There is a bright light in the trip of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., following his meeting with Overseas Filipino Workers in New Jersey, the other day where he urged them to support tourism and invest in the country.
We know that the sought out investment would help bring the Philippines to what he called “heights it has not reached before.”
The President, speaking before the members of the Filipino community at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, acknowledged OFWs for their sacrifices and contribution to the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Marcos was expressly forthright when he said “even though we are far away, we are watching you, our hearts are breaking when we see what you are doing to raise and highlight the name of the Philippines around the world.”
Indeed, while COVID-19 has created unprecedented economic difficulties worldwide, President Marcos cited the role of OFWs in pandemic recovery, especially the remittances that helped the domestic economy recover from the health crisis.
Before the Filipino community, the President said the Philippines targets 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent gross domestic product growth this year.
With the quarter growth of 8.2 percent and the latest at 7.4 percent, the country’s GDP has expanded by 7.8 percent in the first half.
We heard the President loud and clear when he told the Filipino community “the future looks bright (and) the economy we expect to grow by six-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half percent this year…we will implement tax reforms that will be responsive to the development of the digital economy and will increase revenue collection.
The President said the government has also formulated its medium-term fiscal strategy to achieve measurable medium-term macroeconomic and fiscal objectives like a 6.5 percent to 8 percent real GDP growth annually between 2023 and 2028.
At the same time, the President has tagged the infrastructure program as the “backbone of the Philippine economy” and his administration must keep the momentum going.
And he asked members of the Filipino-American ommunity to follow in the footsteps of several professional Filipinos across the United States who have been carrying out impactful projects for the benefit of Filipinos back home.
Timely and aptly said.