MikeLigalig.com

PAL is laying off 3,000 employees. Maybe, 500 more. PLDT announced it planned to cut 1,200 employees. Globe Telecom just reported a 24% decline in profits and may follow PLDT. Keihin Philippines, a Japanese car parts manufacturing firm has decided to close its Laguna Technopark facility at Biñan Laguna. Thousands of employees and consultants have been dismissed from their government jobs. More will be laid off if the proposed budget cuts of several departments are approved by Congress. Thousands of farmers who are typhoon victims will have no income this year. Many countries are reducing hiring and entry of foreign workers. Thousands of kuliglig (tricycle) drivers will be jobless by December 1 when they will be banned in Manila streets. Phil Export President Sergio Ortiz Luis Jr. reported that BPO centers are transferring expansion plans to Indonesia because of the strong peso. There are 200,000 unemployed registered nurses.

Many voted for P-Noy hoping to find jobs under him. It certainly wouldn’t happen this year or in 2011. The promised 43,000 jobs generated by his US visit two months ago are still up in the air and may materialize only in three to five years. The so-called public private partnership projects will also materialize not earlier than three years.

This is one of the major causes of US President Barack Obama’s shellacking in the recent US midterm elections. He has not created enough jobs for Americans. On the contrary, hundreds of thousands lost their jobs.

Malacañang says that P-Noy should not be compared to Barack Obama. After all, he has been in office only five months. Maybe true, but nothing has been announced so far on a positive job creation program. Economic planners are still asking, Where’s the roadmap?

Certainly, the bad peace and order situation now highlighted by travel advisories issued by six countries is not going to convince new foreign investors to come in and create new jobs. In its latest report, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation said doing business in the Philippines is not easy. It’s easier in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.



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