Use P300B fund for laid off OFWs, Arroyo told

JOHANNA CAMILLE SISANTE, GMANews.TV

Philippines - Opposition lawmakers on Monday urged the Arroyo administration to use the government's P300-billion economic stimulus package to address unemployment amid the global financial crisis instead of spending it on "big-ticket" projects prone to corruption.

In a press conference, deputy minority leader and Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel said the government should provide immediate relief to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who lost their jobs due to the crisis by giving a subsidy of P50,000 to each retrenched migrant worker.

Hontiveros said the government should also make housing and other loans available for OFWs and local workers alike whose jobs were lost due to the crisis.

According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, 3,567 Filipinos from seven countries including Macau have lost their jobs due to the economic crisis. More than 90 percent of the retrenched workers came from Taiwan alone.

Hontiveros added that instead of using the fund to bail out big businesses, the government should spend on small enterprises to boost local industries.

"It (spending on big business) could be a source of corruption. We could end up subsidizing big businesses owned by politicians who have decided that the bail is necessary. If there is going to be a bail out program, it has to be given to small and medium enterprises," Hontiveros said.

Likewise, Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño cautioned the government against using the economic stimulus fund to prioritize the construction of big road projects, which they said are prone to corruption especially since the 2010 national elections are fast approaching.

Ocampo said the government should immediate problems like looming unemployment first before going on to "big-ticket" projects.

"If we're going to use a stimulus fund, we should address immediate problems, like loss of jobs, closing-down of factories, and the retrenchment of OFWs," said Ocampo.

Casiño said that if the government chooses to spend on infrastructure, it should prioritize the building of housing and hospitals because these have a "multiplier effect," adding that constructing hospitals would not only boost infrastructure, it would also improve health services and create jobs for health workers.

Casiño said infrastructure is the biggest source of "kickback" from politicians, and warned that the economic stimulus package may end up being a "political stimulus package" that will be used for 2010 elections campaigns. - GMANews.TV

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