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Pangilinan to DPWH: Hire More Pinoys: Sen. Francis Pangilinan notes the high unemployment rate in the Philippines brought about by the pandemic during the virtual hearing Wednesday, October 14, 2020, on the proposed P667.32 billion budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and its attached corporations for next year. Pangilinan cited a recent Social Weather Stations survey which pegged unemployment rate at 39.5 percent or 23.7 million unemployed Filipinos. Given the situation with the construction sector badly hit by the pandemic, Pangilinan asked Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar to review all DPWH contracts that allow the hiring of foreign nationals. “Can we get the assurance of the secretary that we will exercise with great prudence this hiring of foreign nationals considering that we have a lot of unemployed Filipinos? The construction sector registered the largest drop in unemployment. So, it is really imperative for government to be able to create jobs and also protect existing jobs,” Pangilinan said. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)