THE PHILIPPINES — MANILA, Philippines — Malacanang is preparing an executive order to institutionalize efforts to address the pandemic's rising incidence of unemployment.

The government, according to Secretary of the Cabinet Karlo Nograles, wants to ensure that Filipinos who lost their jobs last year will be able to reclaim them this year.
According to Nograles, the government is encouraging Filipinos to start their businesses while continuing to support existing and new businesses.
“An executive order is being prepared to institutionalize the NERS Task Force to oversee all of these efforts,” Nograles said, referring to the National Employment Recovery Strategy, which will be implemented from 2021 to 2022.

As a result of the pandemic, Nograles claims that unemployment peaked in April at 17.6% or 7.2 million people.
“While we were able to reduce it to 8.7% in October, we recognize that a well-coordinated national strategy can help create a policy environment that encourages the creation of more jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities, improves worker employability and productivity, and provides support to existing and emerging businesses,” Nograles added.
To help businesses grow faster, Nograles said the administration is working to improve the country's internet interconnectivity.

He stated, "The ultimate goal is to connect the Filipino people and provide the means for our kababayan to not only survive but thrive in the digital age."

The NERS Task Force, according to Nograles, was formed as part of the administration's unemployment-reduction strategy.
The Department of Labor, the Department of Trade and Industry, and TESDA are co-chairing the task force.

The emphasis on the need for a whole-of-government approach to help create jobs and encourage more investments is one of the policy considerations that the NERS Task Force included.
Concerned agencies are working on making testing requirements more affordable to resurrect the tourism industry, according to Nograles.

Despite Duterte's rejection of a proposal to impose a modified general community quarantine across the country, Nograles said the government would continue to work to improve the economy.
Competence at work
Officials and employees of the government have been urged to take advantage of the online learning program to improve their job skills.
Many organizations have started offering webinars and online training courses as a result of the pandemic, according to the Civil Service Commission (CSC), making learning more accessible, convenient, and affordable.

It stated that to meet the expected performance levels and continue to provide effective public service, civil servants must regularly enrich their knowledge or upgrade their competencies.
According to the CSC, agencies are responsible for developing a learning and development program that will address workforce competency gaps.

Due to the pandemic's consequences, the CSC saw the need to expedite the implementation of its e-learning program as a public-sector training institution.
Since June, it has been offering online courses. Its Civil Service Institute (CSI) and regional offices are holding webinars on civil service policies for government agencies, some of which are free of charge, using videoconferencing apps and social media.
 
The CSI's list of Aldis, which can be found at csi.csc.gov.ph, is updated regularly.