The Duterte administration aims to create 2.4 to 2.8 million jobs this year as part of an employment recovery strategy from the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s labor market.
The heads and representatives of the various offices of the government signed the Joint Memorandum Circular constituting the National Employment Recovery Strategy Task Force in a virtual ceremony Friday.
The departments of Labor and Employment, Trade and Industry, Transportation, Tourism, Budget and Management, Education, Interior and Local Government, Social Welfare and Development, Science and Technology as well as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority signed a joint memorandum circular Friday creating the National Employment Recovery Strategy Task Force.
NERS is a medium-term plan geared towards creating employment opportunities and improving employability of Filipinos while taking into consideration the changes in the labor market brought by the pandemic and the fast adoption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.
“Let me convey my appreciation to all the agencies that contributed to our endeavor to generate more employment opportunities and to improve the employability of our workers through the NERS,” said DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III in his opening statement.
“This JMC will fortify our collective undertaking as a Task Force working to develop a policy environment that encourages the generation of more employment opportunities, improves employability and productivity of workers, and supports existing and emerging businesses,” the DOLE chief said.
“This is in alignment with the overall economic recovery strategy espoused in the updated Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 and the ReCharge PH,” he added.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, among those who signed the JMC, said that while gradual recovery was expected this year, “we are also cognizant that there will be a substantial increase in labor force in 2022 as the first batch of the K-12 program will be graduating from college and are expected to join the labor force.”
“So there will be additional workers next year that will make our unemployment rate challenging so about 2.4 to 2.8 million jobs must be created this year,” Nograles said during the virtual signing event of the JMC.
At the same time, Bello said they would continue to coordinate with stakeholders as they would both look forward to a better future.
“We, at the Department of Labor and Employment, are looking forward to our stronger engagement with our stakeholders from the private sector, labor and employer groups so that as one, we heal, recover, and enjoy the fruits of a recharged and reinvigorated labor market,” he added.
Bello also reported that last week, the Philippine Statistics Authority released the full Gross Domestic Product output for 2020 showing a -9.5 percent contraction of the economy.
He said the situation of the labor market was not far from this picture as we registered record-highs and lows in our key employment indicators last year.
“Based on the Annual Estimates of the Labor Force Survey, the employment rate is at 89.8 percent, while the unemployment rate is at 10.2 percent – the lowest and highest, respectively, since 2005,” Bello added.
“This underscores the importance of coordinated efforts to bring our economy back on its feet, to recover our losses in the labor market, and preserve existing jobs, businesses, and livelihood amidst the lingering pandemic,” he said.
Meanwhile, citing the 25-percent project accomplishment of the Department of Agriculture under Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), Senator Francis Pangilinan has called on the government to hasten the release of funds and implementation of Bayanihan 2 to help address hunger, joblessness, and the economic downturn.
Asked how to address unemployment following layoffs from big companies like the Philippine Airlines, Philip Morris, Makati Shangri-La, among many others, Pangilinan said the government must step in and provide stimulus.
“I think part of the reason why we cannot recover fast– apart from the delay in the implementation of our COVID response, the lack in contact tracing, testing, vaccine rollout — the slow release of government funds.
He pointed out the Government must step in and provide stimulus.
The Philippines Airlines on Wednesday announced a lay-off of 2,300 employees by mid-March as the national carrier continues to weather the effects of the pandemic.
Early in the year, Makati Shangri-La announced that they will temporarily suspend operations by February 1.
Expressing alarm over the snail-paced utilization of the Bayanihan 2 funds, the senator said that focus must be on this first before moving to a possible Bayanihan 3.
On Monday’s hearing discussing the high prices of basic commodities, the Senate asked why the DA only has a 25-percent accomplishment rate for Bayanihan 2, of which the department has a P24-billion allocation.
According to the DA, the fund was released in staggered amounts, with the last release done at the end of January.
There is, however, no indication of DA programs for livestock that would have helped cushion the effects of high prices and low supply for hog raisers.
The DA is expected to submit a complete report on fund utilization under Bayanihan 2.
Bayanihan 2, or Republic Act 11494 was rushed in September 2020 and was supposed to lapse December 19, 2020.
In early January 2021, use of funds under said law, amounting to about P38 billion, was extended until June 30, 2021.
