The National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) and Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) and Provincial Government of Bulacan in collaboration of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) kicked-off the vaccination program for construction and manufacturing sectors held at the Hiyas Pavilion, Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center on Thursday.
DOLE Usec. Benjo Santos Benavidez, Asec. Warren Miclat, Governor Daniel Fernando graced the launching of the vaccination program for initial 1,000 informal workers out of 10,000 vaccinees alloted in Bulacan province.
The program was in line with the commitment of the NERS Task Force to facilitate vaccines for workers under the “Reform. Rebound. Recover: 1 Million Jobs for 2021” project between NERS and ECOP.
Usec. Benavidez said the event will be among the project’s vaccination kick-off after the approval of the National Task Force against Covid-19 of the request for 452,000 vaccines for workers.
It aims to immediately source Filipino talents for deployment in the construction, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, and export industries, under a policy environment that would help create jobs all over the country.
“Mababalik ang magandang ekonomiya kung ang ating mga manggagawa mula sa mga pribadong sektor ay bakunado at masisiguro natin na tayo ay makakabalik sa trabaho,” said Benavidez.
He added that the vaccine program will prioritize first the members of the Philippine Constructor Association Inc. (PCAI) and will not exclude other non-member private contractors and manufacturers wherein it is open for all in this particular sector.
According to Engineer Noel Mariano of PCAI, the 1,000 workers who were initially inoculated were came from 18 private companies.
“The vaccine program will prioritize first the members of the PCAI but definitely this project will not exclude other non-members from private contractors and manufacturers and it is actually open for all in this particular sector,” Mariano added.
For his part, Fernando said that among the affected individuals of the implementation of quarantine and series of lockdown due of pandemic are these workers.
“Malaking oportunidad para sa lahat, kailangan natin ng proteksyon kaya naman once na mabakunahan nang laht ang mga manggagawa sa tulong ng mga pangunahing ahensiya ng gobyerno tulad ng DOLE ay it will again generates 1 million jobs for 2021 and 2022,” the governor said.
He expressed his gratitude to DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Secretary Carlito Galvez for the 10,000 vaccines alloted and approved by the national IATF for construction and manufacturing industry in Bulacan as it will be a good news also to those displaced Bulakenyo workers.
The vaccination activity for 10,000 workers is expected to be completed in the next 2 months or before the end of the year depends on the availability of the vaccines.
Usec Benavidez also said that the program was launched in the City of Manila and kicked-off in Bulacan the first province in Central Luzon.
It was learned that the next activity is on Sept 29 which will be held in the provincial government of Bataan with another 10,000 workers to be inoculated.