Reflection on “10 Point Socio Economic Agenda” of Pres.

Duterte’s
Administration

“I am no American puppet. I am the president of a sovereign country and I am not

answerable to anyone except the Filipino people. Son of a bitch, I will swear at you.”
—Rodrigo Duterte

The presidency of Rodrigo Duterte began June 30, 2016, following his
inauguration as the 16th president of the Philippines, succeeding Benigno Aquino III.
Rodrigo Duterte is the first president from Mindanao and the oldest person to be elected
president of the Philippines.
When Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency of the Republic of the Philippines in
2016, his administration identified 10 socio-economic agenda to prioritise, which
include:

1. Maintaining current macroeconomic fiscal, monetary, and trade policies;

2. Instituting progressive tax reform and more effective tax collection while indexing
taxes to inflation;
3. Increasing competitiveness and ease of doing business;
4. Accelerating annual infrastructure spending to account for 5% of GDP;
5. Promoting rural and value chain development toward increasing agricultural and
rural enterprise productivity and rural tourism;
6. Ensuring security of land tenure to encourage investment;
7. Investing in human capital development;
8. Promoting science, technology, and creative arts to enhance innovation;
9. Improving social protection programs; and
10. Strengthening the implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and
Reproductive Health law.

This agenda will highlight laws passed during the five years of the Duterte
administration
. As he reigned, the Philippines is becoming a well-established country as he helped to
improve the lives of our fellow countrymen that provide a foundation for further
sustainable growth to fully realize this country’s enormous potential in sharpening our
country’s competitiveness to convince investors to do more business here. The poverty
rate got lower and all Filipinos have access to education as he provides various
financial assistance and scholarships to student beneficiaries in state universities and
colleges and local universities. He also poured more money into infrastructure — over
P6 trillion in six years — than any president before him, In the last five years alone, the
DPWH under Villar built 145,000 classrooms, 2,000 school buildings, 5,555 bridges,
and 26,500 kms. of roads, access roads, expressways, and tollways. It also includes
transportation modernization under Department of Transportation like Metro Rail Transit
(MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT). Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has
improved from being one of the worst airports in the world to being the most improved
by 2018. The laglag-bala racket, where NAIA passengers were suddenly found to have
bullets in their luggage (an excuse for huge extortion) has completely stopped. The
administration facilitated the speedy issuance of government-sanctioned permits and
licenses.

Most importantly, he provides Universal Health care that aims to ensure that every
Filipino shall receive affordable and quality health benefits. This involves providing
adequate resources – health human resources, health facilities, and health financing.

As conclusion, I commend the whole Duterte Administration for their well-planned

economic policies, and these result in a greater sense of equality amongst us.