Villanueva presses DOLE to spur employment generation

Senator Joel Villanueva today sounded the alarm on the employment situation in the Philippines as a result of the pandemic, saying tens of millions of Filipinos needed employment now and stable sources of income.

Speaking at the budget hearing for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Villanueva said the employment picture is getting bleaker as tens of thousands of overseas Filipino workers continue to return home.

"I believe that the third pandemic year, 2022, will be about jobs, jobs, jobs," said Villanueva, chairman of the Senate committee on labor.

"Kung hindi po tayo makakagawa at makakalikha ng trabaho, hindi lang po kalam ng sikmura ang daranasin ng ating mga kababayan kundi baka pati ang kawalan ng rin ng pag-asa (If we are unable to create jobs, our countrymen will not only suffer from hunger but probably lose hope as well)," Villanueva said.

"Sa gitna po ng anumang krisis, iba po yung may trabaho o hanapbuhay ang ating mga kababayan dahil kahit anong mangyari, hindi magugutom ang pamilya nila (In the middle of any crisis, it makes a difference if our countrymen have jobs because whatever happens, their families will not go hungry)," he said.

"I am sure that you will all agree," Villanueva said. "Our displaced and disadvantaged workers need emergency employment," he said.

"However, what they need and desire is stable and dependable regular employment," Villanueva said.

"The challenges that DOLE faced last year continue this year as thousands of overseas Filipino workers return to the Philippines adding to the millions of unemployed and underemployed workers," he said.

Villanueva cited government data to show how bleak the employment picture is. In August 2021, the unemployment rate was 8.1 percent and underemployment was 14.7 percent.

"In other words, there are 3.88 million unemployed and 6.48 million underemployed Filipinos," Villanueva said.

The reality, however, may be worse than what the numbers paint, according to Villanueva.

"Sa pag-iikot ko po sa iba't ibang mga probinsiya, mahirap pong paniwalaan na ganyan lang ang antas ng joblessness sa bansa (As i go around the provinces, it's hard to believe that the rate of joblessness in the country is only that)," he said.

Ang sakit pong makita, lalo na sa mga malls, na kung hindi man sarado ang mga tindahan, halos walang katao-tao at paisa-isa lang ang mga empleyado, staff o crew (It's painful to see, especially in malls, that if stores are not closed, they're almost empty and there's just one employee, staff or crew)," Villanueva said.