The Economic Development (EDC) and Infrastructure (IC) Cabinet Clusters of the Duterte administration are set to report on economic and infrastructure developments along with the progress of the vaccination plan and other COVID-19 response programs at the first Pre-State of the Nation Address (Pre-SONA) forum of the EDC and IC for the year to be held next week.

The forum is titled “Sulong Pilipinas 2021: Partners for Progress (A Pre-State of the Nation Address (Pre-SONA) Economic Development and Infrastructure Clusters Forum).

According to Department of Finance (DOF) Assistant Secretary and Spokesperson Paola Alvarez, the forum will be held virtually on Monday (April 26), in support of health and safety protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Hosted by the DOF as the EDC chairperson and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as the IC chairperson, the forum will be streamed live on the Facebook pages of the DOF, DPWH, Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) and other government agencies.

This online event will be staged in coordination with the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary (OCS),

“This year’s EDC-IC Pre-SONA seeks to address primarily the existing concerns of the public over the lingering pandemic and the government’s programs to contain the quick spread of the lethal coronavirus. We do hope that our citizens will be able to tune in to the forum as the country’s top policy makers discuss our path to a quick and strong recovery from this global health and economic crises,” Alvarez said.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar will present updates and priority plans, respectively, on the economic and infrastructure fronts.

Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua will speak on the progress of the Zero-to-Ten Point Socioeconomic Progress of the Duterte administration and the government priorities for 2021 to 2022.

“The audience can expect Secretary Dominguez to delve deeper into the challenges we’re facing right now, the accomplishments in the previous year that we can build on, the Duterte administration’s four-pillar socioeconomic strategy to beat COVID-19, and the pending legislative proposals endorsed by our economic managers to the Congress,” Alvarez said.

Meanwhile, updates on the monetary, external and financial sectors will be discussed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno, while updates on flagship infrastructure projects will be presented by Presidential Adviser on Flagship Programs and Projects Vivencio Dizon and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.

Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio Honasan, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, and Agriculture Secretary William Dar will also provide updates on government initiatives in their respective sectors.

Pre-SONA forums are held annually to discuss in great detail the achievements of the government in the previous year and the priorities of the Cabinet cluster heads in the year ahead in the runup to the President’s annual address to the Congress.

This year’s SONA is set on July 26.

This Pre-SONA forum of the EDC-IC is part of a series of fora this year.

The EDC of the Duterte Cabinet is chaired by the Secretary of Finance and its members comprise the Executive Secretary (ES), Cabinet Secretary (CabSec); Head of the President Management Staff (PMS); and Secretaries of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), DPWH and the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), of Budget and Management (DBM), of Transportation (DOTr), of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), of Energy (DOE), of Science and Technology (DOST), of Tourism (DOT), of Agriculture (DA) and of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The IC, which is chaired by the DPWH Secretary, has for members the ES, CabSec and PMS chief, along with the Secretaries of the DILG, DBM, NEDA, DOTr, DOF, DICT, DTI, DA, DOT and the Departments of Health (DOH), of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and of Education (DepEd).

Aside from the reports of the EDC-IC, this year’s Pre-SONA will also cover updates on the COVID-19 vaccine procurement, presented by Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the vaccine czar and Chief Implementer of the Philippines’ Declared National Policy Against COVID-19.

After the presentations from the Cabinet officials, Alvarez said a Sulong Pilipinas workshop will be held to allow citizens to provide actionable recommendations to the government on how the Philippines can recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and what the government must prioritize in the years ahead.

“The Pre-SONA forum also presents an opportunity for the citizens to discuss among themselves what must be done right away and in the medium term. During the Sulong Pilipinas workshop, Filipinos will be given the platform to be involved in policy-drafting,” she said.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles’ updates on the monitoring of previous Sulong Pilipinas recommendations will demonstrate the significance of public consultations in increasing the level of transparency and involvement of civil society in the governance and regulatory processes.

At the end of the virtual forum, the president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Ambassador Benedicto Yujuico, will present the top actionable recommendations, on behalf of the participants, to President Duterte’s official representative at the event.

-oOo-