Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said on Monday, Nov. 13 that seasonal employment should not be a benchmark of the country's low unemployment rate.
This, the Senate official pushed for more quality jobs for the Filipinos.
"Magandang aginaldo po ang trabaho para sa ating mga kababayan. Ngunit hindi po ito dapat ibinibigay tuwing Pasko lamang (This is a great gift for Filipinos. But this shouldn't be given only on Christmas)," Villanueva said in a statement.
"Tuloy-tuloy dapat ang trabaho at pangmatagalan, sa lahat ng panahon at okasyon, upang matiyak ang pag-unlad sa buhay ng bawat Pilipino (Jobs should be continuous for a long time, for all seasons and ocassions, to ensure the progress of every Filipinos' lives)," he added.
He mentioned that expectations of increased hiring due to the holidays is a positive development.
However, he said this should not detract the public from the fact that these are seasonal jobs and cyclical; meaning, one gets employed for a few months only for them to be let go.
During the deliberations of the 2024 budget of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Villanueva, principal sponsor and author of the Trabaho para sa Bayan Act, reiterated President Marcos' call for immediate drafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 11964 or the Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) Act to set into motion crucial reforms in a bid to create employment at the heart of the country’s industrial policy.
“We will closely monitor NEDA’s commitments on the timeline, plans and consultations on the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act’s IRR. Every single day for our people in dire need of livelihood or job counts," the majority leader said.
Villanueva has proposed a P5-million initial budget for the implementation of the TPB Act in the 2024 appropriation. The budget will be placed under the NEDA to start the rollout of the law's programs.
As of September 2023, the country's unemployment rate stood at 4.5 percent, up from 4.4 percent the previous month. On the other hand, the underemployment rate is at 10.7 percent, lower than the 11.7 percent reported rate in August 2023.
The PSA described underemployed persons as “those who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have an additional job or to have a new job with longer hours of work".
"The holidays will create additional jobs but with the implementation of the TPB Plan, there will be more stable and regular jobs in manufacturing, infrastructure, agri-fishing, and not dependent on seasonal spending. These should be add-ons rather than the main source of jobs," he said.
Signed into law on Sept. 27, 2023, Villanueva said the TPB Act presents a critical solution in providing Filipinos decent and sustainable jobs.
Under the law, the government shall establish a national employment generation and recovery masterplan with a three, six, and 10-year development timeline. The master plan includes initiatives for supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises, worker upskilling, employer incentives, and youth employment, as well as for the reintegration of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), among others.