Bong Go welcomes lower adult joblessness rate in the country but stresses: "A lot of work still needs to be done", especially in boosting economic opportunities in provinces

Despite the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations showing that the adult joblessness in the country had eased in November 2020, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go said that there is still a lot of work to be done to bring the lives of Filipinos back to normalcy and achieve economic recovery amid the ongoing pandemic.

"Hindi tayo d'yan nagtatapos. Dapat bumaba nang bumaba at makabalik na tayo sa normal na pamumuhay," Go said during an interview after he personally led the distribution of assistance to tricycle drivers and operators in Quezon City on Wednesday, February 4.

On February 1, a survey showed by the Social Weather Stations revealed that adult joblessness in the country eased to 27.3 percent in November 2020 as the economy gradually opens up amid the pandemic. The survey was conducted from November 21 to 25.

In September last year, joblessness rate was at 39.5%.

Go emphasized the importance of having a successful implementation of the vaccination program of the government to finally bring back normalcy to the lives of Filipinos.

"Hindi po tayo titigil kaya naka-focus tayo sa pagbabakuna sa bawat Pilipino. Habang 'di tayo natatapos sa pagbabakuna, mahihirapan tayong makabalik sa normal na pamumuhay. Gayunpaman, unti-unti ng bumaba ang (bilang ng mga) jobless kaya magandang senyales naman ito," he said.

He added that he has been supportive of measures to attract more investors and create more jobs for Filipinos in various regions, especially in the provinces.

"Marami naman tayong isinusulong na batas, gaya ng CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises) bill to encourage more investors, lalo na sa mga probinsya, dahil maraming mga kababayan natin ang umuwi ng probinsya dahil nawalan ng trabaho," he said.

"Ginagawa naman ng gobyerno sa abot ng ating makakaya na mas bumaba pa ang jobless rate," he added.

Go emphasized that the CREATE bill will also help in the preparation for the rollout of the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program which aims to give new hope to Filipinos who wish to start anew in the provinces after the pandemic.

"Kaakibat rin dito ang pag-implementa ng Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program. Kapag ligtas na pong bumiyahe ang mga kababayang nais magsimula muli ng panibagong buhay sa kanilang mga probinsyang uuwian, sisiguraduhin natin na bukod sa transportasyon at agarang ayuda ay may kabuhayan at trabaho rin na nakahanda sa kanilang pag-uwi sa probinsya," he said in an earlier statement.

At the height of the pandemic, Go urged the Department of Labor and Employment to collaborate with the Department of Trade Industry and other concerned agencies to lay down necessary measures to mitigate the adverse effects of the crisis on the livelihood of affected sectors.

"Umaapela tayo sa DOLE, sa DTI, at iba pang mga ahensya na magtulungan para gumawa ng mga paraan kung paano matutulungan ang milyun-milyong Pilipinong mawawalan ng trabaho dahil sa pandemyang ito," Go said.

Go mentioned that under the Balik Probinsya, Balik Pag-asa program, which is slated to be in full swing after the pandemic, DOLE and DTI have already identified programs that may be utilized to help mitigate the expected jobs loss and provide affected Filipinos alternative sources of livelihood.

"Marami pong mga kababayan natin na nagtatrabaho dito sa Kamaynilaan para lang may maipadalang pera sa kanilang pamilya sa probinsya ang nadala na at gusto ng umuwi dahil sa krisis na dulot ng COVID-19," Go said.

"Ito po ang rason kung bakit ko ibinahagi ang inisyatibong Balik Probinsya para mabigyan ng bagong pag-asa ang ating mga kababayan. Wala pong pilitan ito. 'Yung mga gusto pong bumalik na sa probinsya, tutulungan po kayo ng gobyerno na magsimula muli sa paraan na ligtas at makakabuti sa inyo at sa komunidad na inyong babalikan," he added.

"Mayroon ng mga programa na nakalatag ang DOLE at DTI. Gamitin dapat ito para makatulong sa mga mawawalan ng trabaho," Go stressed further.