Senatorial aspirant and incumbent Sorsogon Gov. Francis “Chiz” Escudero is urging the national government to set a higher target for job creation through its Build, Build, Build program, which received a massive P1.18 trillion budget this year, almost a quarter of the P5.04 trillion national budget.
The amount, Escudero pointed out, is equivalent to 5.3% of the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) and should be used to drive economic activity that will assist in the country’s post-pandemic recovery.
“Even as we continue to battle COVID-19, we are marching forward with the full intent of reenergizing the economy, boosting consumption and promoting investment. The government is the country’s biggest employer, and it can find ways to create more jobs this year through its Build, Build, Build campaign,” Escudero said.
“Perhaps they can include military and supply infrastructures in the Ayungin Shoal among the Build. Build, Build projects this year. That would be hitting two birds with one stone: giving more Filipinos jobs and asserting our sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
Some 4.2 million working-age Filipinos were unemployed and 7.9 million suffered pay cuts due to shorter working hours caused by slower economic activity, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported in February 2021.
Poverty incidence has also gone up last year to 23.7%, which means 26.14 million Filipinos were living below the poverty threshold of P12,082 monthly for a family of five. This is almost two million more than the 22.26 million poor Filipinos in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the PSA.
“We cannot reverse the worsening poverty without creating jobs or livelihood opportunities for the millions who have lost their work. The government’s investment in infrastructure must have a return in terms of employment so that people will once again have money for consumption, which will help the country because the Philippines is primarily a consumer economy,” Escudero said.
The 2022 National Expenditure Program showed that some P336 billion will go to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) while P127 billion will go to the Department of Transportation (DoTr) for projects under the Build, Build, Build program.
According to the DPWH, the department has generated 6.5 million jobs from 2016 to 2020 through its Build, Build, Build projects, with the workers paid the minimum wage, depending on their areas.
“The next president and the next members of Congress will be handed the gargantuan task of leading the country in the very long, very arduous path of recovery. It is imperative that the legislators who are in charge of reviewing and approving the budget also work to ensure that every peso of the P5.04 trillion for 2022 contributes to our economic recovery,” Escudero said.
The Philippines is reeling from the economic impact of COVID-19, including the repeated lockdowns, which is estimated to cost Filipinos P41.4 trillion in the long term due to poor consumption, decreased productivity, reduced demand and lost investments. In 2020 alone, the pandemic cost the Philippines P4.3 trillion, according to the National Economic Development Authority.
