Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said Tuesday he expects business and consumer confidence to pick up in Mindanao with the end of the Marawi conflict, paving the way for the rehabilitation of the city.
Pernia said investors who put on hold their plans to expand their businesses or set up new ones and consumers who postponed their purchases following the Marawi siege in May could now carry out their plans with greater boldness and certainty.
“We are optimistic that the people of Marawi will be back on their feet as soon as possible. With this, we anticipate a renewed boost in business and consumer confidence in Mindanao,” Pernia said, adding this could also translate into even better tourism prospects for the country.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas earlier reported that business outlook for the fourth quarter turned more positive, with the confidence index rising to 51.3 percent from 42.7 percent in the previous quarter.
Consumer sentiment also turned more upbeat as the confidence index increased to 17.8 percent in the fourth quarter from 13.6 percent in the third quarter.
“This confidence is expected to be reflected in the country’s gross domestic product growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2017 and the succeeding quarters of 2018,” Pernia said.
The National Economic and Development Authority, which is headed by Pernia, is working closely with Task Force Bangon Marawi, the inter-agency task force for the recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi City which was established by Administrative Order No. 3 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Neda, together with the Department of Finance and the Department of Budget and Management, is in charge of resource mobilization. It also leads TFBM’s planning process and is currently integrating inputs of the Marawi City and Lanao del Sur local governments and the ARMM regional government in the rehabilitation plan.
“The government is committed to integrating crucial peace-building activities in the recovery and rehabilitation program. The ensuing peace-building efforts will also help ensure stability in the Mindanao region and help attract longer-term investments and boost greater consumer confidence,” Pernia said.
Neda, as a key member of Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery of TFBM, provided a recommended framework which aims to build safer, adaptive and disaster-resilient communities in Marawi.
It recommended that the Maranao culture be made integral in rebuilding Marawi and neighboring local government units, including concerns on overlapping land claims. This is apart from improving economic and social conditions and ensuring peace and security.
It suggested that maps containing the proposed land-use and urban plans be produced.
Local government units, ARMM, and concerned national agencies agreed to incorporate such analyses into their respective assessments.
“The rehabilitation and recovery of Marawi are gargantuan tasks which the government must see through. We should all work together to build a better Marawi,” Pernia said.