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Gov’t invests P424 million to create jobs for 21,000 workers

N E W S B R I E F S

02/12/2009

Around 21,000 previously unemployed or underemployed Filipino workers nationwide have found jobs through various government projects as government invested an initial P424.5 million into its Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (Cleep) over the past 15 days alone, the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) has announced.

NAPC Secretary Domingo Panganiban said some 20,958 workers throughout the country have already found new jobs and employment opportunities in the repair and rehabilitation of public health facilities, watershed maintenance and environmental protection programs, as well as micro-finance and cash-for-work projects, among others.

A report issued by the NAPC macro-policy unit indicates that more than 800 households in 2,316 barangays throughout the country have already benefited from the infrastructure and various services produced through the government’s emergency employment program.

“The funds invested into the program from the second week of January to early February this year have come mainly from the savings of agencies such as the Department of Health, the Department of Environment and National Resources, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Agriculture,” Panganiban said.

He said NAPC expects to announce the creation of more jobs for poor and underprivileged workers as more agencies complete their plans under the Cleep. “We will keep the public posted on this matter,” he said.