Phl back on pre-pandemic growth trajectory: Balisacan

The country is not only on its way to recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic but is also showing signs of robust growth, a Cabinet official said.

"The country is on its way to recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, with the economy displaying a rebound gross domestic product growth rate of 5.7-percent in 2021 and a 7.8-percent average growth rate for the first half of 2022," said National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan during the 25th graduation ceremony of the Development Academy of the Philippines' Public Management Development Program.

"These are welcome indicators showing that our recovery is proving to be robust and that we are returning to the growth trajectory that we were tracking before the (pandemic) crisis," he added.

Balisacan also acknowledged the challenges and hurdles that government still needs to overcome for this term, including several domestic and external risks amid a very tight fiscal space that may constrain the country's growth in the coming six years.

However, the NEDA chief remains hopeful that with the right priorities and policies moving forward, the government can still emerge solid and effectively carry out its socioeconomic agenda, including the strategies and procedures to be outlined in the next Philippine Development Plan.

Collective goals

"With your cooperation and expertise, we hope to have a thoughtfully crafted development plan that will ensure that scarce government resources and investments are channeled toward the right programs, projects, and activities that will best achieve the country's collective goals and objectives," Balisacan told this year's PMDP graduates.

He also hailed the graduates' indispensable role in governance and policymaking.

"You are important drivers of change and innovation within the bureaucracy as you identify issues and seek to design solutions within tight constraints," he said.

"Your role as middle managers is vital in upholding good governance, which includes the elements of good planning and promoting efficiency, transparency, and accountability in executing such plans."

The PMDP, launched by the DAP in 2012, is an intensive program that provides comprehensive and multi-modal learning opportunities for public managers.

Balisacan was among those who had advocated for the formation of the PMDP.