It’s good. The Aquino administration is reviewing and updating the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016. Hopefully, as new plans and programs are incorporated into it, the updated PDP will prioritize with great urgency the creation of millions of jobs and livelihood opportunities for Filipinos nationwide.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) memorandum of March 25 said that the PDP midterm update “shall also contain policies and strategies on where the priorities and focus of the government should be in order to sustain the country’s improving economic performance and expedite the achievement of an inclusive growth.” This means government wants sustained increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with jobs and livelihood reaching the poorest sectors of society.
NEDA, in a briefing paper, has already listed ten sectors where the potential jobs are. These are: agribusiness/ forest-based industries, business process outsourcing/ information technology, electronics, housing, infrastructure, logistics, mining, shipbuilding, tourism and other high growth industries (wearables, garments, homestyle products, motor vehicle parts and components). We expect that the updated plans will show jobs growth registered in these sectors in the coming year.
The PDP midterm update must be completed soonest, especially in view of the latest report by the National Statistics Office (NSO), which indicate a fast-growing labor force, 40.9 million workers in April 2013, up from 40.8 million in January 2013. Even more urgent is the number of unemployed in the Philippines, which in April this year rose to 7.5% of the labor force, the highest in three years. This means there were 3.09 million Filipinos without jobs as of April 2013, up from 2.89 million unemployed in January 2013.
The underemployment rate is also significantly high, double- digit at 19.2% in April 2013, although slightly lower than January’s 20.9%. It still means 7.25 million underemployed workers in April, down from 7.93 million underemployed in January. The high rate of unemployed and underemployed together point to joblessness as the critical agenda that must be quickly and urgently addressed.
I hope that President Noynoy Aquino will discuss this update in his State of the Nation Address at the opening of the Congress this July even as he reports to the nation his accomplishments in the past years. I hope and pray that the President, expressing a high sense of urgency, will present specific plans and programs on how jobs and livelihood will be generated before his term ends in 2016. The President will do well if he can be more specific with target number of jobs and timelines on the plans and programs and the government officials who will carry them out in collaboration with the private sector.
Joblessness is the main reason why our people are mired in poverty and all its ugly manifestations: homelessness, hunger, ignorance, disease, lack of peace and order, and social and family divide. We should prioritize and solve joblessness soonest.

Source: Manila Bulletin - June 15, 2013