The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has stressed the need for the Philippines to transition to a digital economy with the current Covid-19 crisis affecting the economy.
“Our digital infrastructure needs to be improved and the digital divide needs to be addressed,” said acting Socio-economic Planning secretary and NEDA chief Karl Kendrick Chua.
Chua pointed out that a number of structural reforms are also needed and be put in place. “Before the Covid-19 crisis, we were on track to becoming an upper-middle income country this year. If we can quickly transition to the new normal, we can aspire for so much more.”
“These are extraordinarily trying times and the road ahead of us continues to be challenging and uncertain. Bear in mind that this crisis, like others before it, shall also pass, especially because we are working together as a nation,” Chua added.
He noted that the academe and the technology industry have helped government by providing technological and ICT solutions to address a number of issues related to the government’s Covid-19 response.
“Especially our health care workers have been selfless in sacrificing their very lives just to care for the sick, even the suspected and probable cases, those in quarantine, and the non-Covid patients,” he said.
“All these give us hope that the Filipino nation can rise above this temporary setback, and the Philippine economy can end the year with a respectable performance.”
Chua also stressed the need for the country’s socioeconomic policies to be adaptive and responsive to evolving realities. “Rest assured that the economic team will continue to work hard to restore our confidence and our economic growth trajectory,” he added.
