Jobs

As the new administration of President-elect Benigno C. Aquino III is poised to take command of the nation on June 30, the pressing issue of creating jobs and generating income for virtually countless Filipinos becomes paramount in view of the huge expectations-perhaps misplaced-engendered by his triumph in the first automated polls.

According to the research institution IBON Foundation, the period 2001-2009 was the longest period of high unemployment in the country's history. The true unemployment rate (as opposed to that trumpeted by the Arroyo Administration) was averaging some 11.2%  IBON pointed out that the number of jobless and underemployed Filipinos grew to 11.4 million in January 2010 which is 3.1 million more than in January 2001, when Mrs. Arroyo came to power. "The 4.3 million jobless Filipinos as of last January is an increase of 730,000 from nine years ago; the 7.1 million underemployed is 2.4 million higher," IBON reported.

True, some 877,000 jobs were created annually since January 2001, reaching 36 million in January 2010; however, the quality of these jobs leaves much to be desired. IBON reveals that "3.8 million are 'unpaid family workers' (585,000 increase from January 2001), 12.1 million are 'own account workers' mainly in the informal sector (1.6 million increase), and around 12.6 million are 'wage and salary workers' but without written contracts." In other words, for all the supposed achievements of Gloria's nine-year regime, unemployment among workers has mounted mightily.

For the Bikol region, the unemployment rate has supposedly gone down from 6.1% (January 2009) to 5.1% (January 2010). Yet, as the regional office of the National Statistical Coordinating Board (NSCB) viewed it, such increase in employment was most probably due to the elections which temporarily created jobs.  It would therefore be interesting to see the "after-elections" unemployment rate for the region if the said decrease had been maintained. Our guess, however, is it had gone up.

Aquino's political and business allies in the region may of course wish to cash in (only in the metaphorical sense, we hope) on the very favorable relation with Malacañang and use this to bring more jobs for Bikolanos. In the case of Albay, for instance, erstwhile Arroyo-economic-adviser Governor Joey Salceda seem set in continuing his development plans for his province sans the hitches of belonging to the losing party.

The same may not be said of Camarines Sur Governor LRay Villafuerte who sided with the moneyed but rejected Sen. Manny Villar, however. Already, speculations whether the province will "pay the price" for Villafuerte's choice of president have been flying, albeit beyond the hearing range of the equally moneyed governor.

We hope that it will not be the case. Jobs created in provinces and municipalities whose local executives sided with Noynoy are no more important than those created in which the local leaders supported someone else. The present leadership needs to generate suitable employment in the capital and in the regions to prevent all the problems emanating from the migration of our labor force. Political affiliations must not condition or determine who gets help or not in this regard.