Presidential nominee and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Monday proposed his 10-Point Bilis Kilos Economic Agenda: housing, education, labor and employment, health, tourism and creatives, infrastructure, and digital information and industry 4.0, agriculture, good governance, and smart governance.
For Housing
Under Isko Moreno’s presidency, the government will allow 1.3% of its annual gross domestic product (GDP) to build 1 million calamity-proof houses in 6 years. This includes building vertical housing projects near cities and workplaces like Manila’s Condominium and base community.
For Education
Moreno said he would increase the education budget-to-GDP ratio from 3.17% to 4.3%, expand access to quality education, and revise the curriculum at all academic levels focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Also, upgrading technical and vocational programs to prepare Filipino workers for future jobs.
For Labor and Employment
Moreno’s administration will support MSMEs and employ around 63% of the country’s total workforce. Training activities, workshops and refresher courses will be available to help Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) find better job opportunities. Pandemic-affected Filipino families will continue to receive Ayuda (cash aid) from the government.
For Health
Moreno vowed to build more public hospitals and health centers across the country, with 107,000 beds during his first 1,000 days in office to enhance the country’s healthcare system. He plans to grant scholarships to 10,000 medical students annually, achieving an evenly distributed ratio of one doctor to 1,000 Filipinos and raise salaries for nurses and other healthcare workers. But above all, a clear Pandemic Response Roadmap will be disclosed to fully protect all Filipinos from COVID-19 by December 31, 2022, to reopen the economy and prepare for future pandemics.
For Tourism and Creatives
Besides building more housing, world-class hospitals, modern public schools, and inter-island linkages, Moreno’s accelerated infrastructure program will also prioritize the construction of more conventional and renewable power plants, resulting in reliable and affordable energy supply to boost economic growth and foreign investment, thus provide more jobs. Financial experts will be appointed to better manage the Philippine Insurance Health Corp.
For Infrastructure
Moreno intends to strengthen the country’s digital infrastructure by building and completing a national fibre-optic backbone that connects all schools, government agencies and industries that rely heavily on the internet. However, he said his infrastructure program will invest more infrastructure development in regions with a low human development index (HDI), mainly Visayas and Mindanao, to convey more inclusive economic growth.
For Digital Information and Industry 4.0
The Bilis Kilos agenda commits to increase the government budget for research and development (R&D) from the current 0.16% GDP to the world standard of 2%. As artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to account for 92% over the next five years, R&D will prioritize AI and additive manufacturing, especially in the short term with the highest economic returns. The R&D program will also be used to help the Philippine startup community create “unicorns” – a billion-dollar startup-like Singapore’s Grab and Lazada.
For Agriculture
Moreno aims to raise farmers’ incomes to the level of average Filipino workers by lowering the cost of agricultural production; providing risk-free capitals; Building more irrigation systems while improving the efficiency of existing ones; and establishing the Department of Fisheries Aquatic Resources. Likewise, the government will guide farmers to adopt new technologies to improve productivity and help establish connections with reputable businessmen for their products.
For Good Governance
To oversee this, all is an open, transparent, inclusive and streamlined bureaucracy helmed by the “best, brightest and most experienced patriotic Filipinos. We will put in place honest, competent, progressive, passionate, cooperative, goal-oriented and hardworking teams who value Meritocracy, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in leadership positions at government agencies,” said Moreno.
For Smart Governance
Moreno’s Bilis Kilos agenda also calls for smart governance as it did in Manila, encouraging citizen participation and rapid service delivery through automation and digitalization of government operations; promoting transparency by making public data available to everyone in a user-friendly format, understandable, accessible, and downloadable.
If elected president, the 10-point Bilis Kilos Economic Agenda will be the guiding principle of Moreno’s administration to accelerate economic growth and improve all Filipinos’ living standards.