CHR welcomes emergency employment program

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) welcomes the government’s plan to provide emergency employment program for workers displaced due to the raising of the pandemic alert to Level 3 in Metro Manila and in other parts of the country.

CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia noted the announcement of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which earlier announced that emergency employment for approximately 200,000 workers is being prepared.

The program will provide 10 days of employment for the displaced workers who are primarily from the tourism sector and restaurant businesses, the labor department said.

“CHR recognizes this initiative of DOLE to immediately cushion the impact of the more stringent alert level on affected workers,” said De Guia.

“At the same time, the commission hopes that more sustainable employment, livelihood and/or assistance program can be given to them in anticipation of possible prolonged and heightened alert level,” she added.

Given that the workers in the affected sectors were also severely impacted by previous restrictions, the CHR official said their dire situation necessitates holistic and expedient action to allow them to begin genuine recovery from the blows of the pandemic.

“Through convergence with other government programs, we are hopeful that all impacted workers will receive the support and assistance they need as the country grapples with the surge of the Omicron variant,” De Guia said.

“With the insights and lessons from the last two years of the pandemic, we equally look forward to more proactive actions from the government. Anticipating and urgently addressing the inadvertent repercussions of the crisis is part of the State’s duty to ensure the rights and dignity of all, especially the disadvantaged sectors,” she added.

Meanwhile, former senator Jinggoy Estrada has vowed to push for the creation of two national agencies to help match skills and labor opportunities for millions of Filipinos displaced by COVID-19 pandemic, if he gets elected again as senator in May.

“The unemployment rate has climbed to 8.1 percent based on state figures. Creation of the two agencies will boost government’s ability to match skills and labor opportunities for local employees as well as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs),” Estrada said. He chaired the labor committee during his Senate stint from 2004 to 2016.

He said the creation of the National Employment Assistance Center (NEAC) and National Manpower Data and Placement Center (NMDPC) should be given top priority given the country’s dire labor situation.

The former senator from San Juan said he would channel his energy to advocacies that address unemployment and champion the welfare of wage earners if given the chance to make a Senate comeback.

Estrada was principal author of the Apprenticeship Training Act which aims to provide skills training and access to employment, particularly the youth. – Jose Rodel Clapano