A March 29, 2011 press release by the National Economic and Development AuthorityThe National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board approved the adoption of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 during yesterday’s meeting at Malacañan Palace.
The NEDA Board, chaired by President Benigno S. Aquino III and co-chaired by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr., is the country’s highest development planning and policy coordinating body. Composed of different Cabinet Secretaries, the President of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, the Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the Deputy Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the NEDA Board is supported by the NEDA Secretariat headed by Paderanga as Director-General.
Paderanga said that the overarching theme of the PDP 2011-2016 is good governance and anti-corruption in achieving inclusive growth, which creates massive employment opportunities and significantly reduces poverty.
“Inclusive growth, not the trickle-down and jobless growth that we had in the past years, is the primary aim of the Plan,” said Paderanga.
Paderanga noted that the PDP 2011-2016 translates the President’s “Social Contract with the Filipino People” into effective, efficient and inclusive interventions that will guide government agencies.
During the NEDA Board meeting, Paderanga presented the summary of the Plan’s 10 chapters (see Appendix 1) that focus on the following five crosscutting key strategies:
(a) boosting competitiveness to generate employment; (b) improving access to financing; (c) investing massively in physical infrastructure; (d) promoting transparent and responsive governance; and (e) developing human resources through improved social services.
“To achieve inclusive growth, the country needs to achieve a high and sustained growth path, provide equal access to development opportunities across social spectrums, and implement responsive social safety nets that would assist those who are left behind by the character of growth,” said Paderanga.
The Socioeconomic Planning Secretary said that among the key targets of the PDP for the next six years are an annual economic growth of 7-8 percent and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs (see Appendix 2).
The MDGs are a set of specific and time-bound development goals committed by international governments to be achieved by 2015.
Paderanga said that the Plan was developed with inputs not only from government agencies and local government units, but also from civil society organizations and private organizations.
“This is consistent with Memorandum Circular No. 3, which directed NEDA to coordinate the preparation of the medium-term plan in a consultative manner,” said the NEDA Director-General.
After the Plan’s approval, Paderanga said government agencies are now gearing up for its implementation, in which a critical element is the national budget.
“NEDA and the Department of Budget and Management have been working on ensuring that the budget is supportive of the Plan’s priorities and targets,” said Paderanga.
He added that agencies’ respective programs and projects that will support the PDP will be incorporated in the upcoming Public Investment Program (PIP) 2011-2016, which is the PDP’s companion document.
APPENDIX I
Chapters of the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016
1. Introduction
2. Macroeconomic Policy
3. Competitive Industry and Services Sectors
4. Competitive and Sustainable Agriculture and Fisheries Sector
5. Accelerating Infrastructure Development
6. Towards a Dynamic and Resilient Financial System
7. Good Governance and the Rule of Law
8. Social Development
9. Peace and Security
10. Conservation, Protection and Rehabilitation of the Environment and Natural Resources Towards Sustainable Development
APPENDIX II
Key Targets for Inclusive Growth in the PDP 2011-2016
Poverty incidence
- 16.6% in 2015, from 33.1% in 1991
Employment creation
- Annual average of 1 million jobs
- Annual average labor force growth of 2.75%
Unemployment rate
- 6.8-7.2%
Investment-to-GDP ratio
- 22% by 2016
Other MDGs by 2015
100% participation of school-age children in primary education
1:1 ratio of girls to boys in primary education and 50% share of women in nonagricultural wage employment
26.7 under-five mortality per 1,000 live births
52 maternal mortality per 100,000 live births
- Zero prevalence of malaria and tuberculosis
No comments:
Post a Comment