MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Magandang hapon, Malacañang Press Corps, and welcome to our press briefing today, February 21st, 2023. It’s been awhile since our last briefing, and I trust that you’ve been getting all the updates about the programs and activities of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and the Cabinet through the Presidential Communications Office.
Before we proceed with the main topic today, we would like to share with you the latest appointments of officials in different agencies. From the Office of the President, Isidro Purisima, Acting Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity; Wilben M. Mayor, Presidential Assistant 1, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity; and Valerie Joy Brion, Executive Director V, Commission on Filipinos Overseas;
At the Department of Agriculture, Gabriel Lagamayo, Acting Administrator and member of the Dairy Industry Board, National Dairy Authority; Domingo Bartolome Gonzaga, Director II, National Meat Inspection Service; Julieta Opulencia, Deputy Executive Director III, Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries;
And at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Senando A. Santiago, Acting General Manager and Chief Executive Officer and member, Board of Directors, Laguna Lake Development Authority;
At Department of Finance, David D. Erro, acting member, representing the Agrarian Reform beneficiaries, Board of Directors, LandBank of the Philippines; Virginia Orogo, acting member, representing the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries, Board of Directors, LandBank of the Philippines;
And at the Department of Labor and Employment, Emerico O. de Guzman, member, representing the employer sector, National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council; Rufino M. Margate, Jr., member, representing employer sector, National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council; And at the Department of Trade and Industry, Flora Politud-Gabunales, Director IV.
At iyan ang mga latest appointees.
Sa ngayon, isa sa inaasikaso ay ang implementasyon ng Republic Act #11293 or ang Philippine Innovation Act. President Marcos headed the 4th meeting of the National Innovation Council with the National Economic and Development Authority or NEDA, the Department of Trade and Industry or DTI, and the Department of Science and Technology or DOST.
The NIC was created 2019 to propose an innovation that will help the poor and give the MSMEs a chance to be part of the economy building. During the meeting, President Marcos emphasized the importance of having a climate change and environmental sustainability expert to be nominated into the NIC.
He said that sustainability and climate change are directly tied to innovation and thus, must be front and center in the council.
At para sa comprehensive discussion ng National Innovation Council, kasama natin muli si NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Thank you, Daphne. Members of the Malacañang Press Corps, fellow Filipinos, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to all.
This morning, the National Innovation Council held its 4th meeting since its creation in 2019, marking the first meeting of the said council under President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s administration.
I am pleased to announce that the council which serves as the government’s main coordinating body for innovation policies, and is chaired by the President, has approved six executive members for 2023 to 2026, the remaining slot to be filled by a climate change expert. These members come from the ranks of businesses, entrepreneurs, academe and the scientific community.
We also presented to the President salient features of the Republic Act #11293 or the Philippine Innovation Act, as well as updates on the formulation of the national innovation agenda and strategy document. This document outlines the country’s ten-year vision; a long-term goals for innovation, and serves as a detailed roadmap towards improving innovation governance.
To recall, the National Innovation Council or NIC is a 25-member body tasked to develop the country’s innovation goals, priorities and long-term national strategy.
The President serves as the Council’s chairperson with the Secretary of NEDA as vice chairperson. We are joined by 16 ex-officio members along with seven executive members from the private sector who were nominated today as mentioned earlier.
As mandated by the law, the NEDA Innovation Staff serves as the Council’s Secretariat, providing the technical, advisory and secretariat services to the NIC and other government agencies on matters related to strategic innovation policy direction and coordination.
On the drafting and formulation of the National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document, we continue to build upon the Framework of the National Innovation Agenda for 2032, which is the overall framework determining our priority areas for innovation. This Framework sets the theme on enabling a flourishing innovation ecosystem through the aspects of governance, policy, infrastructure, innovation finance and culture.
Thanks to a series of consultative meetings and workshops, the Council has established 10 National Innovation Priority Areas, namely: Learning and Education, Health, Food and Agriculture, Finance, Trade, Transportation and Logistics, as well as Public Administration, Security and Defense, Energy, and Blue Economy and Water. These are the areas we have identified to be our focus for development, funding and innovation in the next 10 years.
