THE country’s next six-year socioeconomic blueprint, the Philippine Development Plan (PDP), could focus on the environment, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said one of the possible recommendations he can make in terms of crafting the PDP is to adopt the theme, “saving our planet, saving our country.”
This is one of the ways that intergenerational fairness can be promoted in the Philippines, he said. In a recent Senate hearing, Chua agreed with Senator Pia Cayetano that achieving intergenerational equity is going to be very important moving forward.
“Neda has that intergenerational aspect in mind. I love that principle. In fact, what we need to do is to cost all our actions today and [determine] how that may benefit or how that may harm the future,” Chua said.
“I’m thinking about the next Philippine Development Plan theme. One idea I had is about saving our planet, saving our country. The best way to give intergenerational equity is to give our children a planet that is better, not worse,” he added.
Chua added that this means Neda also needs to adapt to the times and modernize. With this, the priorities of the oversight agency next year are on five key areas: the country’s economic recovery, smart infrastructure, innovation, regional equity, and climate change.
The Socioeconomic Planning secretary said the Neda will undertake studies, researches, surveys, and craft master plans to support the country’s next planning process.
Chua said he has requested the staff to focus on agriculture, human development, government organization, and the labor market for the next planning process.
He added the Neda will also improve efficiency in terms of governance statistics framework; create a contract price escalation database; study the creative industries; measure awareness and perception with regards to AmBisyon Natin 2040; and tackle non-tariff barriers on food to address the inflation issue today.
Chua added that Neda will also provide macroeconomic analysis for all post-disaster needs assessment, and reformulate the country’s rehabilitation and recovery programs.
The Neda will also spearhead the formulation and implementation of the national innovation agenda and strategy document in line with the Innovation Act.
Chua said the agency will also start working on the SDG acceleration roadmap to allow the Philippines to catch up with the goals given the pandemic. Further, Chua said Neda will also help strengthen Regional Development Council (RDC) proposals and the support to their devolution transition.
“I [also] mentioned the introduction of a unique project ID for all projects, whether emanating from the national or the local level. So we can keep track and monitor and evaluate all the way from the conceptualization to the end of the project, including accounting for the results,” he added.
The Senate Finance Committee earlier endorsed the 2022 budget of the Neda and its attached agencies, at P14.126 billion.
The bulk of the budget will go to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) with P11 billion, followed by the Neda Office of the Secretary with P1.8 billion, and the Commission of Population and Development with P537 million.
The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center has a proposed budget of P217 million; Philippine Institute for Development Studies, P259 million; Tariff Commission, P103 million; the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute, P67 million; and the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency, P36 million.
Image courtesy of Roy Domingo