29 September 2016— National Economic and Development Authority Director-General Ernesto Pernia participated in a town hall meeting at the Philippine Consulate General in New York’s Kalayaan Hall on September 20 upon the invitation of the Consulate General led by Consul General Mario De Leon, Jr. in partnership with the PhilAm Chamber of Commerce New York (PACC) led by Mr. Michael Nierva.
Around 50 Filipino community members from media, business community, and regional organizations attended the said event.
In his welcome remarks, Consul General Mario De Leon, Jr. welcomed Secretary Pernia and noted how many Filipino Americans and business leaders in the US are keen to learn of the administration’s roadmap to continued economic growth and prosperity for the next six years, particularly the 10-point economic agenda.
Secretary Pernia is no stranger to the United States and to the Filipino American community. At a stage in his career, he moved to Connecticut, USA to attend the University of Bridgeport, earning an MA in Economics in 1969. He was also awarded a Ford Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley where he obtained a degree in Economic Demography in 1974.
Secretary Pernia gave a presentation entitled Status Quo ed Status ad Quem which highlighted the administration’s 10-point economic agenda in the context of the current state of the Philippine economy.
According to him, the government is instituting economic mechanisms that will promote the Philippine economy’s shift away from being consumption-driven to becoming investment-driven by utilizing government spending. He added that the government is also rebalancing the economy, putting emphasis on increasing foreign investments, encouraging the service sector, reviving manufacturing, and enhancing the “blue” economy (ocean resources).
He highlighted that the administration intends not only to continue but build on sound macroeconomic policies of the previous administration that can enhance economic growth from single to double digits (already fastest growing in Asia), contain poverty by addressing inflationary price increases, and implement policies curbing rising population growth. President Duterte’s programs include addressing red tape in government, peace and order, relaxing the Foreign Direct Investment Law, and increasing government spending on infrastructure, he concluded.
During the open forum that followed the presentation, Secretary Pernia addressed questions from community and media members of the shift to Federalism, the President’s recent remarks on the US and EU, the proposed national railway network in Mindanao, poverty, graft and corruption, smuggling, tax evasion cases, and the Philippines’ money laundering law. END
