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MANILA, Philippines — All hands on deck.
The President’s men and women vowed to increase jobs and curb poverty, Malacañang said in a press briefing Wednesday.
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said job creation was one of the major issues tackled in a rare full Cabinet meeting on Tuesday following the latest Social Weather Stations survey showing a substantial increase in the country’s unemployment rate.
President Benigno Aquino III was quoted telling his Cabinet members to “Intensify programs on job creation and social protection in the most needy and vulnerable provinces.”
Coloma said it was during the meeting that Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan revealed that while the country was “on track with respect to our economic targets,” there is a lag in “social outcomes.”
In response to such problems, the Cabinet’s human development and poverty reduction cluster (HDPRC) mapped out provinces with the most number of poor households, based on the needs of its residents.
Coloma said the provinces were categorized based on need — if they needed economic opportunity, increased resilience, or enhanced mobility of labor and goods.
“In consonance with the Millennium Development Goals, the aspiration is to decrease poverty incidence by half, from 33.2 percent in 1991 to 16.6 percent by 2015. Latest figures (2012) show that poverty incidence has been reduced to 25.2 percent,” he said.
While the Department of Trade and Industry focuses on increasing the country’s competitiveness in high employment sectors, the Department of Labor and Employment will facilitate job matching and placement of jobseekers.
Tesda will continue its work scholarship program as the HUDCC targets a P103.1-billion housing assistance fund for 561,932 families.
“Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman said that families presently being supported by the Pantawid Pamilyang Program will be given sustainable livelihood opportunities and expanded educational and health grants,” Coloma said.
The latest SWS survey said the number of unemployed had risen to 12.1 million in December compared to 9.6 million in September.
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