The National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document also ties closely with the outcomes and strategies laid out in Chapter 8 of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, on Advancing Research and Development, Technology and Innovation. Together, these two documents aim at enabling strong innovation governance to drive their innovation echo system towards our national innovation priority areas and long-term innovation goals of smart and innovative Philippines, that’s productive, resilient, and sustainable as well as inclusive.
Along with the national innovation agenda and strategy document, the establishment of the innovation fund signifies one of the other major outputs of the council. The innovation fund is a revolving fund that aims to strengthen entrepreneurship and enterprises engaged in developing innovative solutions, Thus far, the council has approved 19 projects or project proposals amounting to P115 million under the Innovation Grants—majority of which sought to address the pre-commercialization and commercialization requirements of innovative products or services, the enhancement of innovation facilities and services, and the conduct of capacity-building activities.
The Marcos administration is committed to promoting and advancing the culture of innovation in the country through increased collaboration with the private sector, especially as we prioritize the development of infrastructure, pursue digital transformation and work towards creating a more attractive and enabling business environment and investment climate in his term. To be very clear, innovation plays a critical role in our pursuit of sustained and accelerated economic growth and development as it serves as a catalyst for raising overall productivity and elevating the quality of our goods and services.
Only through a collective national effort can we truly pursue and attain these goals for our future. The Marcos administration reaffirms its commitment and determination to turn these visions and plans into a reality and build a strong economic foundation for the future generation of Filipinos. What we desire is to not only improve the way to do things today but also to make us better prepared for whatever outcomes the future may bring. Thank you and have a pleasant day to all.
MISS PAEZ: Thank you, Secretary Balisacan. Are there any questions from the floor for Secretary Balisacan? Go ahead Eden Santos Net 25.
EDEN SANTOS/NET 25: On other issue lang po, Sec. Regarding po doon sa sinasabi pong umarangkada na po iyong Senado sa debate po ng RCEP at siyempre iyong congress po suportado ito. Ilan sa concerns na binabanggit po ng mga ilang senador, iyong papaano, iyong epekto ng RCEP sakaling hindi ito maratipikahan sa Kongreso at ano po ba iyong talagang magiging pakinabang ng Pilipinas dito po sa RCEP kung sakaling ma-ratify po ito?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Napakalaki ng pakinabang ng bansa natin, ang ekonomiya natin sa RCEP. AS you know, we are the only country now in our region Southeast Asia that is not ratified RCEP and at the same time, we know that iyong paglaki ng investment ay iyong nakakapag-improve ng job opportunities lalo na iyong mga magagandang quality of jobs. Without those investments, we can’t expect to have much more improved investment or employment opportunities.
So, kinakailangan natin ng investments at siyempre kung iyong mga investors lalo na iyong mga foreign investors kung naghahanap sila ng, kung saan papunta, papunta sila sa mga countries na malinaw na ang rules, particularly iyong mga trade facilitations, mga policies nila sa investment, respetado, iyon ay hindi binabago ng at anytime ‘no. So, by being a member we are saying to the world that we are ready for business, you are welcome here, we play the rules of the game well and your investment is safe with us. So ganoon iyon.
And iyong mga concern naman na made-disadvantage iyong some sectors natin na agrikultura ay hindi totoo iyon, dahil doon mismo sa agreement na nagawa na iyong mga agrikultura natin ay well-protected. At saka iyong gagawin naman natin ang pagpo-protect sa agriculture, sa pagpapalago ng agriculture, with our without RCEP. So, I think for us it’s a game changer. Kaya ang NEDA, we are pushing for this hard, kasi it’s so crucial in our effort to get our economy to become an important part of this otherwise dynamic region in this part of the world.
