James Daniel D.

Swinton
BSA 2-9

The Duterte administration inherited a strong economy with high GDP growth and positive

ratings from the international community to the point that some renowned economists tagged the

Philippines as the rising tiger in Asia according to World Bank. Though the performance of the

Aquino administration was impressive, it actually fell short of the targets set in the PDP 2011-

2016. According to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the country’s

gross domestic product grew at an average of 6.1 percent during the period 2010-2016, the

fastest 6-yearmoving average since 1978. In fact, the first quarter growth of 2013 is the highest

growth rate recorded under the Aquino administration and is faster than that of China’s,

Indonesia’s, Thailand’s, and Vietnam’s for the same period. Unfortunately, this was still below

the target. It is due to this that in his first few months as president of a new rising tiger in Asia,

president Duterte ordered the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to craft a

new Philippine Development Plan (PDP) for 2017-2022.

The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) for 2017-2022 tackles the long-term vision of the

government which is to sustain the aim of every Filipino family by 2040 and that is to live with a

“matatag”, “maginhawa”, at “panatag na buhay.” The plan envisions Philippines as a society

with a stable family and well developed and resilient communities. With these aspirations of the

people as the basis of development plan, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order No.

5, s. 2016 approving and adopting the 25-year long-term vision entitled “AmBisyonNatin 2040”

as a guide for development planning. It focuses on the four areas for strategic policies, programs,

and projects that will help them reach the same promoting vision namely: a) building a
prosperous, predominantly middle-class society where no one is poor; b) a long and healthy life;

c) becoming smarter and more innovative; and d) building a high-trust society.

In my opinion, the problem flaw of this plan is that avoids correcting the severe asset

inequities and income imbalances that keep millions of Filipinos marginalized from meaningful

economic activity. This means that all the plan's rhetoric about creating economic opportunities

will really just mean greater profitable opportunities for the few who have the accumulated assets

and incomes to begin with. Free market economics exalts asset accumulation as proof of

efficiency and income inequality as incentivizing efficiency.

In conclusion, a plan is useless unless it is successfully implemented. The perfect plan,

poorly executed, will fail however a lousy plan, well executed, is often successful. Just like what

a famous person said,” leaders have three fundamental responsibilities: They craft a vision, they

build alignment, and they champion execution.”

References

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/aquino-administration/economic-development/

http://pdp.neda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Chapter-04.pdf