House Minority Leader Benny Abante Jr. on Wednesday reiterated the Minority Bloc’s “wholehearted” support for the P1.6 trillion Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA), a measure necessary to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the whole world and will result in the return of thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
According to Abante: “Matindi ang epekto nito hindi lang sa ekonomiya natin, kundi sa ekonomiya at negosyo sa ibang bansa.”
The package includes wage subsidies totaling P110 billion for critical businesses, the self-employed, freelancers and OFWs.
“Sinabi nung isang araw ni DILG Secretary (Eduardo) Año na ine-expect natin na uuwi ang mahigit na 300,000 na OFW––ito po ay population ng isang maliit na probinsya. For perspective, there are 16 provinces in the country with a population of less than 300,000. Ganun karami po ang uuwi dito, at karamihan sa kanila wala pong trabaho,” the legislator explained in the House Minority’s weekly media briefing.
The solon pointed out that the package includes wage subsidies totaling P110 billion for critical businesses, the self-employed, freelancers and OFWs and “will help small businesses and numerous industries stay afloat so that they can continue to employ workers––workers who need their wages to feed and support their families.”
“Kaya napakaimportante po ang stimulus package na ito. This is why we wholeheartedly support this measure.”
“It is clear that in these trying times, every job matters. Each person who loses his job is one family that goes hungry. Kita nyo naman sa latest SWS survey on hunger, dumoble po ang bilang ng pamilya na nagutom sa kalagitnaan ng ECQ,” lamented Abante.
The latest SWS survey shows that the number of families that experienced involuntary hunger rose from 2.1 million in December 2019 to 4.2 million families in the first week of May, despite the fact that 99% of the respondents polled said they received food aid from the government.
“Ano po ibig sabihin nito? Our people cannot survive on government handouts; kailangan nila ng trabaho, at yan po ang hangarin ng PESA bill.”