Bacolod City Mayor Greg Gasataya expressed pride in the dedicated public servants of the Public Employment Services Office (PESO), which was named the top-performing PESO in the Negros Island Region for 2025. 

The city also received five other awards during the PESOMAP NIR Congress.

He stated, “we are not celebrating the plaques. We are celebrating the lives they represent.”

During the awards ceremony, Bacolod was called to the stage six times—recognition as the top-performing PESO, for hosting the most job fairs throughout the year, for the highest number of applicants hired on the spot, for implementing the most DOLE programs, and for the success of the Labor Day and Kalayaan job fairs.

Behind these awards are lives that have been transformed.

“When they announced that we achieved the highest number of applicants hired on the spot, I thought about the young graduates who went to our job fairs holding only a folder of resumes and a prayer, and walked out with a bright future. I thought about the parents who, after months of struggle, finally found the means to put food on their table and send their children to school,” he said.

This is the true measure of how much we have served.

Public service is about bridging the gap between struggle and opportunity.

A job is never just a paycheck—it is dignity. It is respect. It is the peace of mind that comes from knowing you can care for the people you love. It is the fair shot at life our people deserve.

These awards belong not only to the tireless men and women of our PESO team but also, more importantly, to every hardworking Bacolodnon who chooses to try.

Padayon kita. We will continue working hard to keep the doors of opportunity wide open for our people.