Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick . Chua said effective management of risks from the coronavirus pandemic will allow an efficient steering of the economy back to its pre-pandemic level health by next year.
Speaking before foreign chambers of commerce recently, Chua highlighted the economy’s 7.1-percent uptick in the third quarter as a result of government policies — the shift to the alert level system and granular lockdowns, removal of age restrictions on mobility and pilot opening of face-to-face schooling, as well as the increase in transport capacity to 75 to 100 percent — in expressing optimism about a swift rebound.
Improvements in the manufacturing production, external trade, public infrastructure spending, employment and mobility also point to the recovery of key sectors, Chua noted.
“If we can perform at this level in the third quarter despite the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) and MECQ (modified ECQ), we can expect even better performance in the fourth quarter of 2021. Our economic growth remains promising and we need to build on these gains to accelerate recovery, and prevent long-term scarring and productivity losses,” Chua said.
To further expedite the recovery, efforts must be made to reduce the artificial barriers to vaccination, and expand the vaccination drive to children from age 5 and above in the appropriate time, he added.
“The second is moving to Alert level 1 by January 2022, which will require everyone’s adherence to the minimum health standards especially during the holiday season,” he said.
“The third is implementing the resumption of face-to-face classes for all schools in January 2022, with consideration to the lessons learned during the pilot classes conducted in selected areas,” Chua added.
According to Chua, efforts must also be made to increase public transport capacity to 100 percent for all transport types to ease public transport stations, while streamlining all requirements for local and international travel to improve mobility.
“The data on our progress is likely to improve further if we focus on the safe reopening of the economy alongside the intensified vaccination drive, and reduce the barriers to mobility to allow the free movement of people,” he said.
Chua e said the government needs proper planning for innovation to make its systems more resilient against future crises.
This is made more imperative by the government’s goals under the AmBisyon Natin 2040, which aims for a “a strongly rooted, comfortable, and secure life” for Filipinos.
Speaking at a Department of Science and Technology (DOST) ceremony for its 30-year comprehensive plan for use of science and technology to drive innovation, Pagtanaw 2050, Chua noted several nations, such as Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, that have adopted “foresight” into their Science, Technology and Innovation planning, and institutionalized this concept in their policy-making process.
He said these countries recognize the need for innovative products and their underlying drivers, such as blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing.
“Following the experiences of other countries, we also aspire to improve our Global Innovation Index ranking by encouraging more research, development, and adaptation of new technologies,” Chua said.
He added Pagtanaw 2050 will complement the National Innovation Strategy, a 10-year foresight plan that aims to weave and harmonize existing policies and strategies with the evolving innovation ecosystem.
These strategies will be monitored by the newly established National Innovation Council (NIC), the highest innovation policy-making body in the country.
Recognizing the role of innovation in the country’s long-term development, Chua said the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is gearing up for the full implementation of the Philippine Innovation Act.
As vice-chair of the NIC, NEDA has established a full-time innovation staff group and will prioritize innovation as one of the key themes of the next Philippine Development Plan.
“The Philippines will soon be an upper-middle-income country in one or two years, and a high-income country over the next generation. What will underpin and sustain this growth is innovation… We look forward to working with the DOST and our partners in transforming the Philippines through the new lens of strategic foresight planning,” Chua said. – Ruelle Castro
