The government renews its commitment to sustainable economic growth with the launch of a new economic blueprint that underscores the importance of protecting the environment to achieve its goal of having a prosperous society by 2040.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. unveiled in January 2023 the Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028—the blueprint for deep economic and social transformation to reinvigorate job creation and accelerate poverty reduction by steering the economy back on a high-growth path.
The President said this growth should be inclusive—building an environment that provides equal opportunities to all Filipinos and equipping them with skills to participate fully in an innovative and globally competitive economy.
The plan was based on the president’s 8-point socioeconomic agenda that tackle immediate, on-the-ground concerns such as high inflation, scarring due to COVID-19 and the tight fiscal space; address long-standing, critical constraints to generating more jobs, quality jobs and green jobs over the medium term; and provide the necessary enabling environment—level playing field and peace and security in the long term.
President Marcos issued Executive Order No. 14 to adopt the plan that will set the Philippines towards becoming an upper middle-income country by the year 2025. “But beyond economic development, the plan also focuses on social development and protection, disaster resilience digital transformation and many other things,” the President said.
Under the PDP, the government aims to achieve a gross domestic product growth of 6 percent to 7 percent in 2023 and 6.5 percent to 8 percent from 2024 to 2028, following the 7.6-percent expansion in 2022—the fastest since 1976. The plan also seeks to reduce the unemployment rate to a range of 4 percent to 5 percent by 2028 after settling at 4.2 percent in November 2022, the lowest in nearly two decades.
National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said PDP 2023-2028 would serve as the country’s development roadmap that would help improve the economic performance over the next six years.
“While the pandemic exposed the frailties and weaknesses within our system in the past few years, we were able to draw from those lessons and can now move forward with a better sense of what our priorities and urgent needs are,” Balisacan said.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the 2022 gross domestic product expanded by 7.6 percent—the fastest in 46 years. This surpassed the government’s target range of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent for the year despite the global headwinds highlighted by higher interest rates and elevated inflation.
“The trajectory of our post- pandemic recovery is undoubtedly promising. Still, we cannot rest easy, knowing that we have much work ahead of us as we strive to sustain and improve our performance,” Balisacan said.
“In these next six years, we can look forward to seeing the government take swift and decisive action, with various agencies working in synergy towards our shared goal of significantly improving the quality of life of the Filipino people and working towards a prosperous, inclusive and resilient society,” Balisacan said.
The plan clearly and coherently maps out the vision, timeline and strategies for deep and genuine socioeconomic transformation. By 2040, the Philippines is envisioned to be a prosperous, predominantly middle-class society where no one is poor. To push for economic transformation in a post-pandemic context, a favorable business environment is required.
Environment protection
Environment protection plays an important role in the development plan. It recognizes the importance of feeding a population of 110 million which is expected to further rise in the future, while sustaining the country’s natural resources.
It acknowledges climate change and recommends action to reverse the trend. It noted a dramatic shift in the world’s weather patterns, as temperature records have been routinely set every three years since 1981.
The Philippines is considered “one of the most, if not the most, vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change.”
Whole-of-society approach
Both the government and the private sector have crucial roles to play to mitigate the impact of climate change on the population and the economy.
Strategies in the PDP will support human and social development, including protection from risks and preparation for future economic disruptions.
The government is determined to spearhead a whole-of-nation approach in the implementation of strategies and programs laid out in PDP 2023-2028.
“This has to be a whole-of-government and whole-of-society collaboration for economic transformation,” Balisacan said.
“In these next six years, we can look forward to seeing the government take swift and decisive action, with various agencies working in synergy towards our shared goal of significantly improving the quality of life of the Filipino people and working towards a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society,” he said.
President Marcos said “every part of society must be part of this transformation.”