MANILA – The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee is pushing for a set of pro-people economic policies dubbed as the “New Deal for the New Economy” to prevent an uneven K-shaped economic recovery.
In an aide memoire to the House leadership dated Oct. 20, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, who also chairs the House’s economic stimulus and recovery cluster for the Defeat Covid-19 Committee, warned of a K-shaped economic recovery, where “the educated middle class and above recover, while the underskilled and underemployed suffer a decline in their socioeconomic status.”
“We can see that now. Mid-level professionals get to work from home. Service sector workers, especially in retail and janitorial services, were terminated. As we go digital, these sectors will probably rebound more slowly if at all,” Salceda said.
Salceda said the country faces an “evolve-or-die” situation, as the pandemic accelerated the shift towards a new global economic order where information and communication technology are the most highly prized commodity and channel, and where low-skilled, strictly-onsite work is “nearing obsolescence.”
Salceda has advised recently-installed Speaker Lord Allan Velasco to adopt a “New Deal for the New Economy” supported by solid fiscal standing to finance modern governance, a dynamic and resilient real economy, with pro-people and pro-countryside policies.
Salceda said comprehensive reforms will be made in the areas of energy, infrastructure, countryside investments, fiscal standing, modern national governance (including fighting red tape), green economy, agriculture, local governance modernization, healthcare, education, financial sector modernization, and digital economy competitiveness.
“There will be a new economy: it will be more digital, more global, more skills-based, and focused on value-added. We cannot escape it. We can only rewrite our national policies so that they bring a fairer deal to our people. We cannot change the global economy, but we can thrive in it, with the right policies,” Salceda said.
Salceda expressed hope that the aide memoire, containing 56 bills that would “chart a path towards a more modern economy”, would wisely counsel the “forward-thinking” Speaker.
“We will resume session on Nov. 16. That will be the first full session of Speaker Velasco. We will strive to pass all of these within 100 days,” Salceda said.
He argued that unless aggressive intermediate responses are made, the country would still see underemployment in the 25 percent level, and unemployment at 8 percent by the end of 2021.
“Many development goals, including child hunger and poverty, where the country has made significant progress over the past years, will have to be clawed back,” he said.