HARLEY BALBUENA/DZME: Hi, good afternoon, Miss Daphne and Secretary Balisacan. Sir, my question. There was an announcement from Senate President Zubiri that they will raise the inflationary assistance for the senate employees to P50,000. It has gone viral, and a lot of people are reacting about it. So, on your part, sir. Will there be a similar move for the employees of the executive department and are we also considering giving inflationary aid to the public or at least to the poor ones?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Ang approach namin diyan is siyempre lahat ng, tayo ay naapektuhan differently doon sa inflation. In the one hand, we are trying to workout na iyong inflation ay bababa in the coming months. Pangalawa, for those naman na talagang affected adversely lalo na iyong mga very poor and vulnerable groups iyon ang talagang pagbuhusan natin ng assistance. Hindi feasible na lahat naman ay pare-pareho iyong treatment, kasi as you know, our fiscal space is very, very limited. And so, (unclear) iyong approach natin. Make sure that we are able to address iyong kung saan nanggagaling iyong inflation na iyan at iyan ang ina-address natin ngayon.
Iyong inflation na iyan, alam natin nanggagaling sa mga forces na nangyari, like halimbawa mga typhoons that destroyed our crops, mayroong nangyari na alam natin na, kulang ng supply, pero hindi tayo nag-import or late na iyong pagdating ng import to supplement iyong local production. Iyon, puwede naman nating ma-address or we are not helpless there and then we are doing our best to address those production issues and there’s a lot of supply chain.
Now, doon sa mga vulnerable talaga tayo naka-focus ngayon. Kaya nga dinadalian namin iyong mga issues constraining iyong digitalization natin, kasi iyon ang makakatulong sa pag-ensure na iyong mga limited assistance ay makakarating talaga sa mga dapat matulungan.
HARLEY BALBUENA/DZME: So for now, sir, wala pa pong kinu-consider na ganoon, na itaas din iyong inflationary aid sa employees ng Executive Department, kung mayroon man po?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: I’m not that—of course, there are talks about another round of the ano, iyan na iyong SSL but that is still premature and so far as I know, that’s not a part of the discussion now, itong parang general assistance as that provided by the Senate.
EDEN SANTOS/NET 25: Secretary, are you saying na iyon ay sa Senado lang po? Eh paano iyong mga empleyado sa Kongreso, sa Kamara na … “Ay, bakit sa Senate mayroong 50K na inflationary benefits?”
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Sa kanila naman iyon… Sa kanila iyon, siyempre as you know, Congress is an independent body ‘no and they have their own—they can decide on their own spending and, yeah… I can’t speak for or against them.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you. Alvin Baltazar, PBS.
ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Secretary, magandang hapon po. Secretary, doon sa binanggit ninyo kanina na Innovation Council, mayroon na po ba kayong napili kung sino iyong bubuo dito?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Well, kagaya ng sabi ko kanina, 16 of those members are ex-officio ‘no, and the head of that is the President himself ‘no. He is the Chairman, the NEDA Secretary is the Vice Chairman and there are other secretaries ‘no from the various departments. And then, the law provides for the inclusion of seven executive members and iyon ‘yung na-decide-an namin kahapon based on the recommendation of the executive technical board, napili iyong anim na additional members and iyong anim na iyan come from the private sector ‘no – from the business, MSMEs, academe and scientific community.
ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Para lang makaabot sa pangkaraniwang tao iyong Innovation Council na ito, sir, ano po bang mapapakinabangan ng ordinaryong Pilipino tungkol dito?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Alam ninyo, napakaimportante iyong innovation kasi these are the new processes, new policies, new products, new services that come into the market ‘no – iyong nanggagaling sa sciences, sa research, sa entrepreneurs – iyong mga entrepreneur, siya ‘yung nagpu-put together kung ano iyong output ng science community, ano ang output ng R&D. At ang Innovation Council, ang gustong mangyari rito is makapagbuo tayo ng what we called innovation ecosystem na that will encourage and promote innovation as a culture, as part of our economic culture ‘no.
