The Philippines has vowed before the international stage to continue its efforts to meet the 2030 sustainable development goals (SDG) despite some reversal effects experienced amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
This came after Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary (DFA) Enrique Manalo attended on July 12 a meeting at the United Nations headquarters, where he presented the country’s third Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF)
There, he also underscored the country's commitment to make the implementation of SDG a top priority, the DFA said Monday, July 18.
During his presentation, Manalo said that "while progress on most of the goals was sustained, some were reversed."
Among those that experienced reversal effects were the Quality Education goal, with an increase of about two percentage points on the average dropout rate among elementary and high school students.
On the other hand, progress was sustained in Gender Equality, Life below Water and Life on Land.
Manalo also took pride that the number of reported gender-based violence cases decreased due to the enactment of various legal frameworks that protect women and children.
Meanwhile, the coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas increased, as well as the country's forest cover and terrestrial protected areas.
"Public expenditure and ODA on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems also increased," Manalo added.
The Philippines' top diplomat also vowed that the country's existing SDG Watch will be complemented by a community-based monitoring system that will feature greater involvement of local governments and provide more granular data at the household level.