NEDA to draft guidelines on GMA’s 10-pt program

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) was given 100 days by President Arroyo to draft guidelines regarding the adoption of specific programs aligned with her 10-point program.

Malacañang had earlier instructed the NEDA to start the formulation of the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) and the Medium-Term Public Investment Program (MTPIP) process in the similar direction.

NEDA Director General and Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri said he would issue a circular for the completion of the task.

"To achieve the goals of the President, the circular has to be more target-based and implementation-oriented. Both budgetary and department programs will be aligned with the policy directions and targets set in the (10-point) agenda," Neri said in a statement.

The formulation of the guidelines require agencies to submit specific activities and projects that are aligned with the agenda.

With the President’s the 10-point agenda and the NEDA’s development agenda, each sector involved in a specific target would be asked to provide a commitment in terms of a specific activity or project.

Meanwhile, the business sector preferred to align themselves with the United Nation’s poverty alleviation fight via the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The MDGs are global human development goals agreed by the leaders of 189 nation-states, including the Philippines, in September 2000 Millennium Summit in New York.

In a forum last week, the country’s business leaders laid out recommendations just days Arroyo delivered her 10-point development agenda.

"Instead of being cynical with the President’s anti-poverty agenda, we have chosen to help her make good her pledge," Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Philippine Chamber of Commerce Industry (PCCI) chairman said.

Ortiz -Luis said that the obvious and immediate agenda is job creation.

"Apart from adopting the best practices pioneered by corporations, there’s a need to look into granting incentives to start-ups and assisting SMEs (small and medium enterprises) through a mentoring system," he added.