House Speaker Martin Romualdez underscored on Thursday, Aug. 4, the importance of the lower chamber's adoption of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) No. 2, which expresses the solons' full backing of the Marcos administration's Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF).

Romualdez went as far as to describe the House of Representatives' action last Monday in the fledgling 19th Congress as "historic", despite the fact that the adoption of HCR No.2 didn't even carry the impact of a new law.

“I dare say that the adoption by Congress of the MTFF Concurrent Resolution is a historic one,” the Leyte 1st district representative told members of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Thursday afternoon in Makati City.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time that our legislators fully committed themselves to a medium-term fiscal plan that will serve as anchor for the annual spending and financing plan of the national government. This— the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework— will serve as our guide in preparing the annual budget for the next six years," he noted.

The Marcos administration designed the 2022-2028 MTFF to attain short-term macro-fiscal stability while remaining supportive of the economic recovery and promoting medium-term fiscal sustainability.

It aims to reinvigorate job creation and poverty reduction by steering the economy back to its high-growth path in the near term and sustain the high— but inclusive and resilient — growth all through 2028.

“The philosophy is simple: efficient collection of taxes especially under a strong economy ensures adequate funding for government programs. In simple terms, the MTFF is a fiscal consolidation and resource mobilization plan. The objective: in the short run, keep the macroeconomy stable and provide adequate social services; in the medium term, generate ‘more jobs, quality jobs, green jobs," Romualdez explained.

“We, in the House of Representatives, not only support the MTFF. We are also aligning Congressional initiatives with the economic recovery programs of the national government,” added the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) president.

The framework contains an eight-point socioeconomic agenda aimed at immediate job creation and poverty reduction. These include the following: 1) attaining food security, 2) reduction of transport and logistic costs, 3) reduction of energy cost to families, 4) addressing public health concerns, 5) strengthening of social protection programs, 6) return to face-to-face classes, 7) enhanced bureaucratic efficiency, and 8) sound fiscal management.

The MTFF also sets macroeconomic targets for the next six years, which are as follows: 1) 6.5 to 7.5-percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2022 and 6.5 to 8-percent annual GDP growth from 2023 to 2028, 2) 9-percent poverty rate by 2028, 3) 3-percent national government deficit by 2028, 4) less than 60-percent debt-to-GDP ratio by 2025, and 5) upper middle-income country status for the Philippines with each Filipino earning at least $4,046 per year.