Govt programs in place to create jobs for returning OFWs –Palace

The government has rolled out programs to create more jobs for Filipinos so that seeking employment abroad will be unnecessary, a Malacañang official said Tuesday.

“We affirm President Aquino’s vision of a government that creates jobs at home, so that working abroad will be a choice rather than a necessity,” said Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. at a briefing with reporters.

Coloma said the government has created programs to create and increase employment opportunities for professionals and skilled workers through Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines.

“These are in tandem with similar programs in the country to create manufacturing-based and more highly remunerative jobs,” he said.

Remittances still welcome

Despite this, Coloma said growth in remittances remains a welcome development as it will definitely bolster economic growth.

“The government recognizes the importance of these remittances in bolstering the country’s foreign currency reserves, boosting consumer spending, and supporting overall economic growth,” he said.

On Monday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said cash remittances or money sent through banks and transfer agents rose by 5.9 percent to $1.799 billion from $1.699 billion in the same comparable period.

Personal remittances – which include transfers in cash and in kind through banks and hand-carried deliveries – totaled $2.002 billion in October, up 6.8 percent.

Last year, cash remittances grew 6.4 percent to $22.760 billion, exceeding central bank projection of 5 percent for the year.

Govt programs

According to Coloma, DOLE has implemented the P2-billion national reintegration program administered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), which has already created 4,000 jobs for returning overseas Filipino workers since 2011.

Land Bank of the Philippines, on the other hand, has granted and released total loans amounting to P632.5 million for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

These SMEs include businesses on general merchandising, groceries, water purifying stations, auto supply, hardware, trucking, and ready-to-wear, as well as agriculture-based enterprises such as grains trading, piggery, poultry, agriculture supplies, post-harvest, bakery, fruits and vegetables farming, copra trading, and fisheries. — Danessa O. Rivera/KBK, GMA News