DOLE states 69,022 Jobless After COVID Shuts Down 2,068 Companies

During a Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that 69,022 workers have been displaced because of the virus leading to 2,068 establishments closing down.

To assist displaced informal workers, Bello added the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) was planning on expanding its emergency employment program from 10 days to up to 6 months work.

As for formal workers, DOLE could offer 25-50% wage subsidy as long as employers do not release their employees.

Bello also said that over 321,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW’s) were also affected by the virus with over more than half of them opting to “stay where they are now.”

This statement directly goes against the claims made by the Philippine Statistics Authority stating that the jobless figure is closer to 7.3 million. Bello claims these figures are based on survey and not actual figures.

The Workers’ groups Sentro, Federation of Free Workers and Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines contradict Bello, warning that the country can’t recover economically because the labor secretary has “refused to confront the reality” that millions had actually lost their jobs.