THE PHILIPPINE Government is likely to reach over half of its goals under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) this year.
The Statistical Indicator of Philippine Development (StatDev) 2021 report released on Tuesday showed that about 56.9% of the 471 indicators showed either a “high” or “medium” probability of meeting these targets this year.
Based on the report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), 208 of the 471 indicators have a “high probability” of reaching the plan’s end goal by 2022.
Sixty indicators had a “medium probability”, indicating that a target may or may not be met.
On the other hand, 203 indicators showed a “low probability” of achieving the government’s goals.
StatDev monitors progress in meeting economic and social development targets set under the PDP 2017-2022.
“Specifically, 11 sectors have at least 50% of their indicators showing a medium to high probability of achieving the target by 2022, while four sectors appear to have at least 50% of their indicators showing a low probability of achieving their respective targets ,” PSA said.
The PSA said new indicators were added due to the Enhanced PDP Results Matrices (RM) Midterm Update, which reflected the “new normal” amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Among the industry sectors that showed a high likelihood of meeting their goals are shelter and housing, competitiveness, science and technology, and the environment.
“The percentage of socialized housing units delivered to socialized housing targets and the percentage of affordable housing units delivered to low-cost housing both exceed their end-of-plan targets of 73% and 100% respectively,” PSA said. .
The government acted on 100% of competition-related complaints from 2017 to 2021, one percentage point higher than the target, the PSA said.
In the environment sector, the PSA noted that the area of forest land under effective management increased to 8.1 million hectares (Mha) by 2021, close to its completion target of 8.75 Mha. The area of exposed and degraded forest areas and protected areas decreased to 7.07 Mha, but still within the 7.04 Mha target.
Meanwhile, sectors that showed “average” performance were macroeconomics, industry and services, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), culture and values, governance, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and human capital development.
In terms of macroeconomics, the PSA noted that the plan’s end goal of local government (LGU) income and the volume of Instapay transfers had been reached.
“But the $1.8 billion increase in services exports in 2021 was not suffiin order to reach its ultimate goal in the plan. Likewise, the 31% utilization of the Special Education Fund (SEF) in 2021 may be difficult to reach its ultimate plan goal of 100%,” it said.
In industry and services, the number of Philippine trademarks reached 18,453 in 2021, surpassing the target of 11,120.
Meanwhile, the government is unlikely to meet the goals of social protection, infrastructure, demographic dividend and equity.
“For social safety nets in 2021, the number of deaths or missing persons due to natural and man-made disasters was far from the plan’s final goal of zero,” the PSA said, adding that the number of children benefiting from a supplementary feeding program fell in 2021.
Travel restrictions and lockdowns also affected the government’s aim to increase air passenger numbers.
“The decline in air passenger movements, both international and domestic, in 2021 reinforced the low probability of reaching the plan’s end goal with the exception of (Ninoy Aquino International Airport), which presented a high probability despite the decline,” PSA said.
CORE INDICATORS
Among the nine core indicators monitored by StatDev, only four showed a high probability of achieving the targets under the PDP.
The Philippines improved its ranking in the Global Innovation Index (GII) to 51stSt out of 132 economies, putting it on track to reach the top third of the index.
Despite the shutdowns, unemployment stood at 7.8% in 2021, well within the PDP target of 7-9%. Youth unemployment stood at 15.7%, which exceeded the target of 20.5-22.5%. Unemployment for areas outside the capital region hit 16.7%, still within the 15.5-17.5% target.
At the same time, five indicators showed a low probability of reaching the PDP’s goals by the end of 2022.
The Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.7% in 2021, missing the annual growth target of 6.5-7.5% due to the impact of the pandemic.
The gross national income (GNI) per population grew by 0.4% last year, well below the growth target of 5-6%.
The poverty rate was 23.7%, which did not reach the target of 15.5-17.5%. The incidence of subsistence was 9.9%, missing the target of 5-7%.
Food inflation was held at a stable 5.5% in 2021, but above the target of 2-4%.
The PSA noted that the 2021 incidence of poverty and subsistence are estimates for the first semester. — AOAT