NEDA-led task group prepares ‘Recharge PH’

A task group led by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is formulating and monitoring the government’s action towards economic recovery called the Recharge PH Program.

In a statement over the weekend, NEDA said Recharge PH seeks to refocus, sharpen the design and accelerate the implementation of programs under the 2020 General Appropriations to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and help get the Philippine economy recover from the 16.5-percent contraction in the second quarter.

NEDA said three sub-task groups (sTGs) led by the Department of Trade and Industry (Economic Recovery), Department of Social Welfare and Development (Social Recovery), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (Governance) have also been formed to assist government in the development of programs and projects that will contribute to the fight against Covid-19, and in the creation of innovative delivery mechanisms in consideration of the new normal.

The sTGs will identify, monitor and evaluate the programs and projects that will address and mitigate the impact of Covid-19.

NEDA said the sTGs will also ensure the complementation and convergence of efforts of national government agencies and other task groups, and provide recommendations to the National Task Force on Covid-19.

“The government needs the utmost cooperation of the public, the business sector and civil society in restarting socioeconomic activities while preventing the spread of the virus, and mitigating the ill-effects of this pandemic,” Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.

Chua said the government will focus on rebalancing its priorities from saving lives from Covid-19 to saving lives from the pandemic and other factors, such as hunger and other diseases.

“As we build a healthier and more resilient Philippines, there are three areas to focus on: expanding economic opportunities, improving the capability of Filipinos to adapt under the new normal, and ensuring people-centered, clean, technology-enabled and responsive governance amid the pandemic,” said Chua.

Recharge PH is to be implemented within 2020 and into 2021, and will be incorporated in the Updated Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.

Source: TheManila Times