[Acknowledgements]

Ladies and gentlemen, magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat.

On behalf of the National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) Task Force, we welcome this partnership project with the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) to generate one million jobs for 2021. This is a big boost in our work at the NERS Task Force in bringing back lost employment and reinvigorating the labor market with increased economic activities.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s economy was severely affected by the forced closure of businesses due to the strict community quarantine lockdowns that left millions of Filipinos jobless. In response, the government worked hand in hand with the private sector to address and provide a strategic solution to the growing unemployment rate in the country. The partnership that we just signed will be an added contribution to this initiative towards recovery.

We have highlighted in the manifesto the specific responsibilities that we will undertake to achieve our goal. In general, these responsibilities resonate with our objectives in the NERS Task Force. These include: creating a policy environment that encourages generation and improved access to employment, livelihood, and training opportunities; improving employability, wellness, and productivity of workers by taking advantage of the opportunities in the labor market under the “New Normal”; and providing support to existing and emerging businesses to preserve and create employment.

We acknowledge that this is a bold task given the prevailing circumstances. However, we are confident that under the able and strong leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and with the government and employers working together, we can deliver the creation of 1M jobs for 2021.

On behalf of the NERS Task Force, we commit also to delivering the deliverables from the government side and all the programs and policies that you were asking for. We at the NERS Task Force look forward to the fruits of our collaboration with the ECOP and the private sector in general. Through our efforts, we will provide the needed jobs and employment our people need—not only to survive the present pandemic but to thrive and gain a more comfortable and better quality of life in the post-pandemic future.

Maraming salamat po at mabuhay tayong lahat! ♦

Date of Release: 30 June 2021