NAGKAISA finds Bello’s balik-probinsya program a failed old recipe

The balik-probinsya and 1M job programs have both been promised before by different administrations different reasons to address urban decongestion or as a political agenda for rural development or to entice provincial votes.

Likewise, Philippine Development Plans repeatedly mentioned this strategy, but in reality, urban migration continues because rural development didnt happen, agriculture is in a sad state, industrialization is zero, and provincial wages remain at starvation levels.

We always welcome Government’s plans to generate jobs to address massive unemployment, but we still insist that such program must be institutionalized as employment guarantees. These jobs must be determined based on a comprehensive agro-industrial policy aimed at building a safe, resilient and sustainable economy.

But with no further details presented, we find these sketchy proposals announced by Bello on the eve of Labor Day, as no better than the traditional Labor Day job fairs conducted by DOLE. Further, it looks more as an election platform for someone, rather than a bold economic package to address the immediate needs of our workers today, as well as the strategic need to establish a new order that is far better than the fallacies of the old normal.

In the meantime, the most pressing concern of the working people, which the Government is failing to address, is the slow and missing aid not reaching the millions of displaced workers. The latest reports say that only 6% of LGUs are able to download the social amelioration benefit, while DOLE’s CAMP and TUPAD are far worse behind.

#LaborDay #MayDay2020
PRESS STATEMENT
NAGKAISA Labor Coalition
01 May 2020