some caveats:
This type of stimulus is actually more of a way to help the poorest of the poor survive. A way to transfer necessary cash so the super below poverty line people have a way to feed themselves. This makes me think that it is more aptly called a poverty aleviation stopgap.
The AFP called the government department, ministries. This probably means that the editor/copy editor/proof reader forgot that this is going to be read by filipinos. If they were aiming for a more International bent and that caused them to change departments to ministry, I feel that they should not have.
The environmentalist in me is very happy!
The realist fears most money would go to corruption.
Jobless Filipinos to plant trees
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 19:54:00 02/12/2009
Filed Under: Unemployment, Forest and forest management, Environmental Issues
MANILA, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is to pay 180,000 people to plant trees across the archipelago as part of efforts to ease the fallout from the global economic meltdown, the government said Thursday.
The P7 billion ($148.7 million) program, to be put in place over the next six months, will be funded by government ministries, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told reporters.
More than 15,000 people have lost their jobs in the Philippines over the past two months, mostly in the crucial electronics and garments sectors, amid plunging demand for Filipino exports.
Jobless Filipinos to plant trees – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.
Giancarlo Angulo's Blog