DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez III
MANILA – Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Wednesday the Duterte administration’s steadfast resolve to undertake further reforms to rebuild a strong and inclusive economy --and set the stage for a “sustainable, greener and healthier future” for the Filipino people-- will enable the Philippines to thrive in the post-pandemic era.
Dominguez said among these reforms are improvements in the country’s information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure to expand the use of digital tools, enhance revenue collection performance, and achieve greater financial inclusion for Filipinos.
The government should also pursue sustainable policies targeted towards bolstering the healthcare system and keeping a strong fiscal position to withstand future adversities, he said.
Dominguez underscored in an Asian Development Bank (ADB) event the need to intensify global collaboration and redefine the challenges that confront the world today as it reemerges from a debilitating coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic so that countries can be better prepared to deal with future outbreaks.
On the part of the Philippines, Dominguez expressed confidence in its capability to emerge stronger from the pandemic.
“We are very optimistic about the near future. That optimism is based on our willingness to undertake the reforms necessary to rebuild a strong and inclusive economy that thrives in the 21st century. We are also doing our utmost to provide a sustainable, greener, and healthier future for our Filipino people,” he said in his keynote address at the opening plenary of the ADB-hosted Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS).
Infrastructure modernization through President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature program “Build, Build, Build” will remain the cornerstone of the Philippines’ recovery plan, complemented by tax reform and other economic stimulus measures for businesses, and investor-friendly legislation being pushed by his economic team in the Congress, said Dominguez, the governor of the Philippines in the ADB.
The virtual SEADS led by ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa was expected to gather over 3,000 participants from ADB’s member-economies and partner-institutions during the two-day gathering.
With the theme “Innovation through Collaboration: Planning for Inclusive Post-Covid-19 Recovery,” the ADB said SEADS will provide governments in Southeast Asia “with a unique opportunity to interact directly with each other, and with leaders from industry, academia, and the development sector, to discuss innovative approaches and solutions to the Covid-19 crisis and other development challenges.”
Dominguez said despite supply challenges, most countries --including the Philippines-- have begun rolling out their vaccination programs, a development that has “inspired market optimism” and “a sense that the worst is over and our economies can be fully functional in a matter of months.”
“The availability of vaccines, however, should not lead us to neglect equally urgent concerns. We still need to do the tough things we must undertake to cope with the severe weather conditions induced by global warming or with the possible emergence of new viruses,” he said.
Dominguez said the Philippines will strive to ensure the sustainable growth of its economy over the long term by adopting climate-resilient and adaptation strategies, knowing fully well that unlike Covid-19, for which vaccines have been produced in a matter of months, there is no quick solution to the climate crisis.
“We need to act now with the same sense of urgency that we have for the ongoing pandemic,” he said.
Dominguez, who is chairperson-designate of the Climate Change Commission (CCC), reiterated his strong push for a legislative measure that will ban single-use plastics as a way to jumpstart the country’s fight against climate change and encourage all Filipinos to do their part in helping save the environment on a daily basis. (PR)
