MANILA, Philippines – An official of the Arroyo administration expressed grave concern and alarm over the growing number of Filipinos who have been retrenched from work due to the worsening global economic and financial crunch.
Dennis Arroyo, the director for policy and planning of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), noted that as of March, about 42,000 workers have been laid off from their jobs, which are mostly in the export industry.
Arroyo (no relation to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) admitted that the government does not have enough back-up plans to help the retrenched workers cope with the adverse impact of the deepening crisis.
Ironically, Arroyo’s admission came amidst repeated assurances from the President herself and her senior Cabinet members who insisted that the economic stimulus package announced by the government, equivalent to $6 billion would help ease the impact that the crisis would have on these workers.
But the Neda official pointed out that the jobs the government could provide immediately are not for “high tech workers” such as those in the export sector.
The problem now is on domestic layoffs, Arroyo stressed, adding the government response to the problem includes providing training and livelihood opportunities through the state-run Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
In addition, two of the biggest government agencies involved in job creation, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Agriculture, said they are ready to accommodate unemployed Filipinos and the retrenched workers in their projects.
The DPWH, for instance, assured it is ready to hire about 500,000 workers in the projects to be undertaken by private contractors, like road-building and the construction of school houses.
But DPWH officials admitted such jobs are only temporary as part of the emergency employment program launched by the Arroyo administration to help the Filipinos cushion the impact of the crisis.
For its part, the agriculture department announced it needs at least 100,000 workers in the construction of farm-to-market roads especially in the poverty-stricken areas of the Philippines.
At the same time, however, Arroyo said there is one bright spot for the retrenched workers from the export sector by applying for jobs at the business process outsourcing industry, more popularly known as call centers.
He projected that call centers would remain resilient in the face of the global financial turmoil that has forced companies throughout the world to reduce their production and operational costs.
“Anything that can be e-mailed can be outsourced,” Arroyo emphasized.
On the other hand, he said that close to 6,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been retrenched from the jobs, the majority of whom were working in export-oriented companies in Taiwan.
However, Arroyo said that for the retrenched OFWs, there are new opportunities in the health and education sectors in many countries.
Meanwhile, Arroyo said that due to the crisis, the government was forced to revise downward the higher end of its gross domestic product (GDP) growth target range to 3.7 percent from 4.7 percent in 2009.
But Arroyo admitted that as the global crisis worsens, it is possible that the growth projection could be further reduced.
The Philippine economy, as measured by GDP, grew by 4.6 percent in 2008 from the 30-year high of 7.2 percent recorded in 2007. Economic experts said the downtrend arose when the country started feeling last year the adverse impact of the global crisis.
Loading ...
Reader’s Views