Press Release
July 24, 2010

ANGARA: TARGET GOV'T PRIORITIES TO ACHIEVE GROWTH

As the State Of the Nation Address (SONA) draws near, Senator Edgardo J. Angara said that the new government should be able to address and prioritize education, science and technology, environment and climate change mitigation, health, and infrastructure, emphasizing that these should remain as priority areas to allow the country to meet the twin goals of job creation and sustainable development.

"We are looking forward to hearing President Noynoy's vision for the country and his framework for his six-year term. This is the time to stimulate the economy through massive human capital development, as well as to pursue sustainable growth," said Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance.

He added, "This entails capitalizing on our rich renewable energy resources and enriching our human resources, thereby creating green jobs and income opportunities. We emphasize the promotion of clean technologies, realizing our huge potential for renewable energy, filling our huge infrastructure gaps, and raising our educational qualification, agricultural productivity and shoring up a failing health care system."

Angara further stressed the need to maintain the country's growth by pump priming the economy to prevent it from contracting and to save more people from falling into poverty, especially as the global economy is just recovering from the financial crisis.

Moreover, the Senator said there is a critical need to maintain a steady growth level for the country even at the expense of reduced debt service, Angara said that "a 1% drop in GDP growth is equal to a 1.35% rise in poverty incidence. In other words, an additional 930,000 people will fall below the poverty line for every 1% GDP drop. That is why we need to keep growing."

"We need to make vital investments in human capital development to prevent our economy from shrinking. We are now going to operate under a new surrounding and our actions ought to fit into this entirely different environment. We need to adapt to cope and survive. And we can do this by focusing our efforts on infrastructure, job generation and by preparing for the morning-after scenario through human capital investments," Angara concluded.

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