Kasi if you look at the history of economic nations, ang talagang pinaka-enduring na source ng productivity growth, ng growth ng ekonomiya is iyong improvements in processes, in products, in services – iyon ay lahat manggagaling iyon sa innovation. Ang challenge natin as a country is we have not paid much attention to innovation. And yet, if you look at—just look at Korea for example – that is a country that’s so high in innovation that even their culture has become a global phenomenon ‘di ba?
So iyon ang gusto nating mangyari na mayroon tayong ecosystem that encourages, that promotes, that even triggers by funding them ano; providing, helping them locate for their funds, for their access to credit para iyong mga bright ideas nila, good ideas nila can be supported ‘no.
ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Secretary, sorry, pahabol na lang po ha. Ano po ba ang ranking ng Pilipinas kung pag-uusapan ay innovation?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Mababa nga eh [laughs], mababa… even in our—for comparable countries at this level of development, mababa tayo. Kasi titingnan na lang natin iyong investment natin sa R&D ‘no as a proportion of our GDP, talagang nasa bottom… almost at the bottom when you see our, what our neighbors are doing. So I think it’s high time, it’s really high time that we develop this ecosystem.
In fact, iyong Philippine Development Plan that we just launched, iyong 2023-2028 PDP is anchored on that ano eh, na iyong innovation ecosystem na iyon ‘yung magpapalago sa ekonomiya at iyong paglago na iyan will be sustainable. Iyan ang gusto natin, na iyong paglago ay sustainable at saka inclusive – everybody benefits, nobody is left behind.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Sec. Balisacan, I just also want to add to what you said. Kasi kanina napag-usapan ninyo, itong innovation, iyong pag-iimbento ng mga bagong teknolohiya kasama na rin dito ang agri, mga tech. Things that—nakikita naman natin the past few years ang daming bagong innovation. So ang tutulong ng NIC ay ang pagri-register ng mga intellectual property at kung anu-anong mga support necessary lalo na sa mga small and medium-sized enterprises. So, napakaganda ng mga plano ng NIC.
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Iyong mga platforms that you used for marketing – iyong mga Lazada, mga ganoong platforms – those are innovations. Those are the kind of things that we want to promote and to develop ‘no.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. We have Michelle Guillang of Daily Tribune.
MICHELLE GUILLANG/DAILY TRIBUNE: Good afternoon po, Secretary Balisacan. My question po is about RCEP. Should the RCEP be ratified? There had been concerns that there will be an influx of agricultural imports in the country. Also, there have been concerns that the lives or the livelihood or our millions of farmers and fisherfolk will be at stake. Should the RCEP be ratified? What do you think about these concerns po?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: It must be ratified. It must be ratified. A lot of the future of this country, of our country, depends so much on our ability to attract investors, particularly foreign capital because domestic capital is not enough.
Now with regards to the potential or the allegation that the agricultural sector could be hurt – there’s no truth to that. As I said earlier because whether or not there is RCEP we need to invest in agriculture, we need…kinakailangan natin ma-address iyong mga concerns, iyong mga problema ngayon ng agriculture has nothing to do with RCEP – these are…the problems were outcome of past neglects of the sector ‘no hindi natin inalagaan iyong sector for so many decades.
So, iyong very low productivity of agriculture has nothing to do with RCEP. In fact, my view is that by adapting RCEP we are ratifying RCEP, we’ll be even more forced to pay attention to agriculture because only then can you fully maximize the benefits that RCEP can give to us.
Again, I want to emphasize that we are not the only country asking or inviting others to come and invest into their country. Our neighbors – Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand – they are all aggressively looking for these same investors. And if you don’t shape up, keep our investment climate, keep our rules of the game clearer so that they are attracted to come in then they will simply go to these other countries and will be left out.
As an economist, without those investments, massive investments you can’t expect to generate high-quality jobs – that’s plain and simple. We need a lot of investment. There’s only so much that you can generate internally, as I said we have incurred so much debt during the pandemic, we have very little fiscal space. The only way we can grow and maintain our growth at the rate we have experienced last year is to get investments, players that can put, build infrastructure for us, build plans and equipment for us so that jobs can be created.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you.
