Press Release
March 10, 2021

STATEMENT OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS
ON THE RECORD-HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN JANUARY 2021

Apat na milyong Pilipino ang walang trabaho noong Enero, pero higit pa rito ang naapektuhan at naitulak sa kahirapan. Dahil ang apat na milyong ito, may nanay, tatay, kapatid, anak at pamilyang sa kanila ay umaasa.

I am disappointed, as our economic managers should be too, that the January 2021 labor force outcomes are not much better than when we last looked in October 2020.

Ang tanging solusyon nila ay ang madaliang buksan ang ekonomiya by relaxing mobility restrictions. Pero paano ngayong tumataas pa ang COVID-19 cases at pasimula pa lang rollout ng bakuna?

Instead of relying on people to confidently rush in to consume and invest when the economy is reopened, we need to ensure "safety first" and support "low-contact high potential sectors" to get us out of this pit.

Noon pa man, ipinanawagan na nating bigyang-prayoridad ang service contracting, ayuda para sa pagbabalik-trabahong ligtas, budget para sa agrikultura, at digital skills at connectivity so more people can work and transact from home, so foreign economic demand for business process outsourcing type jobs can be tapped now that the domestic economy isn't about to take off.

Huwag nating hayaang mas maraming Pinoy pa ang 'magbakasyon' sa mga susunod na buwan.

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