ADB Annual Meetings
Cebu Press Conference
April 19, 2018
(Pleasantries)
It’s good to be here with you, our friends in the press and media.
On behalf of my principal, Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez, it’s a pleasure to thank you for coming to this press conference today.
As you may know, we are conducting the final leg of the roadshow for the public to better appreciate our hosting of the 51st Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Meeting. Although there will be a number of high-profile public events in the days preceding, the Annual Meeting itself will happen from May 3 to 6 this year, and most of the activities will center at the ADB headquarters in Mandaluyong City.
The Philippines has hosted the ADB since its inception. For this year’s Annual Meeting, we expect about 3,000 delegates from the Asia-Pacific countries and elsewhere. Among those arriving are finance ministers, central bankers, businessmen, academics, representatives of civil society groups, and journalists. These are highly influential visitors and we are doing our best to showcase the country and highlight our economic achievements.
This year’s meeting works on the theme: “Linking People and Economies for Inclusive Development.” This theme will help focus the work of the ADB towards enhancing interconnectedness among the member countries both in the form of hard infrastructure as well as through the increased use of modern information technologies.
The Philippines is well positioned to lead discussions on this year’s theme. The Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build program involves massive economic investments amounting to 170 billion US dollars over the next five years. Because infrastructure investments have the highest multiplier effects, this program will lift our GDP growth rate to 7 percent or better in the near term.
When we speak of the need for equitable, more inclusive growth, the Visayas region should be top of mind. Poverty rates in Western (Region VI), Central (Region VII), and Eastern Visayas (Region VIII) in 2015 were all above the national average of 21.6 percent. Moreover, income disparity in this part of the country is vivid. In 2016, per capita income at current prices in Central Visayas stood at 127,757 pesos, while that in Western and Eastern Visayas stood far behind at only 76,459 pesos and 67,638 pesos, respectively compared to the national average of 140,259 pesos. In terms of average regional share in the national GDP from 2010 to 2016, Central Visayas’ share was 6.3 percent compared with only 4.0 percent for Western Visayas and only 2.3 percent for Eastern Visayas.
The Duterte administration is keen on squarely addressing this serious problem. The goal of President Duterte’s economic strategy is to dramatically bring down poverty rates to only 14 percent by 2022 and the poorest provinces in the Visayas are among the areas at the heart of this goal.
Four (4) of the big-ticket infrastructure projects already approved by the NEDA Board are in the Visayas region. These include the construction of additional facilities and other necessary improvements of the Iloilo International Airport, the New Bohol Airport, and the Bacolod-Silay International Airport; and the construction of the new Cebu International Container Port. These projects are all planned to be substantially completed by the end of the President’s term. In addition, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is working round the clock to build strategic road projects that will help relieve traffic congestion. We will also look to build a number of large bridges that will link islands within the Visayas, as well as connect the Visayas islands to Luzon. These bridges will provide growth corridors and ensure that none of the major islands of the Visayas will be left behind in the country’s race to progress.
These infrastructure projects will also enable us to link local economies to the mainstream of growth, improve our efficiency and competitiveness, support the dramatic increase in tourist inflows which we anticipate, and create jobs and opportunities for our people.
The recent enactment into law of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, the first package of our comprehensive tax reform program, will enhance the financial feasibility of the Build, Build, Build Program by providing a steady revenue flow for the government. Around 70 percent of incremental revenues raised from TRAIN will be directed to the infrastructure program. The remaining 30 percent will be used for social services and investments in our human capital.
Aside from the improved revenues resulting from TRAIN, the massive infrastructure program will also be financed through concessional financing from multilateral institutions such as the ADB, grants and official development assistance generously offered by our friends in the region.
Over the last 50 years, our relationship with the ADB has been a productive one. The Bank, for its part, has also supported several major initiatives for Visayas. These include ongoing socioeconomic and community development projects with the overall goal of improving the quality of life of Visayans. The institution has been a strong partner of our economic development, and we look forward to an even more beneficial relationship in the years to come.
We look forward to meaningful discussions during the ADB Annual Meeting that will help us refine our strategies and policies. In turn, we also hope our experience in building a high-growth economy will be instructive to other emerging economies in the region.
Thank you very much.
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