4 million Filipinos may lose jobs this year, 2,122 firms to close shop due to COVID-19
Published June 24, 2020, 6:36 PM
Some four million Filipinos will potentially lose their jobs by the end of this year due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Wednesday.
Bello, in a Senate Committee on Labor and Employment hearing, said the 4 million represents 10 to 15 percent of the country’s workforce.
He said that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has already received notice that 2,122 companies will close shop due to losses brought about by the coronavirus disease.
“Starting from January to June this year, there were 2,122 business establishments who sent us notice of termination, saying that they will temporarily (close shop),” Bello said responding to a query of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.
“And the workers who were displaced as result of this temporary stoppage of operation is about 90,000 more or less,” he pointed out.
On the other hand, Bello said there are also 169 companies who have advised them they will permanently stop their operations.
Also during the hearing, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Cacdac said more than 13,000 Filipino seafarers from 24 cruise ships that arrived in Manila Bay.
According to Cacdac, these seafarers have returned to their respective homes, but 1,500 were still left in the area.
Bello, meanwhile, said he is optimistic the government can offset the negative impact and is now looking into the possible resurgence of workers in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.
“They somehow provided balance to the jobs that were lost,” he said.
He also said the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program can accommodate the displaced workers and provide them employment.
“We are also expecting a resurgence of employment in the construction industry,” the Labor chief said.
Bello, likewise, rejected a Labor Force Survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) which showed a 17.7 percent or 7.3 million record high of unemployment rate in the country last April, saying the figure was not reflective of the true situation.
Bello said that in order to sustain jobs for Filipinos, DOLE will be pushing for a P40-billion wage subsidy program for employers.
“We will talk to the employers, don’t dismiss your employees. We will shoulder 25 percent to 50 percent of the salaries of your employees,” he said.
“This will help in protecting and preserving the employment of our workers,” he added.
Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, meanwhile, urged OWWA to fulfill its mandate by providing low-interest loans to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were repatriated after losing their jobs abroad.
“Most if not all of these repatriated OFWs no longer have jobs to return to or will find it very difficult to find new jobs under the current circumstances. The world has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and a lot of companies here and abroad have either closed shop or resorted to retrenchment,” Angara said.
Angara said the government has to find ways to help the repatriated OFWs in finding alternative sources of livelihood because their families depend on them, as stipulated under its Charter.
“With the low-interest loans from OWWA, the displaced OFWs could be provided with capital to start their own small businesses here,” he added.
Cacdac responded, saying the agency has tied up with the Land Bank of the Philippines to provide a loan window for OFWs. He said there were around 1,500 OFWs who were able to avail of loans from Landbank amounting to around P1-billion.
He also said the OFWs were able to get as much as P2 million from Landbank while other borrowers were able to secure around P300,000 to P500,000 each.
