Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno
shared the government’s
development agenda with
business leaders during
the Chinese-Filipino Business Club Inc. (CFBCI)
Forum with the theme,
“Strengthening Economic Resilience and Sustainability: Charting the
Path Towards Inclusive
Growth,” on April 19, 2023
at the Century Park Hotel,
Manila.
“ H i g h – q u a l i t y,
digitally-driven, 21st century job creation will be the
cornerstone of our economic revitalization. For
this, we will invest heavily in high-impact sectors:
digitalization, human capital development, and infrastructure,” he said in his
keynote message to the
Chinese-Filipino business
community.
According to
Secretary Diokno, this
strategy requires heavy financing, which calls for a
robust fiscal policy framework.
The economic
team introduced the Philippines’ first-ever Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) to be used
as a roadmap to attain
macro-fiscal stability and
to support the Marcos, Jr.
administration’s plans for
economic recovery.
The MTFF will
bring down the deficit-toGDP ratio to 3.0 percent
by 2028, debt-to-GDP ratio to less than 60 percent
by 2025, and sustain infrastructure spending at 5 to
6 percent of GDP annually.
“The Marcos Jr.
administration recognizes
that true economic and social transformation is only
possible through the cooperation of every sector of
the economy,” Secretary
Diokno said.
With this, the
government has made
public-private partnerships
(PPPs) more efficient by
revising the Implementing
Rules and Regulations
(IRR) of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law.
This clarified provisions on
processing infrastructure
or development projects
to arrive at the real cost
of the project to the government, consumers, and
taxpayers.
Secretary Diokno
also noted that the revised
IRR includes inputs from
the private sector and civil
society to ensure that the
benefits and risks of PPP
projects are equitably distributed among parties,
while safeguarding national interest.
On March 9, the
National Economic and
Development Authority
(NEDA) Board approved
194 high-impact Infrastructure Flagship Projects
(IFPs), with a combined
value of PHP9 trillion.
“Among the projects in the IFP list are three
priority bridges crossing
the Pasig-Marikina River
and Manggahan Floodway. This project would
not have been possible
without the support of the
Government of the People’s Republic of China,”
Secretary Diokno said.
Last January,
the DOF and China Eximbank signed four loan
agreements amounting to
US$202 million or RMB1.4
billion to finance the priority bridges, namely the
North and South Harbor
Bridge, Palanca-Villegas
Bridge, and East-West
Bank Bridge 2.
This will provide
additional fixed links and
alternative routes crossing
the river and the floodway
and will ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
“Aside from physical connectivity, we are
also working to upgrade
our digital infrastructure.
The pandemic has made it
clear that traditional ways
of doing business will not
survive the industry of tomorrow,” Secretary Diokno said.
The House of
Representatives recently
approved the E-Governance Bill on third and final reading. The measure
seeks to institutionalize
the use of information and
communication technologies and emerging technologies to improve the efficiency of public services.
The bill is expected to enhance the ease
of doing business in the
country and improve public trust in the government.
“As business
leaders, I invite you to
work with the Philippine
government in building
a dynamic and thriving
economy that our people
deserve,” Secretary Diokno said in closing. DOF.
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