MANILA – National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the agency will update the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) to address the needs of Filipinos under the “new normal”.
Edillon said the public wants to see a healthy and resilient Philippines, according to the result of the online public consultation recently by the agency.
“What we will be doing in a more structured manner is to update the PDP in order to integrate these new normal features as part of the strategies of the PDP, so this will guide the work programs of government agencies for 2021 and also for 2022,” she said in an online briefing Friday.
She added that Filipinos also want to have a more accessible healthcare system.
“Government actually needs to make sure that healthcare is more accessible by building more hospitals, health centers and hiring more health personnel,” she said.
Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the “new normal” will include social distancing, strict hygiene, and sanitation protocol, sporadic lockdown, and looming threats of Covid-19, Edillon mentioned.
On the other hand, she said this pandemic has improved Filipinos’ behavior toward health and expectations on the healthcare system.
“I always keep saying that this is also a new normal for Filipinos because as people, we have very poor healthcare-seeking behavior. I think that’s the reason why we do not regularly visit doctors unless we are really sick,” Edillon said.
“But this one is actually a good new normal for us because we are prioritizing health care and our health,” she added.
She said this demand from the public means greater expectations on the government to provide improved healthcare and social protection services. (PNA)
