VP NOLI REPORTS JOB CREATION IN MIMAROPA
March 6, 2009

VICE President Noli de Castro recently reported the creation of jobs for people in the MIMAROPA Region to alleviate the effects of the global financial crisis.

During the Regional Development Council meeting last week, De Castro, who is the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development (CORD) for MIMAROPA, reported that at least 6,000 individuals in the region have been provided jobs through the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program launched by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in October last year. The program is being implemented through various projects such as the roadside maintenance program of the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Upland Development Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Under the Grassroots Entrepreneurship and Employment Tourism or GREET, two tourism-related livelihood projects were also approved that created jobs for 95 people in Palawan.

De Castro also told the MIMAROPA governors and other regional department officials that more projects will be implemented in the coming months to provide safety nets for poor families in the region, especially those affected by the crisis.

At the same time, De Castro challenged the regional government agencies in MIMAROPA to be more pro-active and work faster in implementing their respective projects in the region. He called on DPWH to fast-track the repair and improvement of roads along the nautical highway. Noting that MIMAROPA has a high potential for tourism, he instructed the Department of Tourism to be pro-active and coordinate more closely with the local government executives in identifying and shepherding tourism projects in the region.

De Castro also instructed the Philippine Ports Authority to discuss and resolve with concerned local officials the issues on terminal fees in the Port of Batangas and with Meralco on the power cut-off in the Lucena Port to improve port services.

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