October 18, 2022

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) highlighted the crucial roles of public sector leaders and managers in the country’s journey towards robust economic recovery.

In his keynote address during the Development Academy of the Philippines’s (DAP) 25th Graduation Ceremony of the Public Management Development Program (PMDP), NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan hailed the graduates’ indispensable role in governance and policymaking.

“You are important drivers of change and innovation within the bureaucracy, as you identify issues and seek to design solutions within tight constraints. Your role as middle managers is vital in upholding good governance, which includes the elements of good planning and promoting efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the execution of such plans,” Balisacan said.

Balisacan noted that the country is on its way to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the economy displaying a rebound GDP growth rate of 5.7-percent in 2021 and a 7.8-percent average growth rate for the first half of 2022.

“These are welcome indicators that show that our recovery is proving to be robust, and that we are returning to the growth trajectory that we were tracking prior to the crisis,” he added.

Balisacan also acknowledged the challenges and hurdles that government still needs to overcome for this term, including a number of domestic and external risks amid a very tight fiscal space that may constrain the country’s growth in the coming six years.

However, the NEDA Secretary remains hopeful that with the right priorities and policies moving forward, the government can still emerge strong and able to effectively carry out the administration’s socioeconomic agenda, including the strategies and policies to be outlined in the next Philippine Development Plan (PDP).

“With your cooperation and expertise, we hope to have a thoughtfully crafted development plan that will ensure that scarce government resources and investments are channeled toward the right programs, projects, and activities that will best achieve the country’s collective goals and objectives,” he said.

The PMDP, which was launched in 2012, is an intensive program that provides comprehensive and multi-modal learning opportunities for public managers. During his first stint in NEDA, Secretary Balisacan was among those who advocated for the formation of the PMDP. A total of 70 students from batches 26 and 27 graduated this year, of which ten are from NEDA and its attached agencies.

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