‘’We have pushed our economic team very hard in reopening the economy further. We are seeing the light. We are moving away from ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) to Alert 1 to 4.’’

This was the response of Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua to an observation of Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon that the Philippines remains at the bottom among Southeast Asian countries in increasing their growth rates although all of them are suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘’Why in Jesus name are we in this situation today? Why are our people suffering? It is sad,’’ Drilon told Chua during a public hearing by the Senate finance sub-committee ‘A’ chaired by Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara on the proposed 2022 P14.1236 billion budget of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

Drilon cited negative Philippine economic outlook by the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Oxford Economic paper, a research organization in the United Kingdom (UK); and Bloomberg. Causes of of the poor attractiveness of the Philippines to foreign investments are, among others, poor infrastructure and competitive ranking.

Chua said he has always been a proponent of a better balancing of two important facets of our lives in COVID and non-COVID basis.

In the past, we have been focused narrowly on COVID which led to joblessness and seeing more diminished income, he pointed out.

Chua said NEDA has pushed for the re-opening of face-to-face classes to be piloted next month.

He, likewise, cited the increasing flow of vaccines into country so that the inoculation rate reaches 500,000 a day.

Mobility is also better this year compared to last year, he added.

But Drilon finds Chua a ‘’lost voice’’ in the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) against COVID, an ad hoc formation of Cabinet members. It is a kind of ‘’command and control’’ system, he added.

The Senate minority chief finds the workings of IATF ‘’very restrictive’’ as there is something ‘’very wrong with IATF’’ and the Department of Health (DOH) is becoming a ‘’punching bag of public opinion.’’

After saying that millions of Filipinos have lost their jobs to COVID-19 and government lacking credibility, Drilon shifted his attention to the billions of pesos ‘’lost’’ because of ‘’premeditated plunder’’ at the State-run Procurement Service, Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).

Angara said Drilon’s frustrations reflects the sentiment of senators on the current economic status of the country but finds Chua ‘’the more credible member of the Cabinet’’ where ‘’wala kang laban dyan’’ (your voice does not count).’’

‘’You are as frustrated as we are,’’ Angara added.

Angara expressed hopes that Chua would continue to be the NEDA chief because he likes his planning and his track on energy.

Drilon, who will be graduating from the Senate in mid-2022 after serving two successive six-year tenure, joined Angara in wishing Chua to stay as Economic Planning secretary for another six years.

He assured Angara and Chua that should Vice President Leni Robredo win the presidency in the 2022 national elections, he would work for Chua’s continued stay at NEDA.

Senator Pia S. Cayetano supported Drilon and Angara in having Chua stay on for six more years.

`