Presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has vowed to create more jobs to hasten the country's economic recovery should he win in the upcoming elections.
Citing his plans laid out in a TV interview, Marcos Jr.'s camp said Sunday he will focus on business, agriculture, tourism and infrastructure industries, which are in line with President Duterte's "successful" 'Build, Build, Build' program.
"We must prepare ourselves for that recovery, we have to create jobs. That’s the first and most critical element in all of these, kailangan talaga ‘yung makabalik ang mga Pinoy sa trabaho,” said the presidential wannabe in SMNI interview.
Marcos said one of his top priorities should he win the presidency is to focus on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as they can quickly create jobs for Filipinos, and in the process put food on their tables.
"It’s all about jobs, we have to put Filipinos back to work and the way we do it is to invest in sectors na maganda ang (that has good) return, ‘yung tinatawag na (that's what you call) 'you get the biggest bang for your buck' when you invest in certain sectors na marami kaagad ang ma-employ (that can immediately employ many)," he said.
Another priority, Marcos said, is agriculture, which will provide jobs and help in the country's economic recovery.
However, he said agriculture programs should not only be focused on giving assistance to farmers. Long-term solutions are necessary to keep the sector strong and ready in the event of another crisis.
In terms of tourism, Marcos Jr. said, he will push for clean up or beautification of prospective tourist sites.
The country should prepare to revive its tourism because "the Philippines is beautiful," he said.
Marcos said he will also push for the continuation of the 'Build, Build, Build' program, which has created millions of jobs since its launching.
"Not only continue the 'Build, Build, Build' program of President Duterte but we build upon it and we will make it more extensive but it will be in conformation to a larger plan of economic development," he said.