Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo. (File photo)
MANILA – A lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Tuesday called for the swift passage of the proposed Bayanihan to Arise As One Act or the Bayanihan 3 in order to cushion the blow of the coronavirus pandemic to Filipinos, especially the working class.
Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo made the call after the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the overall unemployment rate for 2020 is estimated at 10.3 percent, which is equivalent to 4.5 million Filipinos who are available to work but out of a job, almost double the 2.26 million unemployed in 2019.
Quimbo said the proposal provides PHP52 billion to help subsidize wages of workers in small businesses, in addition to another PHP30 billion for assistance to the unemployed, and PHP108 billion for additional social amelioration.
Quimbo said impacted businesses, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), would likewise receive capacity building assistance to help them navigate the new business environment and preserve jobs under the proposed law.
“The current employment situation calls for a well-targeted response from Congress,” Quimbo said. “These measures are urgently needed to help alleviate the impact of the pandemic on Filipino households and businesses, particularly those most in need.”
Quimbo noted that after almost a year of lockdown, many businesses are in the red, particularly small businesses as she cited the Impact Assessment Survey of Covid-19 on MSMEs by the Department of Trade and Industry showing that 53.5 percent of MSMEs are in need of financing assistance as of February.
“MSMEs account for 63 percent of employment and as long as they are struggling financially, workers are also in trouble. As a result, today, we still lack job opportunities for our workers and face persistently high unemployment,” she said.
She also called for the passage of her proposal to institutionalize a National Unemployment Insurance Program, which would establish a dedicated program for unemployment insurance in order to provide sufficient social protection to workers.
“The remarkably high unemployment we’ve seen in the past year is a signal that we need long-term interventions to improve our resilience to future shock,” she said. “When workers are laid off, they may claim benefits from the program, which will help them cover basic needs and support their job search efforts.”
She said the proposed program would serve to smoothen overall consumption in times of a general economic downturn, which is particularly crucial for the country, as consumption makes up 75 percent of the gross domestic product of the Philippines. (PNA)
