President Benigno S. Aquino III. LYN RILLON/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Criticized at home for allegedly failing to make a difference in the lives of the poor, President Aquino is set to trumpet on the world stage his administration’s economic gains and the effort to eventually achieve “inclusive growth.”
The venue will be the 21st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bali, Indonesia, where the President will join 20 other heads of government in tackling “sustainable growth and equity” and how to promote “connectivity.”
The spotlight will be on Mr. Aquino on Sunday, the day he leaves for Bali, when he sits down with top businessmen at the APEC CEO Summit to discuss “why inclusive growth matters” and what APEC economies “can learn from each other.” Joining him on the panel are Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Peruvian President Ollanta Humala.
“The President will be sharing Philippine strategies, initiatives and accomplishment on this particular area,” Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez said at a news briefing in Malacañang Wednesday.
Achieving inclusive growth is now a central theme for Aquino’s remaining years in office, amid observations that the poorest of the poor were not benefiting from his administration’s so-called economic gains.
During the annual conference of the Global Development Network in Manila last June, the President promised to work on making economic growth “inclusive,” meaning everybody feels and enjoys the benefits of economic growth, by focusing on priority areas such as job creation and mass housing.
“The next three years will see continued interventions on the poorest of the poor but also a focus on the vulnerable but emerging sectors of society, all made possible by prudent public finance policies and honesty in public administration; by continuing efforts to build mass housing on site and not in far-flung areas; by creating durable jobs in industry, tourism and agriculture,” the President said then.
A key strategy is the expanded conditional cash transfer program, a multibillion-peso mechanism adopted and continued from the previous administration. Allocation for the program has been increased to P62.6 billion next year from the current P44-billion budget.
On Oct. 8, Mr. Aquino will serve as a “lead discussant” on “People-to-People Connectivity” during the Leaders’ Retreat. Hernandez said the President would “call for the need to intensify cooperation in cross-border education and skills training as a fundamental step in aligning human resource development with economic growth and resiliency.”
The day before, Aquino will sit down with members of the APEC Business Advisory Council to “articulate Philippine initiatives on food security, infrastructure investment, and Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises.”
Hernandez said the President would also discuss the Philippines’ efforts in “trade in services, skills and education, and women and the economy.”
From Bali, Aquino will proceed to Brunei for the 23rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Summit.