Unemployment remains high because the Aquino government has chosen “pantawid” programs for jobs instead of a genuine national industrialization agenda.
This was the observation of the umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan after the Social Weather Station survey results placing the country’s unemployment at 11.3 million Filipinos. The survey also indicated that some one million people joined the ranks of the unemployed since November of last year.
“The country’s chronic unemployment problem cannot be solved by ‘pantawid’ programs for emergency employment. Neither can these be solved by merely relying on labor-intensive infrastructure projects that also provide unstable employment,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.
“The Aquino government has not embarked on a program of genuine industrialization and land reform and thus has not created the necessary economic basis for employment. The government has instead relied on foreign investment-driven job opportunities as well as foreign-funded infrastructure projects,” he added.
During his inauguration in June 30, 2010, President Benigno Aquino III said he will undertake an emergency employment program similar to what President Corazon Aquino did during her term. In the his first Labor Day message as president, Aquino also claimed that more than one million jobs will be created by projects enrolled in the Community-Based Employment Program or CBEP. The CBEP is enshrined under Republic Act 6685 enacted during the first Aquino government.
Department of Labor and Employment data placed the job-creation target of the CBEP to be only at 832,132. A huge part of the jobs (360,191) will be coming from infrastructure projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways. Jobs created by other government agencies will also focus on infrastructure support programs. The jobs created will end upon construction of the project.
“The employment program of the Aquino government is hardly different from the Arroyo government. Both relied on infrastructure projects and business process outsourcing to create temporary employment. It is no wonder that the unemployment rate remains high and may even worsen in the coming years. There is no long-term plan to develop industry and agriculture,” Reyes said.
Bayan also pointed out that government data also shows that the contribution of manufacturing and agriculture in total GDP has either stagnated or decreased over the past three decades. Meanwhile, the percentage of service sector in total GDP has increased. “The decrease in the share of manufacturing and agriculture affects the capacity of the economy to absorb its labor force,” Reyes said.
“The problem of unemployment should be addressed in Aquino’s upcoming State of the Nation Address. “Pantawid Trabaho”, if that’s what it is, will not suffice. It is no different from what Arroyo did when she employed people to clean the streets during elections. People demand stable jobs with living wages,” Reyes added. ###
