PH confident to achieve SDG by 2030

FILE: Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (KARL NORMAN ALONZO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)cay

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the government’s goal to ensure that the Philippine’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) commitments are pursued and achieved by 2030.

During the 72nd Founding Anniversary of the United Nations in Taguig City Tuesday, DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano Cayetano, in his keynote message delivered by Usec. Jose Luis Montales, said the country “adopted the 2030 SDG agenda and harmonized its goals with policies that will benefit the Filipino people.”

He added that the socio-economic objectives in the SDGs are very close to the Philippines’ heart.

The SDGs is a set of 17 aspirational goals that seek to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

These are also build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which sought to address the economic, social and environmental aspects of development.

He said that “poverty alleviation and addressing hunger, providing quality education, gender mainstreaming, environmental protection, promotion of lasting peace, equitable and impartial justice of vulnerable groups, and strong institutions are some of the aspects of governance and society that need affirmative action which the country is trying to address.”

Montales said the UN-Philippine cooperation is a microcosm of the UN’s work throughout the world.

Of its population of more than 100 million, many are farmers, fisherfolk, laborers, migrant workers, seafarers, office employees, parents, spouses, children, relatives, refugees, and asylum seekers.

Montales said all, which have different needs and aspirations, “were touched in some way or another by UN’s work.”

Meanwhile, Almgren underscored that the UN will continue to support the achievement of the SDGs to end poverty, safeguard the planet, and guarantee prosperity for all Filipinos.

“For over seven decades, the United Nations and the Philippine Government have been working together to support development, humanitarian and peacebuilding efforts at the global level as well as in the Philippines,” he said.

He stated that the UN has a strong partnership with the Philippines, with 18 UN funds, programs, and specialized agencies present in the country.

Meanwhile, Israel Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau said the celebration indeed marks a “very special day,” since UN was created after the biggest catastrophe in the human history, and is meant to “bring peace to the world” and “correct the so many ills in the world.”

“By setting goals, the MDG now the SDG, we’re are really trying to send a message that we have to correct the ills of soicety otherwise they will overcome us,” he told the Philippine News Agency.

The Philippines, was among member states that actively participated in the formulation and adoption of the SDGs in September 2015.

For the last two years since the SDGs were launched, the Philippines has made great strides in integrating the SDGs into the plans and programs of the government within the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) framework.

The PDP agenda is geared towards achieving inclusive growth, a high-trust and resilient society, and a globally-competitive economy through the PDP’s three main pillars of “malasakit,” “pagbabago,” and “patuloy na pag-unlad.”

As per Almgren, “if the Philippines is to achieve SDG by 2030, it will be a good way to also achieve the Ambisyon 2040, which in fact would be 10 years ahead of time.”

The UN Day event was attended by senior government and UN officials, members of the diplomatic corps and representatives from the academe.

It featured performances by UNICEF Ambassador Gary Valenciano, youth organizations from De La Salle University Manila, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Miriam College, and University of the Philippines-Diliman and celebrity host Antoinette Taus. (PNA)