LOCAL government units in Davao Region and private stakeholders vowed on Tuesday, November 22, to share and take part in realizing the country’s long term vision stipulated under the National Economic and Development Authority’s (Neda) “Ambisyon Natin 2040” during the multi-stakeholder summit at the Grand Regal Hotel in Lanang, Davao City.
Neda Assistant Secretary Carlos Bernardo Abad Santos, in a press conference on Tuesday said the “Ambisyon Natin 2040” is a collective long term vision for the Philippines, created over a year after 42 series of consultative process and focused group discussions participated by various industry experts and the ordinary Filipinos themselves.
“This vision responds to the clamor to go beyond six-year time horizon because there is a lot of development issues that cannot be tackled just within six years like poverty, you cannot eradicate poverty within six years so you need to have a roadmap, a goal that goes beyond six years,” he said.
The vision, he said, is for Filipinos to: “Enjoy stable and comfortable lifestyle, secure in the knowledge that we have enough for the daily needs and expected expenses, that we can plan and prepare for our own and our children’s future, that our family lives together in a place of our own, to have the freedom to go where we desire protected and enabled by a clean, efficient government.”
But, Santos clarified that “Ambisyon Natin 2040” is not a plan but a long term vision.
“Long-term vision will be achieved through successive development plans you cannot specify strategies for long term because strategies can change depending on the environment and priorities of a particular administration,” he explained.
“What is important is we set a vision, a goal for the Philippines, that the country will be free from hunger, live comfortable middle class lifestyle, be healthy, and live a safe, smart and innovative society.”
President Rodrigo Duterte adopted Neda’s “Ambisyon Natin 2040”.
Duterte endorsed the program through an Executive Order (EO) 5 inked last October 11.
The EO 5 mandated the identification of “appropriate set of milestones” that would guide the medium-term development plans to be developed by four administrations.
“The four medium-term Philippine Development Plans (PDPs) to be crafted and implemented until 2040 shall be anchored on the 'Ambisyon Natin 2040' and overall goals. The PDPs shall ensure sustainability and consistency of strategies, policies, programs and projects across political administrations,” the EO 5 read.
The order added all plans and programs of government departments, offices and instrumentalities, including government-owned or -controlled corporations and local government units, shall be consistent with “Ambisyon Natin 2040.” The move was lauded by the business community.
Department of Trade and Industry-Davao Director Maria Belenda Ambi said earlier that it is seen to uplift and sustain the economic status of the Philippines in the long term.
“That would be a great move on the part of President Duterte. We need a long-term plan for the country that would guide several administrations to continue and sustain our development momentum in the long run,” she said.
Joji Ilagan-Bian, a homegrown businesswoman in the education and tourism industry, said in a separate interview that the endorsement of Ambisyon Natin is seen to give numerous opportunities to Filipinos.
“If implemented and supported by all sectors, it will result to wider base of middle class families with more access to education, health and social services,” Bian said.
But Bian added the challenge is “how the government will implement the programs so that it will result to real inclusive growth. There needs to be a shift in the traditional manner of governance in both public and private sectors.”
