The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., approved last December 16 the Philippine Development Plan for 2023-2028, with the following key macroeconomic targets: gross domestic product (GDP) growth ranging from 6.5 to 8.0 percent; unemployment contained at between 4.0 to 5.0 percent, or down from 8.0 percent in 2021; single-digit poverty rate at 9.0 percent of the population, down from 18.1 percent last year; increase in wage and salaried workers from 48.0 to up to 55.0 percent.
To jumpstart the attainment of these five-year targets, the government seeks to achieve the following in 2023: GDP growth target of 6.0 to 7.0 percent; Inflation and food inflation maintained at 2.5 to 4.5 percent in 2023 and 2.0 to 4.0 percent from 2024 to 2028; narrowing of national government debt-to-GDP ratio from 63.7 percent this year to 48 to 53 percent by 2028.
NEDA Director-General and Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan expressed confidence that Gross National Income (GNI) would improve sufficiently so that by 2025, the Philippines could be classified as an upper to middle-income economy. This will be a remarkable achievement. The Philippines has been classified as a lower middle-income country ever since the World Bank came up with its classification scheme – whether internally in the early 1980s or as officially published since 1989.
In essence, the NEDA points out, the PDP’s over-arching objective is the revitalization of job creation and poverty reduction and the country’s return to its high-growth trajectory following more than two years of economic slump brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new five-year plan follows the framework of Ambisyon 2040, the country’s long-term development plan established in 2015. This was fine-tuned by the Duterte administration for the period 2017 to 2022 and further refined by the incumbent administration, aligning these with the eight key goals declared by President Marcos in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July, as follows: protecting purchasing power; reducing vulnerability and mitigating the scarring from the pandemic; ensuring sound macroeconomic fundamentals; creating more jobs; ensuring quality jobs; creating green jobs; guaranteeing a level playing field; and maintaining public order, safety, peace and security.
Noteworthy in the NEDA primer is the that it also spelled out the enabling actions to ensure attainment of priority goals. Inflation containment shall be achieved via a wholistic approach that takes into account food, energy, transportation and logistics constraints that disrupt supply and value chains. The remaining obstacles to fully reopening the economy shall be addressed through purposive interventions that would ensure the seamless delivery of health, education and social protection services.
The jobs strategy "will be supported by enhanced implementation of the National Competition Policy and the accelerated operationalization of amended laws governing foreign investments." Reskilling, retooling and job facilitation would ensure higher employability. Finally, the sustainability imperative will drive the creation of green jobs and livable communities.