CEBU CITY, Cebu, Aug. 19 (PIA) -- Secretary Martin M. Andanar of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) urged Filipinos to be united and continue to support the government’s management of the COVID-19 response to hasten the recovery of the country’s economy.
Andanar, during an interview over a Cebu-based local radio station, admitted that the pandemic and the lockdowns have eroded the gains of the administration in lowering further the poverty incidence level, which the government targets to bring down to 14% from 24% by 2022.
“Actually, we have already lifted six million Filipinos from poverty by bringing poverty incidence down to 13 percent,” said Andanar citing the estimates from the Department of Finance (DOF).
Andanar said his talk with Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez revealed that it was even possible to bring it down to eight to nine percent as the country enjoyed a bright economic outlook during the pre-pandemic period.
But then the pandemic hit the country which heavily affected the local, regional, and global economy, the PCOO chief said.
“But the good news is that the Philippines still enjoys a BBB+ credit rating. This means that the country has easy access to credit loan from international financial institutions at low interest rates,” said Andanar.
The country’s good credit rating also stemmed from the sound fiscal and monetary policies being put in place by the government’s economic managers from the DOF, National Economic and Development Authority, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The next 10 to 11 months are crucial as the government aims to end the pandemic by having 70 million Filipinos jabbed so that the country can begin bouncing back and reinvigorate the economy, Andanar said.
“If we fail to do that, then the next administration will have a very hard time in recovering the economy. This is why we need the support of each Filipino so we can speed up and reopen as soon as possible,” said Andanar.
During the interview, Andanar cited the milestone achievements of the Duterte Administration such as the establishment of the more than 130 Malasakit Centers nationwide providing free medicines and medical services that have benefited over two million Filipinos and counting, as well as the distribution of more than 229,000 hectares of land to poor farmers.
Other landmark legislations approved under the Duterte Administration are the Free Tuition Act for poor students who want to earn a degree in state universities and colleges, while almost one million farmers benefited from the Free Irrigation Act, exempting farmers with landholdings of eight hectares and less from paying Service Fee for water derived from national and communal irrigation systems constructed by the government.
Government infrastructure spending has increased to five percent form the previous two percent, as Andanar said that “we are now in the Golden Age of Infrastructure,” as evidenced by the construction of over 150,000 classrooms and the improvements and construction of airports, seaports, and highways all over the country.
On peace and order, the government already cleared 22,000 barangays from illegal drugs and confiscated over P59 billion worth of illegal drugs, while significantly reducing crime volume by 64% from July 2016 to June 2021, according to Andanar.
Andanar said the Duterte Administration has a lot of milestone achievements which should be reported to the Filipino people so they will know what their government has done and continues to do for them as these will be the legacies that the administation will leave behind.
“It is imperative that we bounce back so we need to defeat the pandemic for our country’s future and that of our children’s children,” said Andanar.
The PCOO chief ended the interview by thanking the Cebuanos for supporting Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s projects and policies, adding that their support is crucial in the next 10 to 11 months. (FCR/PIA7)
