Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has hailed a new executive order adopting a 10-point policy agenda to accelerate the country’s economic recovery and help more Filipinos recoup the losses they sustained amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, March 21, Executive Order 166 mandates all government departments, bureaus, offices, agencies and instrumentalities to ensure that their policies, measures, and programs are aligned with the following principles:
1. Strengthening the healthcare capacity in line with international standards;
2. Accelerating and expanding the vaccination drive;
3. Reopening the economy and expanding public transport capacity, while maintaining the current alert level system;
4. Resuming face-to-face learning;
5. Reducing domestic travel restrictions and standardizing requirements, except as reasonably required by the local government unit of destination;
6. Relaxing international travel requirements with quarantine exemptions for the vaccinated;
7. Accelerating the digital transformation through the passage of key legislation;
8. Providing enhanced and flexible emergency measures, such as the creation of stand-by funds and standardization of allowances for health workers;
9. Shifting the focus of government reporting and decision-making to more useful metrics, such as: (i) total or severe cases, (ii) case fatality ratio, and (iii) total vaccinations; and
10. Developing a Comprehensive Pandemic Response Framework for future pandemics.
“Hindi lamang ‘to whole-of-government kung hindi whole-of-nation approach (This is not only whole of government but also whole-of-nation approach). Kailangan nating magtulungan para tuluyang masugpo ang pandemya at ma-relax ang mga restrictions (There is a need for us to help one another in order that we could finally win in the fight against the pandemic and eventual relaxation of restrictions),” Go said.
Go expressed hopes that many sectors of the economy would be opened and thus allow workers go back to their jobs so that their families would rise from difficulties imposed by the pandemic.
The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 will also be responsible for implementing the agenda. Meanwhile, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) shall monitor compliance.
The Economic Development Cluster, through NEDA, the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), will likewise be consulted prior to the implementation of the agenda and its corresponding measures.
On the other hand, the NTF’s Working Group on Strategic Communications and the Presidential Communications Operations Office will be tasked with engaging the public and building their understanding of the national government’s latest initiatives.
The government’s rapid deployment of Covid-19 vaccines has helped contain the spread of the pandemic with cases continuing to decline despite reaching record levels in mid-January.
As of March 22, the government has secured 238.8 million doses and inoculated over 70% of the target population. A total of 140.7 million doses have been administered, consisting of 63.8 million for the first dose and 65.3million for the second dose.
In addition, the Duterte Administration enacted bold reforms to spur economic growth amid the pandemic, such as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act which reduced corporate income taxes for micro, small and medium enterprises.
More recently, the President signed a law amending the Public Service Act. Republic Act 11659 aims to promote healthy competition among key industries in order to pave the way for more favorable prices and quality services for Filipinos.