THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) has given assurances that projects and programs that address hunger and malnutrition will be included in the country’s upcoming Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
The Neda aims to make history with the upcoming PDP by releasing the plan to the public before the plan starts. It also aims to make it the most inclusive PDP crafted by any administration.
On Thursday, BusinessMirror published a BroaderLook piece on hunger and malnutrition and how these have been the cause for the death of some Filipinos. (Read the full story here: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/07/28/one-nation-undernutrition-when-inequality-brings-death-malnutrition-to-phls-doorsteps/)
“Deaths due to hunger and malnutrition are caused both by poverty and the lack of access to social development services — health and nutrition,” Neda Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie G. Edillon told BusinessMirror.
“The PDP will enumerate strategies to ensure food security — availability, affordability and access — through improved agriculture productivity, efficient transport and logistics and resiliency,” she stressed.
Edillon said the PDP may also discuss possible cash transfer programs for the poor and other social safety measures to prevent them from going hungry or left with unhealthy food choices.
She added that the PDP will also discuss supplementary feeding programs to reach the most food insecure such as malnourished and stunted children as well as preventing these by addressing the needs of pregnant and lactating mothers.
“These social development programs, together with programs to create more jobs, quality jobs and green jobs will enable every Filipino family to have sustainable means to a comfortable life, and especially, a healthy life,” Edillon told this newspaper.
During his first State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. tasked Neda to begin coordinating with other government bodies for the production and submission of the PDP before the end of 2022.
The PDP aims to flesh out the 8-point socioeconomic agenda of the Marcos administration that will address constraints to the country’s inclusive and sustainable growth.
The 8-point agenda, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said, will bear government strategies to address short- and long-term development concerns of the country.
“The upcoming PDP aspires for growth that is more inclusive this time compared to previous planning periods so that all Filipinos, including the poor, are given opportunities to participate in the growing economy. That’s our intention, and critical to that is our success in generating high-quality jobs and raising productivity, particularly, in agriculture,” Balisacan said in a statement on Thursday.
Balisacan said such short-term measures will address current issues such as inflation, vulnerability of certain groups of the population to shocks, and the scarring resulting from the pandemic.
Over the longer term, the agenda tackles priorities like job creation and sustaining the 6.5 to 8 percent growth of Gross Domestic Product from 2023-2028 that will be enabled, in part, by the country’s solid macroeconomic fundamentals.
“For the generation of quality employment, we need to address the constraints to rapid and sustainable growth that have been well-identified in various fora and studies by both local and international observers of the Philippine economy. These include issues affecting infrastructure, logistics, energy, digitalization, regulatory measures, and governance,” Balisacan said.
The Neda chief underscored the need to act on problems from both the supply and demand sides of the labor market to cope with unemployment.
On the supply side, Balisacan highlighted increasing the employability of Filipino workers, both for those currently in the labor market and those who will eventually enter the labor force.
On the demand side, he stressed the need to improve the investment climate to open up opportunities for job creation, particularly in manufacturing and the formal services sector.
Neda will be at the forefront in dealing with these constraints by spearheading the formulation of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and reporting to the President and the Cabinet the progress of its implementation. This PDP serves as the Marcos administration’s development blueprint for the medium term.