Incentives, retraining sought for displaced OFWs

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada is pushing for two plans to help Filipino workers at home and abroad who might be laid off due to the current global financial meltdown – a village-based retraining program and a special incentive package for companies that will retrain and hire laid-off workers.

Estrada, the Senate president pro-tempore and Labor Committee chairman, made the proposal for adoption in a multisectoral workshop on the effects of the global crisis to be held on Friday in Quezon City.

"Because of the magnitude of the problem at hand that thus needs immediate actions, I am favoring specific concrete and doable measures which could be explored and adopted in the workshop," Estrada said in a press statement posted at the Senate Web site (www.senate.gov.ph).

The workshop, to be spearheaded by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), will assess the impact of the global crisis on the local economy and labor and make "action plans" to help laid-off workers.

Fiscal and nonfiscal incentives

The special package of fiscal and nonfiscal incentives to companies that will retrain and hire affected workers could be in the form of tax credits, tax exemptions, income tax holidays, duty-free importation of raw materials and equipment, or a combination of these and other such motivation measures.

"With these incentives, local companies – even those that had otherwise decided to freeze their hiring of employees due to the economic slowdown – would be able to absorb additional personnel from the affected workers," Estrada said.

He added this measure could help retrenched Filipino workers "find new jobs on the one hand, and on the other hand, help our local enterprises weather the effects of the crisis."

Micro-businesses

The barangay-based retraining and hiring program will use the network of village enterprises with the help of the national government through the Barangay Micro-Business Enterprises (BMBE) Law.

He said the BMBE Law, or Republic Act 9178, has been supporting the formation and growth of small barangay-based enterprises with assets of less than P3 million that engage in manufacturing, processing, and trading of goods - including agriculture goods.

Businesses registered with the BMBE program are exempt from paying income taxes and minimum wages rates, have access to specially dedicated credit windows from financial institutions and guarantors, and pay only minimal taxes and fees.

The program was initially provided with a P300-million special revolving fund.

"Barangay-based businesses, particularly those in the BMBE network, already form an operational and vibrant industry that has been keeping our economy afloat despite the global recession," Estrada said. "The challenge to the national government now is to how maximize this system to help affected workers immediately become economically productive again."

Also, Estrada said the national government should grant additional incentives to barangay-based enterprises that would participate in the retraining and hiring program for retrenched Filipino workers.

Estrada lauded Labor Secretary Marianito Roque for organizing his proposed workshop, and also for sealing an agreement with the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry for employment of affected workers which forms part of his proposed special incentives package. - GMANews.TV

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