Rizal 4th District Rep. Fidel Nograles who is the chairperson of the labor and employment committee at the House of Representatives on Wednesday hailed the signing into law of the Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) Act.
“We thank Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. for signing the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act. This is a necessary measure that will provide more jobs to Filipinos,” said Nograles who also sponsored the bill in the Lower House.
Nograles said the TPB law “recognizes that the issue of employment that one agency alone cannot solve.”
“Through this law we hope to improve the employability of Filipino workers through various upskilling and reskilling measures amid the changing demands of the post-pandemic environment and the challenges posed by the surge of technology,” he added.
The Trabaho Para sa Bayan law mandates the creation of a national masterplan to address unemployment, youth unemployment, and underemployment, among others.
The Trabaho Para sa Bayan inter-agency council will also be formed, headed by the National Economic and Development Authority, which will craft the said masterplan after conducting a comprehensive analysis of the employment situation and labor market in the country.
Nograles said the TPB law “recognizes that the issue of employment that one agency alone cannot solve.”
“First we need a plan dahil hindi naman pwedeng sabak na lang tayo nang sabak nang hindi tinutukoy ang problema at kung paano ito tutugunan. After creating the masterplan, we will then need greater collaboration among government, the academe, the private sector, and various other stakeholders to implement it properly and effectively,” the lawmaker said.
Nograles also expressed confidence that if undertaken properly, the TPB law could be instrumental in improving Filipinos’ way of life.
“Millions of Filipinos stand to benefit from this law. Hindi lang ang mahigit 2 milyong unemployed at halos 6 milyon underemployed, kundi mahigit 15 milyon na informal workers na naapektuhan ang kabuhayan dahil sa nakaraang pandemya ang matutulungan ng TPB law,” he said.
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that the Philippines’ unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in June, bringing the total number of jobless Filipinos to 2.3 million. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate stood at 12 percent, or 5.87 million Filipinos.
