2011 budget seen to help fight joblessness

Press Release
December 26, 2010

QUEZON CITY  –  The proposed P1.645 trillion General Appropriations Act that Malacañang will sign into law on Monday is expected to help address mounting unemployment, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. said Sunday.

"Government is the country's single largest consumer and biggest employer. Its spending will help propel economic as well as jobs growth next year," Barzaga said.

Barzaga said government would pay out some P526 billion in salaries and benefits to public sector workers next year, thus driving household consumption spending.

"Government spending will stimulate in a big way the demand for goods and services, and in the process energize local industries," he said.

Domestic industries benefiting directly and indirectly from the spending are bound to create new employment, according to Barzaga.

Next year's budget represents almost one-fifth or 18.2 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product, he added.

Barzaga said the budget's P148.2-billion fresh allocation for new public infrastructure spending would also be another driver of jobs growth.

"A provision in the budget requires contractors to adopt a labor-intensive mode of implementation of infrastructure projects. Priority hiring will be accorded to the underprivileged residents of local communities where the projects are located," he said.

Barzaga said the infrastructure spending would benefit poor households, mainly through construction-related jobs.

Meanwhile, the P6.6 billion budget of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) includes P700 million for the Training for Work Program of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Barzaga said the program would benefit 50,000 job seekers.

He also said P425 million has been set aside for the DOLE's Capability-Building for Employment Service of Students and Workers' Income Augmentation Program.

Another P300 million has been allotted for the department's Employment Placement Facilitation Program, plus P21 million for Labor Market Information and Networking Program, Barzaga pointed out.

In terms of direct hiring, he said government would be creating 14,000 new posts next year – for 10,000 teachers and 4,000 police, fire and jail officers.

Barzaga's remarks came not long after the latest Labor Force Survey showed that some 2.8 million Filipinos were totally without jobs in October, up from 2.72 million in the same month in 2009.

The survey indicated that some 80,000 able-bodied Filipinos aged 15 years old and above joined the ranks of the unemployed over the 12-month period.