MANILA – The Makati Business Club (MBC) on Friday commended the service of Filipino front-liners who are helping the country in fighting the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
In its Labor Day message, the business group expressed its gratitude and respect to workers in essential industries that continue to do their job amid the threats of the Covid-19.
“Thank you for providing life-saving medical care; maintaining peace and order, and security; providing national and local government services; producing and selling food, water, medicine, PPE (personal protective equipment), and other necessities; delivering goods through a complex system including ships, ports, trucks, and motorcycles’ providing banking and money transfer services; and operating power, water, telecommunications, and other utilities,” it said.
MBC added that many of these workers are the intended beneficiaries of different programs under the Bayanihan Act such as the emergency subsidy, Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program, Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers, grants for health workers, and assistance for farmers.
With these, the business group asked the government to ease the requirement for recipients like presenting government-issued IDs, which millions of Filipinos do not possess.
“We support their call for alternative verification systems such as using local government and community groups to validate recipient lists and identities,” it added.
MBC reiterated its support for the implementation of the Philippine ID System that will significantly improve the efficiency, transparency, and targeted delivery of public services. This initiative is critical for the government to provide quick response in times of crisis.
The business group also commended President Rodrigo Duterte and Congress for the enactment of the Bayanihan Act that provides wage subsidy program for micro, small, and medium enterprises as well as the 2019 Social Security Act that provides unemployment benefits to Filipinos.
“We urge the government to consider extending the wage subsidy program to other companies, including educational institutions, who are affected by the suspension of classes, so that more workers can keep their jobs and provide for their families, ready to restart the economy in the challenging times ahead,” it said. (PNA)
