Thank you to our NEDA Secretary, Secretary Arsi Balisacan. [Please take your seats.]

The Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile; the members of the Cabinet; the Excellencies of the Diplomatic Corps that have joined us today; I would like to also greet specifically our RDC chairman, some of whom I can see have joined us here today. Their role in all of the economic planning of NEDA and the country’s economy in general is going to be expanded and that will give voice to the local governments as well as to point out [applause] – to point out to the national government the needs in their areas. So I am very glad that we have a very – a stalwart group of political leaders who I think will do a very fine job. My fellow workers in government; other distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

I am delighted to be with you in the midst of the movers and shakers who have labored hard to craft our vision for the country.

It is with great pleasure that we kickoff this event with you all as we present to the public the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the plan that will serve as our guide in building a more prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society.

And my congratulations goes already to the good work that has been done by NEDA and everyone involved, both from the public and private sectors, for the timely finalization of the Development Plan. [applause]

And as you see, we hold – we regard with great importance the involvement of the private sector in all our plans for the future. It is a very simple axiomatic principle that we follow and that is very simply that we the government cannot do this alone. And we must strengthen our partnerships with our private sector partners both here and abroad.

The plan represents not only our aspirations as a people but also our resolve to build a nation that we can all be truly proud [of].

In fact, it is articulated best at the heart of the PDP whose goal is to “reinvigorate job creation and accelerate poverty reduction by steering the economy back on the high-growth path and effect economic transformation.” 

These are truly bold plans but I have the confidence in the minds of those who will become our partners in realizing this vision contained in this document and faith in the capacity of our people.

Indeed, we look towards the future with hope, with optimism.  But our gaze can only go as far as what we have done to unburden the life of the ordinary Filipino.

We can talk about economic policies and obscure numbers and data as long as we want to. But it is the life of the ordinary Filipino, more than just the numbers and the realm of data and statistics. It is something that is deeply personal to all of us. It is something that we know requires action.

The struggles of our – the struggles of our fellow Filipinos run deeper than the bigger and more macro problems that we in the government encounter.

Their struggles are embedded in their respective daily battles: How do I make ends meet?  How can I bring food to the table?  What is my future going to look like? Will my children live in a better Philippines than the one that I grew up in?

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my firm belief that  answering these questions will be the defining challenge for us who are called to serve and will be the barometer through which the government will be measured.

I have great optimism as we set to implement the key points in our PDP from this day moving forward.

It is a Plan that will set the Philippines towards becoming an upper-middle income country by the year 2025.

But beyond the economic development, the Plan also focuses on social development and protection, disaster resilience, digital transformation, and many other things. The different sectors as the Secretary has pointed out will be examined in following fora in greater detail and again this is where we need all our partners’ inputs, our partners in the local government, our partners in the private sector, our partners in civil society, even our partners in the uniformed services. Every part of society must be part of this transformation.

And if we do that, if we manage to put together these best minds that can apply their particular talents to the problems that we face, we will set sail towards transforming our sectors in key areas such as digitalization in order to build better data systems that will create better government programs.

In line with this, I welcome the upcoming launch of the Pilipinas GoDigital Movement, which will advocate digitalization initiatives and nationwide digital upskilling of marginalized Filipinos in collaboration with the TESDA and the Inter-Agency Council on Philippine Digital Workforce.

We will also continue – we will also continue with our strategy to foster dynamic innovation ecosystems that will attract more investments and most importantly generate more good jobs.

We will enhance our connectivity among our islands and with the rest of the world to facilitate greater movement of goods and people to keep the economy thriving and active.

Moreover, we will continue to strengthen the cooperation between local and national governments as well as further boost the partnership between government and the private sector.

Indeed, these are just among the many points that will become the country’s guiding light towards an economy that will work for every Filipino, especially those who need it most.

I thus enjoin everybody to employ what we have come to call a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to effectively implement this Development Plan.

After all, the success of our government and our nation lies in all of us working together — we need to cooperate and to collaborate so we can realize our goals moving forward.

Together, let us channel our energies in creating an economy that works for everyone and gives every Filipino, no matter their circumstances, a better life.

With your support, I am confident that we will be defined not by the challenges that we face, but by the better days and the better future that we have brought.

I wish you an engaging and productive gathering.

Maraming, maraming salamat po at napakaganda po ng ating magiging kinabukasan kapag tayo lang ay nabuo natin itong ating Development Plan na ito. Kaya’t ang tulong po ninyo ay ang aming hinihingi. Ang tulong po ninyo ang kailangan upang tayo ay makapagsabi na pinaganda na natin ang buhay ng bawat Pilipino. Maraming salamat po at magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat. [applause]

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SOURCE: PCO-PND (Presidential News Desk)