GLOBAL POLITICS & CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

Llanera, Jafet B. The Contemporary World

BSME 1-3 October 28, 2021
Term Paper
Covid 19 - the global challenge astounded everyone around the globe. Its
massive influence has been and continues to be a source of concern for each of us
on a daily basis. The life we are accustomed to is now diametrically opposed to what
we are used to. Person-to-person lessons were canceled, the unemployment rate
rose, and our economy plummeted in a flash. The Philippine government promptly
announced a statewide lockdown due to the threat of covid-19 to public health. As a
result, a surge in the number of unemployed Filipino nationals during the lockdown
has become one of the country's current economic issues.
The Philippine economy was one of the most severely harmed by the
pandemic, because of the required efforts that the country had to take. They put the
country on lockdown and closed large facilities to prevent the virus from spreading,
forcing every Filipino family to stay in their homes and lose income for the time being.
As a result, the country's economy has suffered a significant decrease, and the
unemployment rate has risen. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (2021),
as the Philippines' economy recovered from the COVID-19 recession, the
unemployment rate fell drastically to 6.9% in the September quarter of 2021, down
from 10% a year earlier. Unemployed people fell by 1.49 thousand to 3.07 million,
while employed people increased by 3.65 thousand to 41.67 million. In the meantime,
the labor force participation rate dropped to 59.8 percent in the third quarter, down
from 61.9 percent the previous quarter. Workers in the services sector accounted for
50.7 percent of all employed people, followed by those in agriculture (28.3%), and
industry (27.3%). (20.9 percent).1 We can see how much the pandemic have caused
us in the last few months by looking at these numbers. However, thanks to
immunizations, we now have protection against Covid-19. By this, I recommend that
the government open some of its tourist attractions and allow some of the businesses
to reopen and prioritize its former employees, as this will benefit a large number of
people, particularly those who rely on it. But, first and foremost, the government
should implement a policy that changes the qualities that must be met in order for
people to be hired. Because one of the issues in the Philippines is that you must
have prior experience before you can work, recent graduates find it difficult to get a
job. As a result, the government can pass legislation urging that employers'
qualifications be lowered so that more individuals can be hired. Second, the
government might reallocate some funds to job training programs like TESDA, which
provides work chances to those without a college diploma.
Last but not the least, re-accept some foreign investors who will generate
work possibilities for the Filipinos. One of the country that will provide assistance
regarding this issue is the United States of America. According to Statista Research
Department (2021), in 2020, the leading foreign investor in the Philippines was the
United States, with investments amounting to approximately 35.4 billion Philippine
pesos. This was followed by China with total investments amounting to nearly 16
billion Philippine pesos.2 As a result, with the support of the aforementioned foreign
1
Philippine Statistics Authority - https://psa.gov.ph/content/unemployment-rate-august-2021-estimated-81-
percent#:~:text=Unemployment%20Rate%20in%20August%202021,8.1%20Percent%20%7C%20Philippine%20
Statistics%20Authority
2
Statista Research Department (September 10, 2021) - https://www.statista.com/aboutus/our-research-
commitment
investors, the Philippines will be able to recover from its current condition. Because it
will increase job prospects and reclaim what Covid-19 has taken away from us.
However, in order for us to achieve this, we must actively participate in the
government's projects and processes. And we can achieve this by vaccinating
people and following health regulations to prevent the virus from spreading, so that
we could resume our lives as they were before the pandemic.
 References
Philippine Statistics Authority (2021) from https://psa.gov.ph/content/unemployment-
rate-august-2021-estimated- 81-
percent#:~:text=Unemployment%20Rate%20in%20August%202021,8.1%20
Percent%20%7C%20Philip pine%20Statistics%20Authority
Statista Research Department (September 10, 2021) retrieved from

https://www.statista.com/aboutus/our-research-commitment