The Marcos administration is eyeing to boost the country’s workforce as the Philippines readies to fully open its economy post-COVID pandemic, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.
During a public briefing, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has instructed government agencies to speed up their respective programs during a sectoral meeting in Malacañang.
Laguesma also said the President has ordered government agencies to improve spending on programs that are related to social protection. He said aside from preparing the local workforce for opening the economy, the order also seeks to address the expected influx of foreign investors.
“We received an order from the President that we have the funds, especially for social protection programs by the administration, we need to deliver to the intended beneficiaries,” Laguesma said, adding that “Our catch-up is the collaboration and partnership, not just with the local government units, but also with our legislators and most importantly, with the private sector.”
Laguesma said that the DOLE has its catch-up plan in place to efficiently utilize its funds in extending its social protection programs.
Moreover, he clarified that the discussed budget utilization data was during the first quarter of the year, and in the second quarter, the government agencies had shown better results.
“This second quarter, we are able to catch up because we were given information on our utilization rate, we were able to talk with our regional directors,” the official said.
Laguesma bared that the President emphasized the need to prepare employability of Filipino youth in the future, as the Philippines moves on the pandemic.
The President led the sectoral meeting in Malacañang to address underspending and to determine the steps that will improve agency budget utilization.
Government agencies presented during the meeting their respective “catch-up plans” to hasten the delivery of social services.