Senatorial bet Roberto Ballon eyes more jobs in agri-fishery industry
Senatorial candidate Roberto Ballon. File photo.
MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial candidate and Ramon Magsaysay awardee Roberto Ballon on Wednesday said that he would push for programs to create more job opportunities in the agri-fishery industry in the country.
Ballon made this statement in a forum by Multiply-Ed Philippines when asked what changes he would do to address the unemployment crisis and make the K-12 curriculum effective.
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Ballon pointed out that despite the Philippines being an archipelagic and agricultural country, the government continues to import products.
“Why don’t we develop our agri-fishery program? It is not being funded enough and taken seriously. If we have a food shortage, we import,” he said in Filipino.
Stable job opportunities
He also noted that many college graduates do not have stable job opportunities because their environments are not developed enough.
“What I will push is to create laws and programs to create more jobs, especially in the agri-fishery and forestry industry program and policy. I will push for the Magna Carta of the Young Farmers in the Philippines,” he added.
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Ballon, a fisherman, received a Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2021 for his role as a secretary of a fisher’s confederation in Capiz, which focused on rehabilitating mangrove forests and fought to end destructive fishing methods.
He also won the Equator Prize of the United Nations Development Programme in 2023 for his efforts to protect the environment.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the number of unemployed Filipinos decreased from 2.16 million in January to 1.94 million in February. The labor force participation rate, or Filipinos aged 15 years and above actively looking for jobs, was reported at 64.5% in February.
