By Cai Ordinario, June 5 2019; Business Mirror
http://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/06/05/neda-phl-needs-help-to-achieve-3-un-goals/
Image Credit to Business Mirror
MEETING the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require the help of the country’s partners, including international institutions, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said this is particularly the case for SDGs Goal No. 4 on Quality Education; Goal No. 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth; and Goal No. 10, Reduced Inequalities.
“The massive resource requirements to meet the ambitious agenda of the SDGs require inclusion and engagement of all stakeholders, and we acknowledge that meeting our development commitments requires nothing short of a whole-of-society approach and determination,” Pernia said in a statement before the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap).
“Partnerships are vital and fundamental to achieving the SDGs and our national development goals,” he added.
Pernia said government efforts such as the Conditional Cash Transfer Program required a partnership between the private and nongovernment organizations to provide alternative modes of education—through the Alternative Learning System—to beneficiaries.
He also cited the recently passed Expanded Maternity Leave Act that increases maternity leave benefits from 60 to 105 days.
“We are counting on private companies to implement nondiscrimination laws such as this, and to ensure that women receive equal opportunities in the workplace,” Pernia said.
The Neda chief said several businesses are actively creating opportunities for the poor and marginalized to participate in the production value chain.
He highlighted the National Spatial Strategy, which was designed during the start of the administration to tackle spatial and socioeconomic inequalities by linking lagging regions with leading ones.
“Transport infrastructure will create more opportunities for production, employment and livelihood in regions outside of urban centers like Metro Manila. Improving regional connectivity requires channeling not just domestic—both public and private—resources, but international funds, as well,” he said.
Pernia reported how the government is employing a “multisectoral approach” in working toward the SDGs. He delivered the country’s statement and headed the Philippine delegation during the 75th Session of the Unescap in Bangkok on May 27 and 28.
The Philippine delegation had representatives from the Department of Finance, Commission on Population and Development, Philippine Statistics Authority, Department of Agriculture, Department of Foreign Affairs, and Department of Science and Technology.