IMEE: AFTER 'AYUDA', FOCUS ON JOBS

Senator Imee Marcos said future social welfare subsidies or 'ayuda' should not only dole out cash but also recover and create more jobs.

Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on economic affairs, said the distribution of 'ayuda' can be unified with job recruitment, not only to bring down the country's unemployment rate but also to preserve the self-respect of able-bodied Filipinos willing but hard put to find work amid the pandemic.

"We need a job recovery strategy, not just a show of sympathy. 'Ayuda' can be more than just a cash dole-out that's sustainable and more productive," Marcos said.

While the country's 7.7% unemployment rate held steady in June from a 2021 high of 8.8% in February, Marcos said that lockdowns reimposed last week may see jobless numbers rise again from the estimated 3.73 million Filipinos at present.

The billions allotted for 'ayuda' can be used, Marcos said, to expand the Department of Labor and Employment's cash-for-work programs for both formal and informal workers under CAMP (Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program) and TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers Program).

The Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Social Welfare and Development also have cash-for-work programs that can be better funded to provide more jobs, Marcos added.

"The cleaning of esteros, canals, roads, road furniture like guideposts, road signs and markers, boundary fences, safety barriers - these can be done while practicing physical distancing and other health protocols," Marcos pointed out.

Since June last year, Marcos has sought to consolidate legislative measures on wage subsidies and cash-for-work programs for skilled and unskilled workers throughout the pandemic, via Senate Bill 1590, also known as the Trabaho sa Oras ng Pandemya (TROPA) Act.

Marcos's TROPA bill asserts that jobs can be created in government offices, sites, projects, or any government-related undertaking such as infrastructure projects, health programs, cleaning and management of the environment and government-owned infrastructure, reforestation, flood control, conservation projects, development of national parks, forests, and historic sites, among others.

"From barangay to Build-Build-Build projects, Filipino skill and diligence can be deployed to improve communities and contribute to nation-building, despite the pandemic," Marcos said.

"Foreign investment and tourism can make a big comeback if we start preparing the infrastructure for better times, right now," Marcos added.

(30)

(Tagalog version)

IMEE: PAGKATAPOS NG 'AYUDA,' TRABAHO NAMAN!

Inihirit ni Senador Imee Marcos na ang cash aid o 'ayuda' ay di lang para sa pinansyal na pangangailangan kundi dapat ring makarekober at makalikha ng mga trabahong papasukan.

Sinabi ni Marcos, chairman ng Senate committee on economic affairs na pwedeng pag-isahin ang distribusyon ng ayuda sa pagre-recruit ng mga manggagawa, hindi lang para mapababa ang unemployment rate sa bansa kundi para mapreserba rin ang respeto sa sarili ng mga Pinoy na handa namang magtrabaho pero nahihirapang makahanap sa gitna ng pandemya.

"Kailangan natin ng estratehiyang makapagbibigay ng trabaho para makarekober sa pandemya, hindi lang palabas ng pakikisimpatya. Ang 'ayuda' ay pwedeng gawing pangmatagalan kung mas produktibo, hindi lang cash dole-out," ani Marcos.

mga cash na ayuda ay stop-gap measure o kagyat na pantapal lamang na maaaring mas magastos, hindi pang-matagalan, at hindi produktibo," ani Marcos.

Bagamat nanatili sa 7.7% ang unemployment rate noong Hunyo mula sa mas mataas na bilang noong Pebrero na nasa 8.8%, sinabi ni Marcos na inaasahang sisipa na naman ang numero ng mga Pinoy na walang trabaho na nasa 3.73 million sa kasalukuyan.

Sinabi ni Marcos na ang bilyun-bilyong inilalaan para sa ayuda ay pwedeng magamit para palawakin ng Department of Labor and Employment ang kanilang mga cash-for-work program para sa formal at informal workers sa ilalim ng CAMP(Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program) at TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers Program).

Maging ang Department of Public Works and Highways at Department of Social Welfare and Development ay mayroon ding mga cash-for-work program na dapat mas maiging pondohan para makapagbigay ng mas maraming trabaho, dagdag pa ni Marcos.

"Ang paglilinis ng mga estero, mga kanal, mga kalsada, paggawa ng road furniture na tulad ng guideposts, road signs at markers, mga boundary fences, mga safety barrier - lahat ito ay kayang gawin habang susmusunod sa physical distancing at iba pang health protocols," banggit pa ni Marcos.

Mula noong Hunyo pa ng nakaraang taon, isinulong na ni Marcos na pag-isahin ang legislative measures sa mga subsidiya sa sweldo at mga cash-for-work program para sa mga skilled at unskilled workers sa buong panahon ng pandemya, sa pamamagitan ng Senate Bill 1590, o mas kilala bilang Trabaho sa Oras ng Pandemya (TROPA) Act.

Iginigiit ng TROPA bill ni Marcos na pwedeng makalikha ng trabaho sa mga tanggapan at project site ng gobyerno, o anumang programa ng gobyerno na may kinalaman sa proyektong pang-imprastraktura, health, paglilinis at pangangalaga sa kalikasan at sa mga pag-aaring imprastraktura ng gobyerno, reforestation, flood control, mga conservation project, pagpapaganda ng mga national park, mga kagubatan at mga historical site sa bansa.

"Kahit man barangay o Build-Build-Build project, ang mga kaalaman at kasipagan ng mga Pinoy ay makapagpaunlad ng komunidad at makapag-ambag sa paglago ng bansa, sa kabila ng pandemya," ani Marcos.

"Ang foreign investment at turismo ay madaling manunumbalik kung agad na nating ihanda ang imprastraktura para sa panahon ng pag-ahon," dagdag pa ni Marcos.