President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Executive Order (EO) No. 140 adopting the National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) as his administration’s master plan for boosting the labor market, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.
About 700,000 Filipino workers have yet to return to their jobs even after movement restrictions were eased to the general community quarantine (GCQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR) Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan, also known as “NCR-Plus,” the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Monday.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) “in distress” could be exempted from releasing the 13th month pay to their employees.
“Ako po’y nagagalak na hindi tayo 100 percent nawalan ng trabaho, kasi sa tagal po na nakalockdown tayo, I’m still surprised at our resilience, at 45 percent pa lang po ang nawawalan ng trabaho,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said in a virtual presser.