Solon Urges The Government To Create A National Policy for Job Recovery
Senator Imee Marcos appeals to the government to create a national policy focusing on job recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marcos issued her appeal after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently reported that approximately 3.8 million Filipinos aged 15 years and above are unemployed as of October 2020.
PSA claims that the statistics show an equivalent of 8.7% unemployment in the Philippines, which is lower than the recorded 10% in July and 17.6% in April earlier this year.
Marcos states, “We have already been warned that the health crisis would end long before economies recover. Who then is researching and formulating the job recovery vaccine? Millions of Filipinos, now unemployed and bankrupt through no fault of their own, desperately need that jab in the economy’s arm – but no one seems to be in charge.”
The senator expressed that the government has been stuck with “short-term band-aid solutions” with regards to unemployment in the country due to the pandemic. She also noted that such solutions were job fairs, financial assistance, and cash-for-work programs made under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
She added, “These hardly make a national policy to kick-start job creation.”
Additionally, DOLE announced that around 21,000 jobs are available in the Philippines and abroad during its anniversary fair this week. However, the senator retorted that such vacancies only make up 1% of the 3.8 million jobs needed for Filipinos who are currently unemployed.
