President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed optimism Monday that the Philippines will attain economic prosperity in the coming years as the administration presented to the public the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, which will serve as the country’s roadmap in building a more prosperous, inclusive and resilient society.
During the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 Forum in Pasay City, the President said he has high hopes for the PDP, which will set the Philippines towards becoming an upper-middle income country by the year 2025.
At the heart of the PDP’s goal, Marcos said, is to “reinvigorate job creation and accelerate poverty reduction by steering the economy back on the high-growth path and effect economic transformation.”
“These are truly bold plans, but I have the confidence in the brilliant minds who will become our partners in realizing the vision contained in this document and faith in the capacity of our people,” Marcos said in his remarks during the forum.
“Indeed, we look towards the future with hope, with optimism. But our gaze can only go as far as what we have done to unburden the life of the ordinary Filipino,” the President pointed out.
And while officials and experts can talk about economic policies, big numbers and chunks of data with no end, Marcos said everything must redound to uplift the plight of ordinary Filipinos.
Beyond economic development, the President said the PDP also focuses on social development and protection, disaster resilience, and digital transformation.
His government, President Marcos said, will set sail towards transforming the country’s sectors in key areas, such as digitalization, in order to build better data systems that will create better government programs.
In line with this, President Marcos welcomed the upcoming launch of the Pilipinas GoDigital Movement, which will advocate digitalization initiatives and nationwide digital upskilling of marginalized Filipinos in collaboration with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Inter-Agency Council on Philippine Digital Workforce.
At the same time, the government will also continue to pursue “servicification” as a strategy and foster dynamic innovation ecosystems that will attract more investments and generate more jobs, Marcos said.
Connectivity among the islands and with the rest of the world will also be enhanced to facilitate greater movement of goods and people to keep the economy thriving.
“Moreover, we will continue to strengthen the cooperation between local and national governments as well as further boost the partnership between government and the private sector,” the President pointed out, adding these are just part of other government efforts to steer the country toward development.
To attain the government’s goal, the President asked everybody to employ a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to effectively implement the PDP.
“After all, the success of our government and our nation lies in all of us working together — we need to cooperate and to collaborate so we can realize our goals moving forward,” Marcos noted.
“Together, let us channel our energies in creating an economy that works for everyone and gives every Filipino, no matter their circumstances, a better life,” the chief executive said.
The President expressed his gratitude to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and to everyone from both the public and private sectors for the timely finalization of the PDP, which he said, represents not only the people’s aspirations but also the government’s resolve to build a great nation. #
