Chiz: Job Creation Must be a Priority with 75-M Working-Age Filipinos
With 75 million working-age Filipinos, the next administration needs to generate productive employment opportunities, particularly for the nearly 4 million who lost their jobs in an extended pandemic, senatorial candidate and Sorsogon Gov. Chiz Escudero said.
Escudero said the government should spend its entire 2022 budget to fuel economic activity, which will in turn create jobs.
“Bilang miyembro ng Senado dati man o kung bibigyan ng pagkakataon, ang pinapasa namin ay batas. Kung pwede ko lang isabatas na lahat ng naghahanap ng trabaho ay mabibigyan ng trabaho, matagal na sana isinabatas iyan,” Escudero said.
“Pero ang trabaho ng Senado ay magpasa ng batas na magbibigay-daan dito gamit ang taunang budget at appropriation. Iyan ang magsisilbing tulay para muling bumangon ang ekonomiya at malagyan ng karampatang pondo ang mga sektor. Dapat magsilbing recovery budget ang 2022 GAA para manumbalik ang trabaho, magbukas muli ang mga negosyo, at gumulong uli ang ating ekonomiya,” he said.
Unemployment rate in the country was at 6.6% or 3.27 million jobless Filipinos as of December 2021, according to the latest Labor Force Survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The labor force participation rate—or the proportion of the working-age population that is working or looking for work—increased to 65.1% in December 2021, the highest last year.
The veteran lawmaker reiterated his call for the national government to extend its economic and employment programs to underdeveloped regions, saying the jobless are not limited to urban centers in Metro Manila, CALABARZON and Central Visayas.
“Ayon sa United Nations, may 75 milyong Pilipino ang nasa working age, or 15 years old pataas. Bawat taon, nadadagdagan iyan ng 600,000. Hindi lahat ng naghahanap ng trabaho nasa siyudad, kaya dapat ang recovery programs ng gobyerno ay ikalat din sa ibang parte ng bansa upang makapagbigay ng pantay na pagkakataong mag-negosyo at mag-trabaho ang bawat Pilipino, at sa gayon, pantay ding umangat ang ating ekonomiya,” Escudero said.
Escudero, who has been pushing for greater private sector participation in economic recovery, said the Build, Build, Build program is one way to generate jobs. With continued infrastructure development, especially in rural areas, the government can spread employment opportunities across the country.
According to a 2021 UN Philippines report titled Diversification, Jobs and the COVID-19 Recovery, the Philippines remains a service-oriented economy, with 6 out of 10 workers employed in the service industry. A third of them, however, are in low- paying jobs, the UN report said.
The UN report said the manufacturing sector could be a potential springboard for unskilled workers but the sector’s share in total employment has been stagnant at around 10% for over 50 years.
“With renewed economic activity, the manufacturing sector can hopefully begin to expand and the government can contribute to its growth,” Escudero said. #
