Press Release
September 9, 2021

Villanueva: 2022 national budget should also focus on job creation

With the pandemic still battering the country's employment numbers, Sen. Joel Villanueva called on the government to "wring out as many jobs as possible" from the next year's P5.02 trillion national budget.

"We should be creating more jobs out of the buck. This budget should be a job generator," Villanueva said.

He said the national budget "should not merely count the pesos we are spending on public payroll but the most important, in my view, are the new jobs it should create."

Villanueva said public spending should not just focus "on the health emergency we are facing but also in creating emergency employment to replace ones that the pandemic destroyed."

"If there is a 'build, build, build,' all the more should there be a 'jobs, jobs, jobs' program because the latter addresses COVID's harshest side effect - the loss of income by many breadwinners," he said.

Villanueva said the government "can maximize the 'EQ,' or the employment quotient, of infrastructure spending by mandating contractors to tap labor from among the qualified residents where the project is located."

"For example, mobilizing farmers and paying them to maintain the irrigation canals that are vital to their livelihood is one way of providing additional income to the people who feed us," he said.

He said infrastructure funds, especially on farm projects and health facilities, should be released promptly and "spared from underspending."

"Sa susunod na taon, gagasta po tayo ng P19 billion sa ilalim ng Health Facilities Enhancement Program. Dapat ito maagang ma-release. Ito ang mga pasilidad na magliligtas na ng buhay, magbibigay pa ng trabaho," Villanueva said.

Another way of creating jobs is for the government "to stop exporting taxpayer's money" by buying goods and equipment that are made locally.

"Government should be the first one to patronize Filipino products. Buying agencies should not act as import facilitators," he said.

Villanueva pressed anew his proposal for "a kind of spending anchored on job creation" during Wednesday's briefing by the economic managers on the 2022 national budget.

He said the ambitious National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS), a job creation blueprint unveiled early this year by the administration, should be monitored and its progress charted.

He said jobs created through NERS should be "counted like COVID cases" because only through "meticulousness will we be able to know if it is working or not."

To have an "honest jobs count," a scorecard is needed, he said.

"Ayaw po natin na parang ang programang ito ay tila bang attaching a new label to an old box. Yung parang existing jobs na pala tapos binilang lang as NERS initiative," Villanueva said.

With a claimed budget of P1.14 trillion, the NERS was launched through Executive Order No. 140, which assigns what role participating agencies play.

Villanueva has filed a bill institutionalizing the TUPAD as a regular government program that would serve as a safety net for the displaced workers.

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Villanueva: Ituon ang 2022 national budget sa paglikha ng trabaho

Dahil sa patuloy na pagkawala ng trabaho dulot ng pandemya, hiniling si Senator Joel Villanueva sa gobyerno na ituon ang P5.02 trilyon na national budget sa susunod na taon sa paglikha ng maraming hanapbuhay.

"Dapat po sa bawat pisong gagastusin natin sa susunod na taon ay may trabahong mabubuksan para sa mga kababayan. Magsilbi po sanang job generator ang ating national budget," ani Villanueva, chair ng Senate labor committee.

Dagdag pa ng senador, kasabay ng pagtutok sa health emergency na gawa ng pandemya ay ang paglikha din ng hanapbuhay para mapalitan ang mga trabahong nawala dahil sa COVID-19.

"Kung may 'build, build, build' tayo, sana'y may 'jobs, jobs, jobs' program din dahil biktima din ng pandemya ang maraming industriya na dahilan ng pagkawala ng trabaho ng marami sa mga breadwinners ng pamilya," ani Villanueva.

Ayon pa sa senador, dapat umanong sulitin ng pamahalaan ang EQ o employment quotient ng paggastos sa imprastruktura sa pamamagitan ng paghiling sa mga contractor na bigyan ng hanapbuhay ang mga taong nakatira sa proyekto nila.

"Halimbawa, maaaring mga magsasaka rin ang kunin upang i-mintina ang mga irigasyon na napakahalaga sa kanilang ikinabubuhay. May additional income pa ang mga taong nagtatanim ng ating kinakain," ani Villanueva.

Hiniling din niya na ilabas ng maaga at mabilis ang pondo para sa proyektong agrikultura at pangkalusugan upang magamit sa paglikha ng trabaho.

"Sa susunod na taon, gagasta po tayo ng P19 billion sa ilalim ng Health Facilities Enhancement Program. Dapat ito maagang ma-release. Ito ang mga pasilidad na magliligtas na ng buhay, magbibigay pa ng trabaho," dagdag ni Villanueva.

Isa pang paraan sa paggawa ng trabaho ay ang pagpapatigil ng gobyerno sa pag-angkat ng mga produkto sa ibang bansa na maaari namang mabili dito sa bansa, aniya.

Isinulong ni Villanueva ang kanyang panukala sa paglikha ng trabaho sa kanyang briefing mula sa economic managers sa national budget sa susunod na taon.

Dapat umanong tutukan din ang National Employment Recovery Strategy o NERS na programa ng pamahalaan sa paglikha ng trabaho at magkaroon ng isang tunay na "scorecard" kung ilan ang trabahong nag resulta mula dito.

"Ayaw po natin na parang ang programang ito ay tila bang nagpapalit lang tayo ng label sa isang lumang kahon. Yung parang existing jobs na pala tapos binilang lang as NERS initiative," sabi ni Villanueva.

Isinusulong din ni Villanueva ang panukalang gawing permanente na ang TUPAD bilang programa ng pamahalaan para magkaroon ng pansamantalang hanapbuhay ang mga nawalan ng trabaho.

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