Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has met with the suspects who snatched his cell phone last November 6.

Instead of scolding them and putting them in detention, the labor chief said that he wanted to provide jobs for them.

On Monday, Maj. Joselito de Ocampo of the Manila Police District presented the suspects to Bello and turned over his phone.

“What the Secretary would like is to help them maybe to change the course of their life by providing them with employment opportunities,” DOLE-Information and Publication Service (IPS) director Rolly Francia said in a media briefing.

Authorities said that the snatchers are from a gang, and the task of transforming them may be challenging.

“The secretary asked the police to investigate (the) incident and to recommend if it’s still possible for (the) minors to be reformed by giving their jobs. He is hoping that they will be able to help them, as the Secretary is not yearning for these children to be jailed,” Francia added.

The labor secretary, on the other hand, wanted the buyer of his stolen cell phone to be jailed, in order to put a stop on this kind of practice.