The incoming President of the Republic of the Philippines, Pres. Rody Duterte will prioritize tax reforms and infrastructure projects on his economic agenda once he assume office as the country’s chief executive. The priority of Pres. Duterte is listed on his economic team’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda for the next six years.
According to incoming Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez, the head of the transition team said that Mayor Duterte’s economic development team would meet with more than 300 business leaders in Davao City this coming June 20-21 at a consultative workshop dubbed “Sulong Pilipinas: Hakbang Tungo sa Kaunlaran.” Based upon the details released to the media, the workshop is co-organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Mindanao Business Council.
During the said event, the Finance Team of Pres. Duterte, headed by Sec. Dominguez will present the proposed 10-point economic agenda aimed at addressing the challenges to inclusive growth. Aside from Dominguez, incoming Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director-General Ernest M. Pernia will talk about the country’s economic health. The event will be moderated by incoming DOF spokesperson Paola Alvarez.
Here are some of the 10-Point Economic Agenda of Pres. Duterte:
- Continue and maintain current macroeconomic policies, including fiscal, monetary and trade policies.
- Instituting progressive tax reforms and more effective tax collection while indexing taxes to inflation, in line with the plan to submit to Congress a tax reform package by September.
- Increasing competitiveness and the ease of doing business.
- Accelerating annual infrastructure spending to account for 5 percent of the gross domestic product, with public-private partnerships playing a key role.
- Promoting rural and value chain development toward increasing agricultural and rural enterprise productivity and rural tourism.
- Ensuring security of land tenure to encourage investments and address bottlenecks in land management and titling agencies
- Investing in human capital development, including health and education systems, as well as matching skills and training to meet the demands of businesses and the private sector.
- Promoting science, technology and the creative arts to enhance innovation and creative capacity toward self-sustaining and inclusive development.
- Improving social protection programs, including the government’s conditional cash transfer program, in order to protect the poor against instability and economic shocks
- Strengthening the implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law to enable, especially, poor couples to make informed choices on financial and family planning.
Pres. Rody Duterte is expected to grace the dialogue, as he is scheduled to give a response on the recommendations to be generated from the consultation.
