By Pearl Gumapos
Among its many goals, the Duterte administration lifted six million Filipinos out of poverty during the first two years since President Rodrigo Duterte took his oath of office.
“’Yung ating pangako na maiangat ang anim na milyong Pilipino mula sa poverty ay na-achieve po natin in the year 2018, four years ahead of our schedule. Dahil sa mga reporma natin ay four years ahead of schedule tayo,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Sec. Karl Chua said on “Talk To The People” last Tuesday (Sept. 7).
“Nagsimula ang Duterte administration noong 2016 na may hangarin na by 2022, maiangat natin ang anim na milyong Pilipino mula sa kahirapan at maging isang upper middle income country. By 2040 po, ang hangarin natin dulot ng ating mga reporma ay wala na pong magugutom at magiging high-income country ang ating bansa,” Chua said.
Chua reported that for the administration’s socio-economic goals to prosper, the zero to ten-point socioeconomic agenda was included in the Philippine Development Plan 2017 to 2022.
It served as a guide on how to uplift the country’s economy.
Meanwhile, one of the biggest contributions of NEDA to the Duterte administration, Chua said, was its strong economic management.
“Tatlo po ‘yung gusto po nating maramdaman ng ating kapwa Pilipino. Ito ‘yung pagbaba ng presyo, ‘yung may trabaho, at sapat na kita,” Chua said.
“Sa unang apat na taon ng inyong administrasyon, naka-record po tayo ng isa sa mga pinakamataas na economic growth rate. Ang average po ay 6.6% mula 2016 to 2019 bago pumasok ang COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
There was also history’s lowest recorded rate of unemployment, underemployment, and poverty.
“In terms of job creation, kahit nasa pandemya po tayo, binabalanse natin ang COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 concerns ng ating mga kababayan. 2.5 million jobs ang na-create natin since the start of the pandemic. Ito po ay bago pumasok ang Delta variant,” Chua said.
“In terms of socio-economic growth rate, itong 6% average growth na nakita natin ay unti-unti na nating nararamdaman. Malaki ang na-improve natin sa ating GDP growth nitong second quarter with an 11.8% GDP growth,” he added. – bny
