What’s the truth? Aquino boasts gains in labor sector; ILO: Jobless rate in PH high
BIÑAN CITY, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday boasted the gains of his administration’s programs on labor and industry, claiming they have succeeded in addressing problems of growth and unemployment.
“Kitang-kita na natin ang positibong bunga ng ating mga pagsisikap,” Aquino said during his Labor Day speech at an electronics factory in Biñan, Laguna.
(We can clearly see the positive results of our hard work.)
Aquino’s speech contradicted an International Labor Organization (ILO) report revealing that the Philippines has an unemployment rate of 7.3 percent for 2013, the highest unemployment rate among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Speaking before officials and graduates of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), Aquino said efforts to address the job mismatch problem in the country resulted in many workers being hired by semiconductor and electronics companies.
“Sa pagtutulungan ng ating mga ahensya, nagkaloob tayo ng mga de-kalidad na training upang umangkop ang kaalaman ng ating mga graduate na papasok sa labor force,” he said.
(Through the cooperation of our agencies, we offered quality training courses to impart relevant knowledge to our graduates entering the labor force.)
Job mismatch
Aquino explained that upon learning that there were a lot of vacant positions amid the unemployment in the country two years ago, the government, including Tesda, worked with businessmen to address their manpower needs.
He said one report that disturbed him a couple of years ago was that 250,000 nursing graduates were unemployed. Many of them took the course because of the large demand for nurses but when they graduated, there was an oversupply.
Now, the employment rate in the semiconductors and electronics industry is at 91.43 percent, Aquino said.
“Patunay lang po itong kapag binigyan mo ng sapat na pagkakataon ang Pilipino, talaga namang magpapakitang-gilas siya tungo sa sariling at sambayanang pag-asenso,” he added.
(This proves that if you give Filipinos a chance, they will really show what they are capable of…to pave the way for personal and national growth.)
Before giving his Labor Day speech, Aquino visited the factories of Testech, Inc., Alliance Mansols, Inc. (AMI), and Integrated Microelectronics, Inc. (IMI) to observe the workers and to inspect their production and training facilities.
He noted that of the 130 scholars trained by Testech under Tesda’s Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), 113 are already working. For IMI and AMI, 100 percent of their trainees – 100 for IMI and 400 for AMI, are now working for their companies.
Aquino said they are aiming for more TWSP scholars this year: 200 for Testech and 1,500 for AMI.
Boosting manufacturing
The President claimed that the country is now making strides in manufacturing after years of poor performance.
In 2013, the share of manufacturing to the national economy rose to 22.8 percent. Of the $53.98 billion worth of goods exported by the country last year, 40.4 percent came from the electronics industry. An estimated 18.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country came from electronics exports.
Aquino said it was the reason why support for the industry was increased, especially since it is an important segment of manufacturing.
He said such efforts resulted in three percentage points drop in the number of Filipinos below the poverty line from 2012 to 2013. Aquino said the three percentage points meant 2.5 million Filipinos have been uplifted from poverty or are now above the poverty line.
No wage increase
Although the President did not announce any wage increase or additional benefits for workers, he lauded them as important members of society.
“Ang pinakamahalagang yaman ng Pilipinas ay ang Pilipino. Bawat patak ng pawis sa ating paghahanapbuhay, bawat bisig na nagbibigay-lingap sa nangangailangan, at bawat butil ng sakripisyo ng Pilipino, ay may makabuluhang ambag sa katuparan ng ating kolektibong mithiin.’
(The most important treasure of the Philippines is the Filipino. Every drop of sweat from our work, every person aiding those who are in need and every bit of sacrifice of Filipinos have significant contributions to the realization of our collective aspirations.)
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