The Department of Finance (DOF) said the government will make sure that gains from economic recovery will trickle down the ordinary Filipinos, saying the Marcos administration has strategic interventions to attain it.

In a statement, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said Friday, July 29, that the Marcos administration’s comprehensive 8-point socioeconomic agenda would translate the country’s bright prospects into reality for the Filipino people.

The Philippine economy, as measured by its gross domestic product (GDP), is projected to grow by 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent this year, and 6.5 percent to 8.0 percent from 2023 to 2028.

Analysts consider these near-term growth projections to be the highest among the ASEAN+3 countries, which include Japan, South Korea, and China.

“While the numbers tell us a promising story, the government will certainly not be complacent,” Diokno said. “The Marcos administration will implement a comprehensive 8-point socioeconomic agenda to decisively steer the economy back to its high-growth trajectory.”

Diokno said that the Marcos administration’s socioeconomic priorities in the near-term include restoring price stability, addressing economic scarring from the pandemic, and ensuring the country’s sound macroeconomic fundamentals.

Over the medium term, the agenda will focus on generating more jobs, quality jobs, and green jobs through human capital development, digitalization, and infrastructure investments that will be sustained at five percent to six percent of GDP annually.

“We will harness the public-private partnership mechanism to welcome impactful projects consistent with the country’s development goals. With strong multiplier effect, our infrastructure projects are sure to yield exponential returns even well beyond our term,” Diokno explained.

Diokno added that the government will optimize the game-changing reforms already set in place to invite more foreign investors to invest in the Philippines and create more employment opportunities for the Filipino people.

These reforms include the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act and amendments to the Public Service Act, Retail Trade Liberalization Act, and Foreign Investments Act.

Diokno said that the Marcos administration’s socioeconomic agenda will elevate the country to upper-middle income status by 2024, and reduce poverty incidence rate to nine percent by 2028.

Economic growth will, likewise, translate to more, quality, and green jobs, and help reduce unemployment rate to four percent to five percent by 2028.

“This will ensure that no sector is left behind and we stay true to our goal of inclusive growth,” said Secretary Diokno.

The secretary said that the country is more than prepared to exceed the expectations of the international community and demonstrate its full potential in the next six years in terms of economic growth amid global challenges and the lingering effects of the pandemic.