Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima maintained that the next administration should work on strengthening the country’s economy, which has been enduring the adverse effects of the COVD-19 pandemic the last 24 months and counting.
De Lima, a social justice and human rights champion, said the present and future leaders should work on allowing businesses to co-exist with a pandemic.
“This means ensuring that the testing, tracing, and control of infection must remain in the government program for the foreseeable future until the WHO has declared this pandemic under control,” she said.
“We must also enter into a continuous supply agreement with vaccine producers to ensure that everyone medically cleared to receive the vaccines are inoculated and given booster shots if needed.
“By instituting permanent protocols that would control the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we could allow businesses to operate at full or near-full capacity,” she added.
As of November 2021, data shows that the Philippines’ debt stood at P11.93 trillion, as the present administration continued to borrow more to fund budgetary requirements amid falling revenues due to the global health crisis.
The Bureau of the Treasury has projected country’s debt to reach P13.4 trillion in 2022. The fiscal deficit, or the amount where expenses exceed revenues, meanwhile, swelled to P1.2 trillion as of October 2021, or an increase of 27.9% from the same period in 2020.
According to reports, this means that the next administration must find a way to lower the deficit by looking for new revenue sources, while growing the economy amid the ongoing health crisis.
In ensuring economic security, De Lima underscored the importance of re-investing massively in education and letting go of the policy of violence and human rights violation in law enforcement.
On eliminating the policy of violence, De Lima stressed, “Many of our economic partners have since held back investments because of the negative image brought about by extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses. Our country must reaffirm its commitment to internationally recognized democratic values to win back our allies and regain the lost inflow of investments.”
De Lima said that laws encouraging the re-development of manufacturing sectors in the country must be enacted to “create jobs for Filipinos and stimulate our economy”.
The lady Senator from Bicol highlighted the need to “simultaneously focus on micro- and macroeconomics, address concerns and balance the interests of labor, small and medium enterprises, long-term investors, especially in the manufacturing and service sectors.”
De Lima also reminded the government to ensure that there are sufficient funds for social amelioration (ayuda) for people affected by the pandemic and extraordinary inflation.
“No family should go hungry just because they were prevented to go to work because of COVID-19. The poorest sectors in our society should be given the necessary assistance to survive the economic impact of the pandemic and recover to become contributing members of our society,” she said.
“Ang tunay na pag-unlad ay iyong walang naisasantabi, napapabayaan o iniiwanan, kaya dapat itaguyod ang isang Ekonomiyang Walang Iwanan,” she added. (30)