The government announces the hiring of 93,000 more unemployed Filipinos mainly for its P1.77- million roadside maintenance program.

Good for the jobless, good for the economy!
***
National Anti-poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Domingo Panganiban says that the job provision will be pursued on orders of the President under the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP).

More jobs from CLEEP and less “kleptos” in our midst..
***
“We are still in the thick of what is probably the worst economic slump in modern history,” hence the need for employment assistance, Panganiban explains.

Yes Kapitan Inggo, let’s not slump but soar!
***
Likewise, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (WPC) calls on employers to grant non-wage benefits to their workers in the absence of wage/salary increases.

Non-wage benefits are better than empty promises.
***
“We are reminding employers, if they have the capacity to grant non-wage benefits like rice subsidy that could help their workers, particularly those in typhoon-affected areas,” appeals NWPC Executive Secretary Ciriaco Lagunzad.

Yes to bags of rice so they could remove sandbags and live on.
***
While wage hikes is the preference of workers, compelling SMEs to grant wage adjustments may force them to close, says Lagunzad..

Let’s think win-win. Let both employees and employers survive the financial crisis and the calamities.
***
Meanwhile, BIR reports poor tax collection and a revenue shortfall of P39 billion, forcing BIR Commissioner Sixto Esquivias to tender his resignation.

Hard times and graft and corruption may have triggered poor tax collections.
***
But on the other hand, remittances from the nine million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) continue to increase to fuel economic growth over the next seven years, notes ADB President Reynaldo David.

Hooray to more remittances from Makabagong Bayanis!