Over 75,000 Filipinos have found new jobs through President Arroyo’s emergency employment program even as she has overseen plans for massive additional investments into the government’s efforts to ensure employment opportunities for poor folk , the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) announced recently.

NAPC Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban said that the number of unemployed Filipinos that have landed jobs under the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) increased from 64,000 workers in late February to 75,016 workers as of March this year.

“The latest reports from the field indicate that around 11,000 more Filipinos were hired to work on CLEEP projects between February 25 and March 23 of this year,” Panganiban said.

The NAPC chief said that the government’s total budget outlay for the emergency jobs effort has also seen a significant increase as more national agencies have started implementing various projects under the nationwide program.

A report issued by the NAPC macro-policy unit says that the Arroyo administration’s plans as of March this year call for a total P10.6 billion in public investments for the CLEEP, up by P1.6 billion from the P9 billion planned allotments in February.

“Most of the recent financial allocations have come from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), led by Secretary Lito Atienza, and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which is headed by Secretary Marianito Roque,” Panganiban said.

He said the bulk of the newly hired workers are now employed under the forestry and environmental protection programs of the DENR and the Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) and Integrated Services for Livelihood Advancement of Fisherfolk (ISLA) programs of DOLE.