Hontiveros urges appointment of 'balik-trabaho' czar amid COVID-19 pandemic

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday urged Malacañang to appoint a "balik-trabaho" czar who would focus on addressing the unemployment of many Filipinos amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This, as she claimed that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III previously denied having such a role.

"Tutal mahilig ang Malacañang sa pag-aappoint ng czar sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng COVID-19 response, sana ay may italaga din na ‘Balik Trabaho Czar,'" she said in a statement.

"When I last spoke with Secretary Silverstre Bello III of the Department of Labor and Employment, he told me na hindi daw niya assignment ang employment preservation o employment creation. Then whose job is it? Who is in-charge?" she added.

The "balik-trabaho" czar shall have a hands-on approach in connecting unemployed Filipinos to new and viable means of employment or livelihood, according to Hontiveros.

"The unemployment crisis may not be an infectious disease like COVID-19, but it is spreading fast like one in communities nationwide. This is an urgent problem that seriously needs utmost attention from government," she added.

GMA News Online reached out to Bello for comment but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.

The unemployment rate in the Philippines reached a record-high 17.7 percent in April amid the strict lockdowns imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This was equivalent to 7.3 million unemployed adult individuals.

The rate eased to 10 percent in July which is equivalent to 4.6 million unemployed adult individuals.

To ramp up the pandemic response, the government has previously appointed COVID-19 testing czar Vince Dizon, contact tracing czar Benjamin Magalong, isolation czar Mark Villar, and treatment czar Leopoldo Vega. -MDM, GMA News