Country’s employment rate up by 2.8 percent,
Palace official says
The country has registered an employment rate of
93.4 percent, marking an increase of 2.8 percent since January last year, based
on the 2015 January Labor Force Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA), a Palace official said on Thursday.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a
statement that the year-on-year addition of 1.04 million workers in the
employment force put the total number of employed at 37.5 million.
He said the increase is almost four times the
281,000 jobs created during the January 2013-2014 period, which posted an
annual growth of 0.8 percent.
He said that according to the January 2015 survey,
employment grew across all classes of workers, except those in family-operated
businesses.
“The survey also indicates that our year-on-year
underemployment rate went down to 17.5 percent, from 19.5 percent in January
2014,” Lacierda noted.
The Palace official said these figures do not
include data from Region 8 because survey results needed to be comparable to that
of the previous period ending in January 2014. According to the PSA, no survey
was conducted in the area last year due to the devastation caused by Typhoon
Yolanda.
“Since 2010, driven by our belief in good
governance as good economics, the Aquino administration has continued to enact
widespread reforms, which have increased public trust in government and spurred
economic growth. This has led to a surge in investor interest in the country,
beginning a virtuous cycle of empowerment and inclusive growth. The new
opportunities generated by these investments have resulted in not just more
jobs but also more meaningful livelihoods for our citizens, as indicated by the
lower underemployment rate,” Lacierda said.
He said that amid concerns about increased global
volatility and slower growth, the Philippines has continued to buck the trend
and surpass expectations.
“Rest assured that the Aquino administration
remains committed to pursuing even more growth for the country and to making
sure that this translates to real benefits for the Filipino people. Moving
forward, let us collectively work toward further entrenching our good
governance reforms and making permanent the gains we have achieved,” Lacierda
concluded. PND (jm)
Aquino administration to retain members of
government peace panel, says Palace
President Benigno S. Aquino III will not change
the composition of the government's peace negotiating team despite a lawmaker’s
call to replace the administration's peace adviser and chief negotiator for
peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a Palace official
has said.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, in a privilege speech
on Wednesday, called on the President to change the members of the peace panel
because of their apparent bias towards the MILF.
In a press briefing in Malacañang on Thursday,
Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. however said that the President
has no plan to replace the members of the peace panel.
"Naninindigan ang Pangulo hinggil sa
kakayahan at integridad ng mga bumubuo ng ating peace panel—mula kay
(Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process) Secretary Teresita Deles at kay
Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, bilang chairperson ng (peace) panel, at ang
mga kasapi nito," he told reporters.
Asked to comment on Cayetano's allegations that
the MILF coddled Marwan, one of the targets of the bloody Mamasapano clash last
January 25, Coloma said the senator should submit his information to the Senate
committee investigating the encounter.
"Ang mga impormasyon na mayroon siya tungkol
doon sa umano’y pagkanlong ng MILF, doon sa allegation that the MILF coddled
Marwan, should be referred to the Senate Committee on Public Order and
Dangerous Drugs that heard the different resource persons regarding the
Mamasapano incident," he said.
"At habang hindi pa naman naglalabas ng ulat
Ang mga ito, maaari naman niyang ibigay iyon bilang input mismo sa pagsisiyasat
ng Senado."
Coloma noted that although Cayetano's speech was
mostly about his doubts on the sincerity of the MILF in the peace process, the
Aquino administration remains committed to the peace talks.
He pointed out that the negotiation between the
government and the MILF has been going through the right process in the past
five years and was only interrupted by the Mamasapano incident.
With many investigating bodies looking into the
deadly incident, the government is confident that the truth will come out,
Coloma said.
"Kaya’t patuloy na naninindigan si Pangulong
Aquino na kailangang ipagpatuloy ang pagdaloy ng prosesong pangkapayapaan dahil
mahalaga ito sa pambansang interes ng Pilipinas," he said.
Several bodies have launched their respective
investigations of the incident -- the Senate, the Philippine National Police'
Board of Inquiry, the Department of Justice, the International Monitoring Team
(IMT), and the Commission on Human Rights.
The MILF is also doing its own probe, although an
official said they will submit their report only to Malaysia, the facilitator
for the peace talks.
A total of 44 members of the police’s Special
Action Force perished in the Mamasapano clash. The MILF reported losing 18
combatants to the encounter. Several civilians were also reported to have died
in the incident. PND (as)
Palace assures P48.8 million for 'Yolanda' victims
is still intact
The Palace on Thursday assured that P48.8 million,
meant for victims of Typhoon Yolanda but kept in banks under the account of the
Office of Civil Defense (OCD), remains intact.
The money is safe, Communications Secretary
Herminio Coloma, Jr. said, commenting on a Commission on Audit (COA) report
that the amount, consisting of local and foreign donations for victims of the
super typhoon, has been kept in banks by the OCD instead of spending it to help
those in dire need of aid.
“Ang salapi ay ligtas doon sa bangko. Hindi po ito
napariwara. Gagamitin naman po ito sa tamang dapat na paggamitan,” Secretary
Coloma told reporters during the daily press briefing in Malacañang.
"Hintayin natin na sagutin ng mga
kinauukulang ahensya ang COA finding. Hindi naman siguro tayo dapat magimbal o
mag-alala diyan sa finding na iyan dahil patuloy namang tinututukan ng
pamahalaan at ginagawa ang lahat ng nararapat hinggil sa pagtugon sa mga kagyat
na pangangailangan ng mga pamilyang apektado ng ‘Yolanda'," he said.
The government continues to extend assistance to
the typhoon victims, he said, citing the food packs from the Department of
Social Welfare and Development, and the permanent shelters being built by the
National Housing Authority.
Coloma noted that on Thursday (March 12)
afternoon, President Benigno S. Aquino III is slated to meet with several
departments to go over the progress of rehabilitation efforts in areas affected
by the typhoon.
The OCD is the implementing arm of the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. PND (ag)
