Philippines to earmark 9.1% of GDP in recovery plan amid pandemic – Duterte

December 4, 2020

The Philippine government is allocating 9.1 percent of the country's gross domestic product on the recovery effort amid the coronavirus pandemic.

President Rodrigo Duterte said this early Friday in his statement at the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also pledged that the Philippines will contribute in the pooling of resources to help other countries without preconditions.

"Our recovery plan is built on solid macroeconomic and fiscal fundamentals, with a funding allocation equivalent to 9.1 percent of GDP," Duterte said.

He said the government aims for a "comprehensive and inclusive recovery with no one left behind."

"We are using all available socio-economic instuments to protect our hard-won gains in development," he said.

Together with the ASEAN and the Non-Aligned Movement, Duterte said the Philippines also supports a global health agenda with adequate resourcing and policy space for the World Health Organization.

"The Philippines will do its part. We will contribute in the pooling of global resources and help other countries without preconditions," he said.

He said the collective initiative in the UN and other multilateral frameworks is the best chance to defeat the virus.

In the same statement, Duterte also noted that in many parts of the world, the pandemic has "worsened" threats to peace and security.

"The lawless weaponize this health crisis. They cripple the state's ability to respond. They leave COVID-19 to wreak its worst on the population," he said.

"This is an inconvenient truth-but one that we must face head on," Duterte said.

He said the Philippines supports the UN Secretary General's report for a global ceasefire.

Duterte said his government wants to ensure the swift and unimpeded provision of medical care to all Filipinos, especially the most vulnerable.

"Yet combating terrorism is just as urgent now as it was before the pandemic. In my country, this fight is about protecting life while preserving the democratic values we have restored without violence," he stressed.

Some activists and left-leaning groups have been accusing the Duterte administration of using the pandemic to suppress rights of the people. Duterte also recently tagged some party-list groups and a congressman as communists.

Duterte also urged the members of the UN to further strengthen the networks of solidarity and cooperation.

"With the path clear, we see how far we can go working with each other and how much we can achieve, when we act - not as separate nations - but as one humanity," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS