MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Joel Villanueva on Saturday appealed to the government to prioritize assistance for unemployed workers after a Philippine Statistics Authority labor force survey posted a record-high 17.7 percent unemployment due to the coronavirus lockdown.
“Let us remember the hard work of our workers that contributed to our economy,” Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment, said in Filipino a statement.
Alarmed that 7.4 million Filipinos were unemployed, Villanueva expressed dismay over the failure to pass the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act, which replaces the expired Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. He said the proposed measure has P32 billion allocated funds for the assistance of workers.
“After the Senate tried its best to pass the Bayanihan 2 bill, it saddens me that it was not certified as urgent,” he said.
“Dahil dito, ang kakapiranggot na P32 bilyong na inilaan ng Department of Finance na tulong sa mga manggagawa ay hindi rin kaagad magagamit,” he added.
“Because of this, the P32 billion set aside by the Department of Finance to assist workers has not been used immediately.”
will not be used immediately.)