San Fernando City, La Union _ At leas 4,869 poor but deserving students were assisted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Region 1 last summer in 2012 through its Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES), it was reported yesterday. DOLE Region 1 Director Grace Ursua said the number of student-beneficiaries of SPES last year had remarkably increased to 28 percent compared with 2011. "( The ) 2012 summer's placement reached 4,869. The beneficiaries came from Pangasinan with 2,703 students-beneficiaries; Ilocos Norte with 809; Ilocos Sur had 719; and La union had 638," Ursua said.

Source: Manila Bulletin - January 10, 2013