President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) beneficiaries has reached more than 300,000.
The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) reported that as of August this year the program generated 153,887 new jobs for 304,933 individuals.
NAPC Secretary Domingo Panganiban said the Department of Agriculture (DA) generated the most number of new job opportunities at 89,518, followed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources at 65,377.
CLEEP is the Cabinet’s response to Memorandum Circular 168, which President Arroyo issued on Oct. 23 last year at the height of the global economic slump, wherein the President assigned each of member of her Cabinet to act as steward to a specific region to ensure and oversee CLEEP’s implementation.
Intended beneficiaries were the poor, returning expatriates, workers in the export industry, and out-of-school youths threatened or hurt by reduced or lost income as a consequence of the economic crisis. (OPS/PIA)
