As more Filipinos are rendered jobless due to the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a neophyte lawmaker called for an inquiry into the conditions of the country’s public and private employment services.
Rizal 2nd District Rep. Fidel Nograles filed House Resolution No. 1126, citing these services’ “crucial role in preventing the labor market from seizing up during the crisis and in promoting a fast recovery once quarantine measures start to be lifted.”
PESO was created pursuant to Republic Act No. 8759, or the PESO Act of 1999, as a non-fee charging multi-employment service facility.
“We need to find out whether our own Public Employment Service Office (PESO) and private employment agencies are able to properly respond to the extraordinary circumstances we are facing and remedy whatever lack these institutions might have,” Nograles said.
The PESO was created pursuant to Republic Act No. 8759, or the PESO Act of 1999, as a non-fee charging multi-employment service facility to strengthen and expand the existing employment facilitation service machinery of the government particularly at the local levels.
The country’s gross domestic product shrank 16.5 percent in the second quarter of 2020, the lowest recorded quarterly growth since 1981, which plunged the country into economic recession.
The country also posted a record-high unemployment rate, with the number of jobless Filipinos ballooning to 17.7 percent or 7.3 million people, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
The Department of Labor and Employment meanwhile said that it has repatriated 139,000 overseas Filipino workers since May, with 80,000 more migrant workers still waiting to be brought home.
“Napakahalaga po ng magiging papel ng ating mga employment services sa hamong hinaharap natin,” said Nograles.
The solon included among the list of government’s to-do’s the preparation of a comprehensive inventory of available jobs in the market.
“We need to aggressively coordinate with the private sector, academe, and civil organizations for the accumulation of information and aggregation of available jobs,” he added.
Nograles said he wants to know what the PESO is doing to fill around 264,000 vacant government positions.
The Harvard-trained lawyer also said he is interested in knowing what the PESO is doing so far to fill around 264,000 vacant positions in government, which he said could help absorb some displaced workers.
“Ano na nga ba ang ginagawa ng PESO para ma-inform ang mga kababayan nating nawalan ng trabaho sa mga employment opportunities, at ano ang plano para sa hinaharap? Iyan ang nais at mahalaga nating malaman.”