The government should take on a more aggressive role in leading the private sector to economic recovery as the COVID-19 pandemic has rendered most private enterprises vulnerable and at the mercy of a deflating economy.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the government should play the dual role of “jobs creator” and at the same time “income provider” so businesses can recover fast amid the effect of income loss and escalating prices of goods and services brought about by the pandemic.
 
The senator said the government should boost its public employment programs (PEPs) to help generate more job opportunities.
 
She proposed that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) intensify its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers or TUPAD program by extending to 10 days its temporary wage employment program.
 
“We can mobilize more workers to assist in contact tracing, provide support to persons vulnerable to COVID-19, such as the elderly, persons with disabilities (PWDs) or chronic health problems, those who are sick at home or recovering, and persons in quarantine… as well as strengthening essential services such as waste collection, public sanitation and other facilities,” Hontiveros said.

She said aggressive PEPs, aside from the conventional public works, can be utilized as a “strategy for recovery” to augment front line services essential to pandemic response in communities.

The lawmaker further pointed out the government can learn from the experiences of countries like South Africa, India and Argentina where minimum wage jobs are guaranteed for the unemployed with required hours of work and specific time frame.
 
She also said PEPs convey incomes to the unemployed and create productive assets.

“Workers are the drivers of our economy. Madidiskaril ang ating byahe patungo sa pagbangon ng ekonomiya kung hindi tayo magbibigay ng oportunidad sa mga nawalan ng trabaho, (Our journey to economic recovery won’t succeed if we don’t provide opportunities to those who lost jobs),” she stressed.
 
Hontiveros issued the call following the National Economic Development Authority’s (NEDA) report stating that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 9.5 percent in 2020.
 
State economic managers attributed the sharp decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the 5.7 per cent decline in household consumption brought about by the massive lockdowns last year.
 
On top of this, the labor department also reported that over five (5) million workers were displaced last year with mass layoffs occurring more than during the fourth quarter.
 
“Government as employer and income provider must help the country navigate along an economic roadmap,” Hontiveros said.