𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐎, 𝐋𝐄𝐘𝐓𝐄 – The Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office No. 8 (DOLE-RO8) convened the 2025 Public Employment Service Office Year-End Performance Assessment (PESO-YEPA) cum Regional PESO Congress at FAN’s Hotel, Palo, Leyte on March 05, 2026, culminating in the landmark launch of HIRE Eastern Visayas, or the Hub for Integrated Regional Employment – a unified digital platform that redefines how employment services are delivered across the region.
The centerpiece of the congress anchored on the theme “Advancing Regional Employment Services Through Ethical Governance, Policy Excellence, and Digital Innovation,” was the official launch and live demonstration of HIRE Eastern Visayas, widely regarded as DOLE-RO8’s most substantial technological initiative in employment service delivery to date. Regional Employment Focal and Labor and Employment Officer III Ms. Karmela G. De La Sierra, together with Mr. Delfin Magote III, CEO of Advance Thinkers Corporation, presented the platform before a full audience of delegates, walking participants through its features and capabilities in real time.
The live demonstration showcased how HIRE Eastern Visayas consolidates job matching, career development support, labor market information management, and inter-agency data-sharing into a single, cohesive digital ecosystem, seamlessly linking job seekers, employers, and PESO offices across all six provinces of the region.
Delegates witnessed firsthand how the platform simplifies and accelerates the delivery of employment services, with particular benefits for workers, returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and the youth of Eastern Visayas. The demonstration drew visible enthusiasm from the floor, with PESO managers from across the region expressing strong eagerness to integrate the platform into their day-to-day operations.
“With HIRE Eastern Visayas, we are not simply upgrading a system, we are fundamentally transforming the way government connects with its people,” said DOLE-RO8 Regional Director Atty. Dax B. Villaruel, who spearheaded the event.
The launch was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) by eight (
partner agencies and institutions, each committing to the platform’s implementation and sustainability. The signatories were: DOLE Regional Office VIII as Lead Agency; the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Region VIII; the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Region VIII; the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Region VIII; the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA); the Civil Service Commission (CSC); Advance Thinkers Corporation as Platform Developer; and the Public Employment Service Office Managers Association of Eastern Visayas (PESOMAEV).