Unbelievable Reported Increase in Employment Rate Smells of Aquinorroyo – GWP REP. EMMI DE JESUS

“President Aquino has learned well his lesson in deception from ex-President Gloria Arroyo. We are all familiar with the previous administration’s penchant for tweaking statistics to desperately paint a rosy picture of her “achievements.” We now see this trickery being put to use by the Aquino administration as well in its reported increase in the employment rate,” GWP Rep. Emmi De Jesus said on the NSO report that says the country’s employment rate improved in April 2012.

“We should not be deceived by these numbers because majority of those reported as being employed are actually self-employed. These are hard-working Filipinos who, in the face of the lack of opportunities for regular salaried employment, make ends meet by working as tricycle drivers, sidewalk vendors, helpers, and other odd jobs. Their income can barely make both ends meet. They could hardly send their children to school, and sacrifice their health needs to give way to more basic survival needs such as a daily serving of noodles and rice. They are also the ones who can hardly access basic social services – education, health and housing,” explained the Gabriela solon.

“If it is indeed true that the country now is enjoying a “robust economy” resulting to this dramatic increase in employment and therefore decreased number of the unemployed, then why does the Aquino administration have to ask Congress to further increase the CCT budget by 30%?” asked De Jesus.

“So long as Noynoy Aquino denies workers their just demands for a P125 salary increase, and so long as the Philippines does not develop its own national industry, this reported increase in employment rate is just a number that poor Filipino workers cannot feed to their children,” ended De Jesus.###