Palace Confident PH Will Be Upper Mid-Income Economy by 2022

Malacañang on Monday welcomed the Asian Development Bank (ADB) assessment which showed that the Philippines will be able to reduce poverty incidents to 14 percent by 2022.

According to Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the ADB lauded the Duterte administration’s aggressive spending on infrastructure through the “Build, Build, Build” program.

Roque said the ADB cited the infrastructure program’s benefits to Filipinos which include the reduction of inequality by bringing more opportunities, and by improving connectivity and boosting the country’s small and medium enterprises.

Moreover, he said that the ADB also noted that the government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program has made a substantial contribution in addressing inequality and poverty across country.

Roque, meanwhile, expressed confidence that the Philippines’ positive growth outlook will help more Filipinos live more comfortable lives.

“We are confident that the Philippines — the government will help transform the Philippines into a high and middle income economy by 2022 through further modernizing the country’s infrastructure and making available socio-protection programs to the poor,” Roque said. (PNA)