MICHELLE GUILLANG/DAILY TRIBUNE: Follow-up question lang po: Do you think with the ratification of RCEP we will be able to tame the inflation rate?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: The inflation has [unclear], the RCEP is a longer term you know, it is a when we say that we join RCEP it does not mean that tomorrow we’ll benefit already or even next year you’ll already get a full benefit – hindi ganoon ho. Realistically, when investors look at the country they look at it you know, and say observe it for a couple of months perhaps even years and if they feel that they are safe with you they come in, and even if they come in, for example, you want to invest a factory – a Nike factory for example, it takes months and even years before that intention to invest to actual production ‘no. So, hindi ganoon, by that time baka wala na iyong inflation problem.
Iyong inflation is a current problem that may be one month, two months, three months, if we are lucky and are able to address our issues quickly, we should be able to see that inflation coming down by the mid of this year.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you. We have Allan Francisco of PTV-4.
ALLAN FRANCISCO/PTV-4: Hi, Miss Daphne. Hi, Sec. Magandang hapon po, sir. Sir, I understand that you already mentioned some efforts or the efforts of the government in helping our kababayan amidst this inflation, etc. Yesterday, sir, sa oath taking ceremony sa Malacañang, sabi ng Pangulo ay maraming plano ang gobyerno para mapaganda ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas. Sa madaling sabi, sir, ang sinasabi niya – dapat maramdaman ng taumbayan iyong paggalaw ng ekonomiya. Sa NEDA, sir, I mean, can we get your reaction on that, sir.
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: Tama si Presidente. In fact, iyong inaprubahan niyang Philippine Development 2023-2028 outlines doon iyong mga kung anong dapat nating gawin para mapalago iyong ekonomiya natin para we can create a lot of jobs – kasi ang emphasize natin dito, ang emphasis natin dito sa bagong plano ni Presidente is not just creating jobs, madali nga mag-create ng jobs but iyong quality jobs – iyon ang more challenging kasi doon kinakailangan mo ng better trained manpower, kinakailangan mong mag-invest in health, in education, kinakailangan mong mag-attract ng gaya ng sabi ko earlier ng maraming investors para you get the high quality jobs that I am referring to. Kasi iyong mga high quality jobs – ito iyong mga workers who get…who are employed in manufacturing sector – may mga pabrika ganoon [unclear] compared sa mga nagtitinda ng sigarilyo sa kalsada who are nagde-depend lang sa isang sari-sari store – very low quality jobs. Employed ka kung sa Philippine statistics PSA data lang ang tinitingnan mo employed ka doon pero that’s not the kind of quality jobs that we want – we want jobs that enable us to make us earn a decent wages so that you send your kids to schools, you can give them adequate nutrition, you can house them, iyong mga ganoon.
Of course, that is something that we cannot achieve overnight nga kaya itong programa ni Presidente – six years iyon, and even that in the AmBisyon Natin 2040 we are assuming that the next President naman itutuloy niya iyon para you know ma-achieve natin iyong vision na by 2040 naman parang Korea na tayo when they started to become a prosperous country.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Last question from Ivan Mayrina, GMA7.
IVAN MAYRINA: Secretary, follow-up ko lang po iyong nabanggit ninyo: Middle of this year inaasahan nating bababa na iyong inflation. As of January, sir, nasa 14-year high pa rin tayo 8.7 – does that mean that the public cannot yet expect a reprieve from rising prices in the very short term like this month or next month?
NEDA SEC. BALISACAN: We are hoping that we see a plateau already of that inflation. Next month we will see the new data – the inflation but it’s our hope that kasi January, February, March – that’s a good harvest season for our farmers, and we did not have any major typhoons during the last kuwan ‘no few months. We are expecting a better data there. But there are always surprises and it surprised me when I saw that number in January.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Thank you so much, Malacañang Press Corps. And thank you, Secretary Arsenio Balisacan. Have a good afternoon, everyone.
###
—
News and Information Bureau – Transcription Section
