Senator Loren Legarda has refiled Senate Bill 7 that seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) 8759 ,or the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Act of 1999, to include entrepreneurship and provide better employment and entrepreneurial opportunities suited for each Filipino.
Legarda, a four-term lawmaker, stressed that this amendment to the existing law would address the drawn-out issue of unemployment and underemployment in the Philippines.
She echoed her previous statement that the promotion of entrepreneurship would be able to hone the skills of Filipinos and would encourage self-employment opportunities, and generate more jobs.
“The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that about 2.87 million Filipinos were unemployed in March 2022. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate increased from 14 percent in February to 15.8 percent in March 2022,” Legarda said.
With this, Legarda has recognized the role of entrepreneurs in stimulating the country’s economic growth.
“The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported that entrepreneurs have managed to generate 62.4 percent of the country’s employment or over five million jobs. Inarguably, entrepreneurs play a key role in creating job opportunities and consequently in stimulating the country's economic growth,” she explained.
The measure also intends to rename the PESO offices to Public Employment and Entrepreneurship Service Office (PEESO) and establish a Barangay Employment and Entrepreneurship Service Office (BEESO) in barangays.
Senator Legarda co-authored the PESO Act during her first term as Senator and has also co-authored Republic Act 10691, which initially amended the PESO Act. She has refiled further amendments to the law as House Bill 631 during her term as Deputy Speaker in the House of Representatives.