Message by Cayetano W. Paderanga. Jr. Secretary for Socioeconomic Planning and NEDA Director-General Philippine Development Plan (PDP) Caravan Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) 20 March 2011 Hotel Elizabeth, Baguio City

Mr. Virgilio Bautista, the co-chair of the CAR- Regional Development Council (RDC); Regional Director Leonardo Quitos, Jr. of NEDA-CAR; our colleagues in the different agencies; members of the RDC; representatives of other members, good afternoon. 

We are now on the second year of the implementation of the Philippine Development Plan: 2011-2016. We think this is one of the most consulted medium-term plans, as it comprehensively consulted different stakeholders all over the country for over a year. NEDA did not write the Plan. It was written by the different stakeholders, and NEDA only coordinated in formulating the Plan. We tell all the Regional Development Councils (RDCs) that this is your Plan. 

The visionary of the Philippine Development Plan is President Benigno Aquino III, who wrote the 16-Point Social Contract with the Filipino People, where the Plan was based. It was in keeping with his instructions that the Philippine Development Plan be written to implement the promises he had made to the Filipino people when he was campaigning for the Presidency. That, therefore, is an embodiment of what he thought were the things that the Filipino people wanted when he went on a consultation tour during the campaign. 

Accomplishments 

It would be good to know what has been done, what we can expect, and what the challenges are, particularly in your region. 

In spite of the global economic turmoil, the country managed to stay on track. Sustained improvements are evident in all over. 

We started reaping the benefits of the good governance and anticorruption initiative of President Benigno Aquino III in terms of revenue collection, among others. In 2011, total revenue collection was higher by 13 percent, that is by PhP152 billion, compared to the 2010 collections. And this was without new taxes or new sales of assets. Our interest expense has also decreased by about PhP42.6 billion compared to what we have expected to pay, primarily because there have been two upgrades in credit rating and also because of the general downward direction of interest expense as inflation went down. 

In trade and industry, total approved investments grew by 30.6 percent, from PhP196.1 billion in 2010 to PhP256.1 billion in 2011. 

Two surveys, one by World Economic Forum or WEF and the other by the Japan External Trade Organization, showed an improvement in our competitiveness ranking. In the WEF, the country’s ranking improved from 85th place to 75th, which is a ten-place jump, the biggest in the survey. There will be more of these improvements in competitiveness ranking, as the effects of the governance reforms are felt and as the perceptions of those within and outside our country finally catch up with the reality on the ground. 

In job creation, which is a linchpin for long-term sustained growth, new jobs hit 1.2 million in 2011, outperforming the government’s goal of generating at least one million jobs each year and reflecting the growing optimism that everybody has on the economy. This year, we are off to a good start. The January 2012 Labor Force Survey showed that the economy was able to generate 1.1 million employment from the previous year. We hope that this would continue. 

In energy, we continue to exert efforts in resource development, with Energy Contracting Rounds for oil and gas exploration and for coal operating contracts. 

In tourism, we are trying to rebuild the country to a faster, more sustainable growth trajectory. In 2011, we ended with an 11.28 percent increase in tourist arrivals, equivalent to 3.9 million tourists. We also launched a new tourism campaign under the theme, “It’s more fun in the Philippines.” 

In agriculture, a major accomplishment in 2011 was the reduction of rice imports to around 40 percent, or 940,734 metric tons down from the 2.4 million metric tons imported in 2010. We plan to import a lesser volume in 2012. Our biggest challenge is sustaining the productivity of our farms and fishing grounds in the face of climate change. We will also integrate climate change adaptation measures in all the programs and projects of the Department of Agriculture and in all the other projects that go through the NEDA-Investment Coordination Committee (ICC). 

In public infrastructure development, we will continue to focus on upgrading the quality and safety of our national roads and bridges. In addition, we have a convergence program which entails giving access to tourism destinations, airports, seaports and the major food production areas. We will try to finally complete the national transport system of the country. 

As we seek to bid out big-ticket projects under the Public-Private Partnership program, we continue to look into projects that are already included in the General Appropriations Act or GAA. As early as February 15, we have already bid out 85 percent of projects listed in the GAA. Of these, 68 percent have been awarded, which means we will be implementing our projects quite early this year and during the dry season. As of January 2012, the Department of Budget and Management has already released a total of PhP786.6 billion, representing 90.5 percent of the total budget allocated for the various Departments of the government and Special Purpose Funds. Among the Departments that received the largest capital outlay releases include the Department of Public Works and Highways with PhP91.06 billion, the Department of Agriculture with PhP24.97 billion, and the Department of Education with PhP11.06 billion. 

Good governance was the anchor in accomplishing all of these. Through the early years of the Aquino administration, the aim was to transform the country through good governance. Thus, in all facets of government, including development, good governance and anticorruption are the recurring mantra. 

Prospects 

Because of good governance, the prospects for 2012 look bright. 

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects inflation to remain manageable, with headline inflation to remain within the target range of 3-5 percent for 2012. Moreover, monetary and fiscal policies are in place to ensure a macroeconomic environment that will continue to broadly support consumer confidence and promote investment spending. 

We hope to have a higher economic growth this year. We have conservatively set a 5-6 percent GDP growth in 2012 for the budget assumption that we presented to Congress. We plan to get into that range primarily through bigger infrastructure investments of both government and the private sector. 

Tourism and agriculture, in particular, are really the topmost priorities because these are the sectors that can provide a lot of jobs of different skill levels throughout the countryside. But we will continue to push for the sectors that are already considered big growth factors, such as the BPO centers and the electronics industry. We will also push forward the highly specialized “creative” industry, which may not have the scale of the other sectors. Because of our artistic and talented people, this is an industry that has to be promoted. 

Development and the Cordillera Region 

The Philippine Development Plan has made regional and local development an important concern. An overriding concern in regional development is sustainability. Hosting 13 major watersheds, CAR prides itself as the watershed cradle of the country that plays a key role in promoting ecological balance. Your Regional Development Plan, therefore, calls for the adoption of ecosystem-based management approaches and natural resources-based economic endeavors, such as agri-tourism. This is a challenge that the Cordillera region may want to take on. 

Cultivating high-value crops in the Cordillera, including cut flowers, vegetables and fruits, needs to be balanced with strengthening the resilience of the natural system and protecting the environment. Communities also need to cope with environmental hazards, including climate change-related risks. 

I am impressed by the culture-driven values of the indigenous peoples of Cordillera when it comes to making the land productive and at the same time maintaining its ecological integrity. The indigenous practices in sustainable agriculture are technologies from which our farmers elsewhere in the country would learn a lot. 

The Cordillera is also host to a vast wealth in mineral resources. The history of mining in the mountain provinces, including the history of people’s resistance to mining, provides us with the clues on how we could make this wealth propel our country to higher levels of development. 

Let me add also that we recognize the active pursuit of the CAR-RDC for unity and cultural identity through its information campaign on regional autonomy. These efforts will allow the people to make the right choices when the time comes. 

I would like to end my talk with this plea for stronger partnerships in development. Now is the time for all sectors of society to share in the effort to pursue sustainable and inclusive growth, for in the end, we all shall benefit from such sharing. 

Thank you. 

MR No. 2012-022


March 20, 2012