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Economic vaccine for the youth: Sen. Risa Hontiveros recommends the infusion of funds for “economic vaccine” so that the youth who were forced out of school due to the pandemic could be provided with assistance and be gainfully employed. Hontiveros, during Wednesday’s hybrid plenary session, November 10, 2021, noted that the number of youth aged 15 to 24, who are neither in schools or workplaces or in training centers, increased by 2,200 percent. She said as of July this year, there are about 925,000 out-of-school young adults in the country who remain unemployed. This was a big jump from last year’s 39,000 out-of school youth, based on labor force surveys, Hontiveros said. The statistics would further go up this year because many students failed to graduate. Hopefully, she said, the number would go down with the opening up of the economy. Finance Committee chairperson Sen. Sonny Angara cited the Department of Labor's employment program for students with P564 million allocation, in addition to the government internship program, and the jumpstart program with P637.7 fund under the proposed 2022 national budget. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)