ROXAS: JOBLESSNESS NEEDS FIRM ACTION, NOT PROPAGANDA

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas today scored President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's failure to address effectively the growing number of Filipinos losing their jobs as the impact of the global financial slowdown reaches the Philippines' shores.

"Ano na ang sasabihin ni Gloria sa mga nawalan ng trabaho simula nang pumutok ang global economic crisis (What will Gloria say to those who have lost their jobs since the start of the global crisis)? Every Filipino's job is important, and we have not seen any action from Malacanang since we raised the alarm last year," Roxas said.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) has reported the number of jobless Filipinos reached 2.855 million as of January this year, or 180,000 higher than the January 2008 figures (2.675 million). The increase pushed the unemployment rate up to 7.7 percent from the 7.4 percent rating last year.

Jobs lost in the manufacturing sector accounted for 62 percent; the financial sector accounted for 28,000 jobs; construction, 17,000; and transport, storage and communication, 15,000.

"Ang problema ay panay mga lumang programa na regular nang ginagawa ng gobyerno ang sagot ng gobyerno sa krisis na ito. Kailan pa kikilos ang gobyerno, pag patay na ang kabayo? (The problem is the government's answer is to put out old programs and no new solutions. When will they act, when it is too late and millions have lost their livelihood)," Roxas asked.

The Ilonggo senator said the unemployed sector of society would rather see concrete actions from the government instead of hearing rhetorics on how it would provide assistance to the rising number of Filipinos who are being laid off from work and those who have yet to find jobs.

"Ang kailangan ng mga nagugutom, ng mga naghihirap ay pagkain, trabaho, pera at iba pa. Hindi mababago ang mga buhay nila sa puro pangako lang na napapako naman lagi (The hungry needs food, the poor needs work and money and other basic needs. Their lives would not change overnight with these promises, all of which have been broken by this government)," he said.