Robredo unveils P192-B plan for job generation

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo vowed Friday to pursue a P192-billion plan to strengthen key industries and generate jobs for Filipinos should she get elected as president in the 2022 elections.

Robredo’s program for job generation is summed up in five points: Recovering trust in the government, awakening the strength of industries, ending discrimination at work, supporting small businesses and providing safety nets for those who lose their jobs.

“These are not promises,” she said in Filipino. “These are plans based on strong principles and a clear track record.”

Robredo said she plans to develop the maritime industry further by including courses on it in the senior high school curriculum, modernizing docks and wharfs, and streamlining the process of registering ships in the Philippines so the country can establish its own cargo shipping line.

The vice president wants to turn the Philippines into a “center of climate industry” through the creation of an e-transport industry, the modernization of agricultural processes, the investment in “climate smart” agricultural infrastructure and the creation of a framework towards clean energy.

Robredo also wants more Filipinos in tech, which she plans to achieve by pouring in investments into the country’s tech infrastructure, universities and research institutions.

She said she will also focus on reviving the manufacturing industry through an “industry roadmap.”

To encourage more investors to come in and more people to do business, Robredo said she will ensure that the government is free from corruption and cronyism, strengthen antitrust bodies, implement the Ease of Doing Business Act and hasten digital transformation.

“This way, more investors will have confidence in the system. New investments will come in, businesses will flourish and new jobs will be created,” Robredo said in Filipino.

Robredo also eyes opening government procurement to small businesses and prioritizing them for the needs of government offices.

She again pitched for the creation of an unemployment insurance program for those who lose their jobs, on top of a retraining and skills matching program and a public employment program.

The vice president said she eyes a clamp down on discrimination by implementing the anti-age discrimination law and pushing for the passage of the comprehensive anti-discrimination bill, which has faced stiff opposition from conservatives in Congress.

Robredo said she has identified possible sources of funding for her job generation plan from different government agencies, including the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Transportation, the Office of the President and the Philippine National Police.