Gov’t must ensure jobs from Saudi investments, say labor organizations
By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE government should ensure that recent investment deals with Saudi Arabian business leaders translate into more jobs for Filipinos and domestic job creation, labor groups said over the weekend.
The Presidential Communications Office announced last Friday that a Philippine business delegation signed investment deals with Saudi business leaders worth more than $4.2 billion.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the deals would create over 15,000 jobs for Filipino job seekers.
In a Viber message on Sunday, Jose “Sonny” G. Matula, president of the Federation of Free Workers, said: “The prospect of 15,000 jobs, with an estimated value of over $120 million, may sound promising on the surface, but it is essential to approach this news with a dose of skepticism.”
He said the government must elaborate on how the deals would generate more jobs for Filipinos in Saudi Arabia.
“The fate of the 15,000 jobs and their impact on the Filipino workforce will depend on the successful execution of these deals, which, at this point, are shrouded in uncertainty,” Mr. Matula added.
In a separate Viber message, Josua T. Mata, secretary general of the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), said the government must weigh the social costs of a “mass exportation” of skilled workers on the Philippine economy.
“It is true this will mean more jobs for workers, but what happened to the promise that migration would only be one of the options for our workers?” he said.
The Palace said that Saudi investors also showed a “warm response” to Mr. Marcos’ pitch for the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), which aims to boost the country’s economic growth.
The country’s first sovereign wealth fund is expected to generate about 100,000 direct and indirect jobs as its initial capitalization becomes fully paid in over the first 10 years of operations, according to the Department of Finance.
The Bayan Muna party-list and Senator Aquilino Martin D. Pimentel III last month challenged the MIF’s legality before the Supreme Court, as the said Congress rushed its approval, “short-circuiting” the process outlined in the Constitution.
“Other than the issue of constitutionality, a cloud of uncertainty looms over these developments as the President himself has suspended the Maharlika Funds implementing rules, adding to the concerns about the practicality and effectiveness of these investment opportunities,” Mr. Matula said.
Last week, the President ordered a slowing down in the implementation of the MIF to give authorities time to put up the necessary safeguards, a move that Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said was a good exercise of “prudence.”
