The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will create the Economic Development Group whose main task is to address the country’s economic concerns, Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno announced on Tuesday.
In a press briefing in Malacañang Palace, Diokno said he will be chairperson of the group, with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) secretary acting as co-chair.
The group will be composed of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
The NEDA will be the secretariat of the Economic Development Group.
Diokno, who met the President on Tuesday, said they also identified long-term legislations that need to be passed such as the New Agrarian Emancipation Act.
Passed by both houses of Congress, the bill seeks the debt condonation of agrarian reform beneficiaries, which is now pegged at Php58 billion.
“So iyong mga pagkakautang ng mga small farmers, iko-condone na lang. And this will allow farmers to focus now on their efforts to increase production rather than, iniisip pa nila paano ko babayaran itong lupa na ito,” the Finance chief said.
The Marcos administration will also push for the passage of the National Land Use Act, under which the government will allocate land for agricultural and fishery production, settlement and infrastructure development, transportation, communication, water resources, as well as social infrastructure.
Under the Land Use Act, Diokno said agricultural lands will be protected and land conversion into other uses such as housing will not be allowed.
There is also a proposal on livestock development and competitiveness bill, addressing poultry and swine industries.
“Kailangang i-reduce natin iyong tariff sa corn to 5 percent, uniform 5 percent. Napaka importante kasi iyong corn sa production ng hogs and poultry,” Diokno noted.
The proposed amendments to the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. are also being pushed, the DOF secretary added. (PND)
