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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider 'Bistek' seeks additional aid for laid off workers amid shift to Alert Level 1

'Bistek' seeks additional aid for laid off workers amid shift to Alert Level 1

Published Feb 28, 2022 05:18 pm

Senatorial candidate Herbert “Bistek” Bautista on Monday urged the government to provide more assistance to workers who have been laid off during lockdowns at the height of COVID-19 infections.

Bautista, who is running for the Senate in the upcoming May 2022 elections said, these workers need help to transition to a new normal.

“Many of our workers have been laid off and without jobs for months...Under Alert Level 1, they would still be short in funds so what would they spend for transportation if they were returning back to their previous job?” Bautista explained in a statement.

“If they would search for new jobs, where would they get money to get back and forth to offices or factories where they would apply?” he said.

He said data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that while the employment picture has improved, at least 3.7 million more Filipinos are out of jobs.

At the height of restrictions, hundreds of restaurants, shops and other small or medium scale businesses were forced to temporarily shut down. Many of these SMSEs had closed down for good after they were unable to survive losses in revenue.

If the National Capital Region (NCR) shifts to COVID Alert Level 1, the government must bear in mind that tens of thousands of people are still jobless in many parts of the capital.

“A shift to Alert Level 1 would not automatically give their jobs back,” said Bautista.

“In the meantime, our jobless countrymen would still need assistance—preferably cash—to tide them over until Alert Level 1 leads them to find employment,” he stressed.

Related Tags

employment Herbert Bautista Alert Level 1 jobs
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