Malacañang on Saturday assured Filipinos the government had put together a recovery plan to cushion the socioeconomic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Friday, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released the results of a survey that found that 36 percent of adult Filipinos expected their lives to worsen in the next 12 months.
The July 2020 figure was the second highest proportion in the 37-year-old series, behind the 43 percent recorded in May 2020.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque admitted the results posed “an issue that concerns the administration.”
“The Palace acknowledges that the Covid-19 pandemic and the quarantine restrictions have adversely affected the socioeconomic conditions of our people for the respondents of the survey to have this opinion,” he said in a statement.
Roque said the government’s “Recharge PH” plan was crafted to provide a “whole-of-society” socioeconomic recovery path.
The National Economic and Development Authority prepared the “Recharge PH” strategy. It seeks to “refocus, sharpen the design and accelerate the implementation” of programs under the 2020 General Appropriations to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and help the economy recover from the recession it entered in the second quarter.
Roque added that the government would push through with its “Ingat Buhay para sa Hanapbuhay” campaign as businesses and industries gradually reopen alongside with the easing of community quarantine restrictions.
“The resumption of our Build, Build, Build program, including the buildup of the country’s health system capacity and preparing for new normal through digital transformation, we hope to revitalize the economy and stimulate growth for the betterment of the lives of our people,” he said. John Ezekiel J. Hirro