President Duterte has underscored the importance of promoting digital literacy to facilitate the inclusion of vulnerable groups in the digital economy amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Duterte made this intervention during the 2021 APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) dialogue with economic leaders on Friday, Nov. 11.
“This will help increase the economic productivity of marginalized groups under the new normal," reckoned the Philippine leader, who joined the event virtually.
APEC stands for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Also during the meeting, Duterte called for greater public-private collaboration in addressing inclusion and sustainability challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as climate change.
Noting ABAC’s substantial contribution to the region’s pandemic response efforts, the President cited key areas of collaboration with ABAC, namely, improving digitalization and literacy in rural communities, establishing a national Social Protection Floor (SPF) and facilitating developing economies’ transition to a low-carbon economy.
To facilitate digital inclusion efforts, Duterte emphasized the need to “establish the necessary infrastructure for accessible, stable and affordable energy supply in remote communities".
Establishing a national SPF, he said, could address the gaps in the social protection programs that were exposed during the pandemic.
An SPF will guarantee a minimum set of social security benefits for all, including workers in the informal sector and gig economy.
Duterte also reiterated the call for a sustainable, scaled-up, and predictable support from developed countries to help developing economies adapt to and mitigate the adverse consequences of climate change.
This includes climate finance, technology transfer and development and capacity-building.
“In the interest of climate justice, we need these to transition to climate-smart development and adapt to and mitigate the worsening effects of climate change,” the 76-year-old Chief Executive said.
Joining the President during the dialogue were key cabinet officials. They include Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs Robert Borje.