The Senate on Monday, May 29 approved on third and final reading the bill that would establish a national employment generation and recovery master plan.
Sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Senate Bill No. 2035, or the proposed "Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act," hurdled the Upper Chamber with the unanimous vote of all 24 senators during the plenary session.
Villanueva said the bill aims to stimulate national and local economic growth, enhance industry collaboration, and provide support to workers and businesses.
"Employment should not just be an incident to economic development. Generating more decent and permanent employment should be the objective of economic growth, to make growth inclusive and a reality for all," Villanueva said in his sponsorship speech.
Under the measure, a "Trabaho Para sa Bayan" (TPB) Interagency Council shall be created to formulate the TPB Plan, which includes action plans for supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), worker upskilling, employer incentives, youth employment, as well as for the reintegration of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), among others.
The council – composed of the heads of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); and representatives from employers' organizations, labor groups, marginalized sector and the informal sector – would be mandated to monitor, review, and evaluate the implementation of the TPB Plan.
The employment masterplan shall include a three-year, six-year, and 10-year development timeline.
SB No. 2035 will also mandate government agencies to review existing hiring policies and standards, streamline recruitment processes, and identify the manpower needs of the government.
Local government units (LGUs), meanwhile, will be tasked to coordinate with the interagency council to align and integrate the TPB Plan in their policies and programs.
"This is a priority measure of the President. Let me just put on record (our gratitude to) our Senate President, Juan Miguel Zubiri, for his leadership,” Villanueva said as he thanked his colleagues for the bill’s approval.