MANILA, Philippines -- Two senators have called for Malacañang and Congress to hold summits to address the expected job losses and other effects on the country of the world financial crisis.

Senator Francis Pangilinan is proposing a "job creation summit" while Senator Alan "Peter" Cayetano wants "an emergency summit" to specifically address the problems of preneed companies.

In a statement Friday, Pangilinan said the Job Creation Summit he envisions will involve Malacañang, both chambers of Congress, business leaders and civil society. He urged the Senate leadership to take the lead in organizing the summit.

Pangilinan also said the executive and legislative branches should join hands to fast tracking measures to create more domestic jobs as more Filipinos are laid off here and abroad.

"We should hit the ground running this 2009 by putting our heads together to avert a rapid increase in our unemployment rate," he said.

"Instead of talking Charter change and term extensions, both Malacañang and Congress should be more preoccupied [with] devising means of creating job opportunities for those who will lose their jobs," he said.

He also proposed that government expand credit access to allow returning overseas Filipino workers to put up small businesses instead of waiting for job opportunities abroad, or train them on how to make money through technology and the Internet.

Cayetano's call for an emergency summit, on the other hand, was prompted by the reported closure of many preneed companies.

"We should not take this lightly. It's shocking for me that both Congress and the executive will not act right away," Cayetano said. "Every single minute of uncertainty isn't good for the industry, isn't good for the consumers and is not good for the government, so there should be an emergency summit by the executive and the legislature, or Congress, and solutions that will be felt by those who are already paid for this should come forth from this summit," he said.

He also said the government might consider extending tax relief to ease the burden of those affected by the closure of preneed firms.

"The point is these are innocent people who are hard-working , who pay taxes, who went a step further than just relying on government by buying these [preneed plans] and yet the government wasn't able to regulate and help them," said Cayetano.