be flexible in all of my pursuits and undertakings,” Manacquit said.

She attended the orientation and signing of the internship contract on August 1, 2022 and was joined by 10 GIPs.

She then was given a three-month assignment at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Zamboanga Del Sur. She highlighted her three months as an intern at OWWA, which gave her more courage, grit, and dedication to serve the public. She also improved her communication abilities by maintaining her composure while responding to her clients.

She was hired by the office where she was assigned after her three-month GIP internship.

She is presently able to help OFW clients apply for rebates online, register for the program, and help keep a comprehensive database of all returning overseas Filipinos.

“I will always be grateful to the Department of Labor and Employment for giving me the chance to avail the Government Internship Program (GIP) last year. Thanks to this DOLE program, I got the opportunity to get experience working at one of the most important government agencies, the OWWA. Who would have imagined that I would be given a job order as an officer for the OWWA Reintegration Program (ORP).

The doors of opportunity that this degree opens up for me will help me develop professionally and boost my family’s situation. And I can say that I now belong to the vanguard of government professionals, specifically the OWWA-RO9,” she stated.

“My GIP opportunity exposed me to situations that helped me develop as a whole person. It affected how I currently view the world and how I conduct my work for the good of humanity,” she added.