Cabinet to Report on PH Economic Recovery, Infra Dev’t Plans

A three-part forum series discussing the government’s package of policies and programs that ensure and promote the Filipino people’s welfare will be held starting Wednesday, in preparation for the 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

The forum, called “Tatak ng Pagbabago 2020: The Pre-SONA Forum,” is conducted annually since 2018 as a platform for Cabinet officials to discuss key policies and programs in greater detail.

This year, Pre-SONA returns with the theme “Patunay ng Pagkalinga” to discuss how the Duterte administration is working to ensure that the needs of the Filipino citizenry are met amid the crises caused by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic while staying true to the President’s promise of genuine change.

Through the Pre-SONA forum, the public will have access to reliable information about national efforts to rise above the crises, relayed by official sources, the cabinet officials themselves.

This is to counter and prevent the spread of disinformation, which could harm, deceive, and mislead the citizenry.

The Pre-SONA forum will kick off at 11 a.m. on July 8 with the country’s chief economic managers and infrastructure officials to report on the state of the Philippine economy and the government’s ongoing efforts to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and adapt to the new normal.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno will deliver the report of the Economic Development Cluster.

Meanwhile, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar will deliver the report of the Infrastructure Cluster.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar will be the host of the event.

After the resource speakers delivered their speeches, there will be a brief discussion to delve deeper into the subjects and to answer questions collected from the online audience.

Joining the panel discussion are National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, Agriculture Secretary William Dar, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat, Tourism Undersecretary Arturo Boncato Jr., Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Vivencio Dizon, Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio Honasan III, and Education Undersecretary Alain del Pascua.

The three Pre-SONA forums will be held with no live audience to follow social distancing and safety protocols.

Viewers can catch the live streaming on the official Facebook pages of PCOO, Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM), and various government agencies at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays.

The second part of the Pre-SONA forum will be held at 11 a.m. on July 15 with the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster and the Participatory Governance Cluster.

With its third and final installment, the Pre-SONA forum will end at 11 a.m. on July 22, spearheaded by the Security, Justice, and Peace Cluster and the Climate Change Adaptation Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction Cluster.

The presentations delivered by the Cabinet clusters are available upon request by sending an email to tatakngpagbabago.pcoo@gmail.com.

Duterte is expected to deliver his SONA on July 27. (PR)