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House bill seeks insurance for displaced workers


House Deputy Minority Leader Stella Quimbo has refiled a proposed measure seeking the creation of a national insurance program for displaced workers.

Quimbo, who represents Marikina's second district, said House Bill 490 seeks to extend unemployment insurance benefits to displaced workers for a period of three months.

In a television interview, Quimbo said her proposal can be compared to PhilHealth.

"Kumbaga sa PhilHealth na pag nagkasakit ka ay sasagutin ng PhilHealth, dito naman sasagutin ng programa ang iyong [pangangailangan] habang naghahanap ka ng trabaho," she said on Unang Balita.

"Three months lang dahil ayon naman sa datos, 'yun ang average period of time nang paghahanap ng trabaho pag nawawalan ng trabaho ang isang Filipino," she added.

(With PhilHealth, it will pay the medical fees of its member. Under my proposed program, an employee who loses his or her job will receive cash for three months. Three months because according to data, the average time for job hunting among Filipinos is thre months.)

Under HB 490,  Quimbo said workers affected by unforeseen circumstances such as their company’s sudden closure will be covered by the insurance benefit. Those who will resign from their jobs, meanwhile, are not covered.

The monthly contribution for the insurance will be shared by the employee, employer, and the government, she added. The collected funds will be managed by a state-run insurance body to be called “PhilJobs,” but Quimbo said the Social Security System may supervise it for the first five years of the law’s implementation.

Asked what would happen if the employee won't be able to get a job after three months, Quimbo said: "Kasama sa programa ang paninigurado na makahanap siya within three months. Kasama diyan ang job placements, job fair, at pinakaimportante ang training."

(The program includes ensuring that the worker will find another job in three months. These include job placements, job fairs, and training.)

First filed in 2020, Quimbo said the proposed legislation was initially intended to help workers hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. —Sundy Locus/KBK, GMA News

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