Drilon laments NEDA s lost voice in IATF resulted in erroneous COVID-19 policies, dismal economy

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday lamented that the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) has “lost voice” in the government inter-agency task force for COVID-19 pandemic response which resulted in “erroneous” policies and a dismal economy.

At a Senate budget hearing, Drilon raised concerns on the economic growth forecast of the International Monetary Fund, the recent Bloomberg report, and Philippine Statistics Authority data on unemployment, showing the dismal economic status of the Philippines.

“We all love our country, we want to see our country move forward, but why in Jesus’ name are we in this situation today? Please don’t give me the answer ‘because of the pandemic.’ You know the other countries have fared better insofar as their economy is concerned, their growth rate is concerned,” Drilon said.

“Why do we suffer? Why would our people suffer so much joblessness because of this very poor situation so aptly described by these reports,” he added.

NEDA director-general Karl Kendrick Chua said he has always been a proponent of “better balancing” between the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 aspects of the crisis.

“We have pushed very hard, the economic team, in reopening the economy further that is, I think, one thing we are seeing light,” he said.

Chua noted that the government is now implementing the Alert Level System, which will focus the quarantine in granular scale.

He likewise mentioned his push for the resumption of face-to-face classes in the country.

With these adjustments, Chua said he “would be more optimistic” than the IMF forecast on the Philippine economy.

“So we continuously monitor this data and I think given the more mobility that we have, the economy wouldn’t see the same fate as what we saw last year. Of course, we will have to continuously improve this over time,” Chua said.

At this point, Drilon noted that despite Chua’s push for economic measures, the government is still not able to manage the situation better.

“I can imagine, you sound like a lost voice, a lonely voice in the IATF deliberations and I think what you follow there is command and control,” he said.

“Hindi ko po talaga maintindihan (I can’t really understand this). Ang ibang bansa, ganoon din, may mag  (Other countries face the same situation there were also) restrictions, why they were able to manage better? Something is wrong with our IATF leadership,” he added.

The minority leader expressed frustration on the “erroneous and not well thought off moves by the IATF” due to the “command and control” style of leadership in the IATF.

“Unfortunately that frustration resulted in thousands having died, millions being unemployed, millions of families being hungry, because of these erroneous moves and policies and lack of credibility on the part of the government,” he said.

Drilon also pointed out that the IATF lacks credibility because of issues that its chairman, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, is facing such as the questionable transactions with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation.

“All of this goes to the credibility of the government in influencing the behavior of our people which is very critical… The behavior of our people to me is very important in this pandemic campaign,” he said.

While the senator vouched for Chua’s credibility, Drilon lamented that the NEDA secretary could not assert his position in certain government policies for COVID-19 response.

“Unfortunately Karl, wala kang laban d’yan sa pinag-uusapan (you have no influence in the deliberations), what are the measures that should be undertaken. It is in that sense, I’m sure you won’t make it public but I’m sure that you are as frustrated as many of us insofar as the pandemic responses of this government is concerned,” Drilon ended.

The Senate finance subcommittee has approved the proposed P14.126-billion NEDA budget for 2022.—AOL, GMA News
 

Drilon laments NEDA s lost voice in IATF resulted in erroneous COVID-19 policies, dismal economy
Source: Filipino Viral News PH