United Nations Welcome to the United Nations. It's your world.

PH Cites Good Governance As Key In Meeting MDGs and Post-2015 Dev't Targets

Friday, July 10, 2015 - 11:00

 

 

PH Cites Good Governance As Key In Meeting MDGs and Post-2015 Dev't Targets

 

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan presents the Philippines’ accomplishments and recommendations in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals at the UN ECOSOC
Annual Ministerial Review

 

NEW YORK, 10 July 2015 – The Philippines underscored good governance as key in its implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and reaffirmed its commitment to meeting its development targets in the next 15 years.

 

Presenting the Philippines’ accomplishments and recommendations in the implementation of the MDGs at the UN Economic and Social Council Annual Ministerial Review this morning, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) cited President Benigno S. Aquino III’s “Social Contract with the Filipino People” which was committed to governance reforms.

 

"Our main message is that good governance is key to sustainable development… (President Aquino’s) ‘Social Contract with the Filipino People’ committed to governance reforms. This was translated into a national development plan focused on attaining inclusive growth, which was defined as rapid growth accompanied by massive generation of quality employment. Such growth should then result in the attainment of the MDGs,” he told the high-level segment.

 

He said the MDGs remain an “unfinished business” for the Philippines but stressed that the country is committed to attaining these goals even beyond 2015.

 

Moving forward, Secretary Balisacan stressed the need for an appropriate data monitoring system to track development targets which would entail huge financial and expert resources. For this, he called on the international community, including multilateral agencies, to help develop the expert capability and even contribute financially.

 

The United States, Malaysia and Spain served as reviewers for the Philippines. Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Zambia also made voluntary presentations.

 

In his presentation, Secretary Balisacan described the political context of the Philippines’ MDG implementation since the year 2000, as well as progress made throughout the years.

 

While there are “mixed results” as far as the Philippines’ accomplishments of the MDGs are concerned, the Socioeconomic Planning Secretary said there are lessons learned and that the country is already addressing the challenges encountered in meeting the MDGs.

 
Among the lessons he cited were:
  1. The attainment of the MDGs requires a sustained and consistent commitment across all stakeholders;
  2. the implementation plan should include a financing plan;
  3. the implementation plan should include programs to build resilience, especially of the poor and near poor, against natural and man-made hazards and economic shocks;
  4. there should be a clear assignment of responsibilities consistent with the governance structure; and
  5. there should be an appropriate data monitoring system to support the accountability mechanism.
 
On poverty reduction under MDG1 specifically, Secrretary Balisacan said there is a need for a comprehensive strategy to significantly reduce poverty.
 

Secretary Balisacan added that the best strategy moving forward is sustained economic growth in order to create the necessary fiscal space.  

 

“We have undertaken corrective measures to address the previous shortcomings. In doing so, we have actually transitioned into a sustainable development framework where we need to consider the synergy happening in three spheres: economic, social and environment,” he elaborated.

 

 

He added that building resiliency is also a priority given the Philippines’ intrinsic vulnerabilities with its geo-characteristics.

 

“The current administration has invested heavily in technology and infrastructure to improve its disaster risk reduction and mitigation systems. We are also considering disaster risk financing to ensure funding for reconstruction in cases of catastrophe, without having to compromise fiscal sustainability. This financing option can be made more affordable with greater global cooperation to improve the risk portfolio,” he said.

 

He said that the Philippines has strongly advocated for national, bipartite, and multilateral arrangements that promote the protection of our overseas Filipinos given the huge number of Filipinos who work and reside abroad, making the country vulnerable to external shocks.

 

“Let me take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to working with all of you in overcoming the challenges of development. We believe that much can be gained from international cooperation and we can all contribute to expanding the knowledge base of good practices to improve and make things work for the better,” he concluded. END