Malacañang said the government has set its sights on achieving rapid economic growth via the new Philippine Development Plan (PDP) in its bid to slash the poverty rate to 9 percent by 2028.
During its meeting with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. last Tuesday, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the implementation of the 2023-2028 PDP is expected to help reduce poverty incidence to a single digit by the end of the president’s term.
Based on the latest government data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the country’s poverty rate is currently at 18.1 percent.
Among the salient points of the pending new PDP are measures to foster faster economic development and the creation of more quality jobs.
“This is part of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 of the Marcos administration, which sets the government’s eight-point program and contains targets and actionable plans that will help the country pursue a greener economy and more sustainable, affordable and livable residential areas in the next six years,” the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said in a statement issued last Tuesday.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said they expect to release the new PDP by next month.
He said the Marcos administration is keen on releasing the new PDP earlier, in contrast to the practice of previous administrations, to encourage government agencies to align their goals before they roll out their programs next year.
“Every year, we will provide a report to the President and how the plan is being implemented and the performance and the various metrics or targets that have [been] indicated in the plan,” Balisacan said.
NEDA is optimistic that the government will reach its goal of cutting poverty incidence to a single digit as the country is growing faster than expected despite “global headwinds and rising inflation.”
Appointments
Meanwhile, Marcos has appointed a long-time insider of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as the agency’s new commissioner.
In a brief statement issued last Tuesday, the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) named Romeo Lumagui Jr. as new chief of the BIR.
“Lumagui, a tax lawyer, took his oath on Tuesday, November 15,” the OPS said. He replaced former BIR Commissioner Lilia C. Guillermo.
Prior to his new appointment, Lumagui served as the deputy commissioner of the BIR.
He also became technical assistant to the commissioner, and tax fraud head for Revenue Region No. 6, Manila, Revenue Region No. 4, Pampanga, and Revenue Region No. 7B, East National Capital Region (NCR) since he joined BIR in 2016.
During his stint in BIR, he headed several task forces including Assets Recovery, where total collections amounted to P833.69 million, and Direct Selling/Multi-Level Marketing and Investment Scams, where assessments totaled P792.56 million.
The president has also appointed the officer-in-charge of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), Ernesto V. Perez, as the new director general of the said agency.
In a statement issued last Monday evening, the OPS confirmed the designation of Perez.
The new ARTA head has committed to further streamline government operations in line with the priority agenda of Marcos.
“This appointment is really providential, as it would allow us to further continue what we have always aspired for from the very start, that is, to remove red tape and increase the ease of doing business, ultimately benefiting the economy and the people,” Perez said.
Perez replaced Atty. Jeremiah Belgica who served from July 2019 to June 2022.
He started his stint in ARTA as its first ever employee on December 1, 2018.
Before his stint in ARTA, he also served as Assistant Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry.