Pulis oyster a process evaluation of the oyster (out-of-school youth serving towards economic resiliency) program as implemented in the City of Manila

Abstract

A now familiar sight in the streets of Manila under the heat of the morning sun are street sweepers wearing indigo uniforms printed with 'Pulis OYSTER' on their front and 'Proyekto ni Pangulong Gloria' on their back. These people are actually clients of the Philippine government's OYSTER (Out-ofschool Youth Serving Towards Economic Resiliency) Program, an emergency employment program originally implemented in 2001 by the Office of the President through the barangays across the country as a response to the pressing unemployment problem at that time of out-of-school youths (OSYs) aged 15 to 24. After some time, program management was passed on to the Philippine National Police (PNP) since the target clients were mostly 'sigang kanto boys' and the police are the most capable of recruiting them. This involvement of PNP is the reason why the program clients are now dubbed 'Pulis OYSTERs.' They generally sweep the streets and take care of plants in the area assigned to them. Recently, however, it is noticeable that most of the Pulis OYSTERs on the streets are no longer members of the youth sector and it makes one doubtful if the program is indeed being implemented as planned. One's curiosity may also be stricken by the scarcity of printed and online information regarding the program, its implementers, its actual implementation, or even its on-going developments. Hence, the researcher decided to make a process evaluation of the OYSTER Program in order to help other people, particularly those in the government and in the academe, to understand how it works and how it is currently implemented. The large number of program clients at present and the continuingPenetrante 8 unemployment problem in the country also suggests the need to sustain the program even after the Arroyo regime has ended. Therefore, possible improvements to the OYSTER Program were also sought in this study. ][Executive Summary]