The only way to rebuild the economy after the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic is by “uplifting the lives of those in the margins,” Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday, June 21, told employers during a virtual conference as she highlighted her advocacy of reaching out to those on the “laylayan” (fringes) of society.
“If we are to rebuild our economy, we must rebuild it with inclusiveness as an animating philosophy focusing our approach towards uplifting the lives of those in the margins. Iyong mga nasa laylayan ng lipunan (those on the fringes of society),” she said during the 42nd National Conference of Employers where she was the keynote speaker.
Vice President Leni Robredo delivers the keynote address at the 42nd National Conference of Employers on June 21, 2021. (ECOP/FACEBOOK)
Robredo added that she sees “the crisis as a chance to reimagine the future” where everyone will be included in the rebuilding process and the economic progress that will hopefully come with it.
For this to become possible, the vice president highlighted the need to reevaluate business practices since these can “accelerate our journey towards the better normal for all.”
“The way for everyone to thrive will be to ensure that the energies of our economy flow freely and with purpose – from the bottom up, from the daily wage earner and street vendor, to the big and small businesses, from the margins to the center,” she said.
In a crisis that highlighted the deeply-embedded political and economic problems of the country where small businesses were forced to close their doors, the employed are holding tight to their money; the health care system is in shambles, it is time to take stock of what the country and people need to do, Robredo said.
“We now ask ourselves: How can we truly ‘reform, rebound, and recover?’What gaps need to be filled, urgently and with resolve? What steps do we need to take? The answers to these questions, of course, are complex, and must take into account not only our economic reality, but the entire socio-political context of today,” she said.
For Robredo, who worked at the grassroots level of society before she entered politics and was a human rights lawyer, the first step is a “reassessment not only of how our systems work but for whom it works.”
READ: Robredo’s advocacy programs focus on those in the fringes of society
“The imperative, then, is clear: The most vulnerable among us – and there are so many of them – must be looped into the cycle of empowerment and economic participation,” she said.
The pandemic, the vice president added, “brought a revelation” that “everything is interconnected.”
Without jobs and the most vulnerable being sick, families and communities are being affected and people will have no power to patronize businesses. The lack of proper digital infrastructure is also impacting “the next generation of learners” as they are failing to acquire the necessary skills needed to be equipped for jobs in the future.
Robredo said her office is looking closely at United States President Joseph Biden’s $2.3-trillion American Jobs Plan, which proposes the use of infrastructure investments to create jobs for millions of Americans in the next eight years. The plan also plans to invest more in research and development, workforce development, manufacturing, and eldercare.
This is the Biden administration’s economic response to the loss of millions of jobs during the pandemic.
READ: Biden promises bright future for America’s ‘forgotten’ workers
“President Biden’s economic reset emanates from marginalized workers, women and minorities, and from those who suffer the brunt of pandemic’s impact,” Robredo added.
It is the same policy that the vice president follows despite her office’s meager budget. Over the past five years, she has partnered with private companies, nongovernment organizations, and volunteers for her flagship poverty alleviation program, Angat Buhay, to reach as many people as possible.
The goal has always been “enhancing livelihood opportunities for those in need, she said, highlighting her office’s projects—the Sikap.ph, Bayanihan Mart, TrabaHOPE, and training young social entrepreneurs.
Sikap.ph is an online job platform that advertises employment opportunities for Filipinos while the Bayanihan Mart is an online platform where small entrepreneurs can market their products. TrabaHOPE, on the other hand, is an apprenticeship program for out-of-school youth displaced during the pandemic.