PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has expressed his long-term vision for the Philippines as he signed Executive Order No. 5, adopting the “Ambisyon 2040” for long-term development planning for the country or aiming to become an upper middle income country by 2040.
Contrary to the earlier statement of former President Fidel Ramos that Duterte “has no longer vision for the Philippines,” the latter signed EO No. 5 approving and adopting a 25-year Ambisyon Natin 2040 as guide for development planning on Oct 11.
National Economic and Development Authority Deputy Director General Rosemarie Edillon said the EO declared Ambisyon 2040 as an anchor for development planning.
Under the EO, the Neda will be the lead agency in the crafting of the development plan for the Philippines for the next four administrations that will be aligned with four developmental goals.
The development goals were: the country will be a prosperous predominantly middle class society where no one is poor; the people will enjoy long and healthy lives; the people will be smart and innovative; and will live in a high-trust society.
Edillon noted that the Philippine Development Plan being crafted for every administration should be flexible that it could adapt to changing technology and conditions.
“But the long-term vision should stay the same which is “matatag, maginhawa and panatag na buhay,” Edillon said.
“For each of these four goals, we have identified a roadmap getting there. What should be a base camp for the first PDP, the second, the third, the fourth. Of course when that next PDP planners meet then they take a look at that and they can craft more ambitious targets,” Edillon added.
Edillon said no numerical targets will be set in the plan, yet.
“So by 2040 we should have many research and development and lots of innovations. And for you to be able to do that, you need a strong intellectual property rights framework,” she said.
The country was a lower-middle income economy with $3,500 per capita in 2014. To become an upper middle-income economy, Neda said the country must have a per capita income level of $11,000, similar to Malaysia’s today.
