‘Life and livelihood’ main focus of Isko Moreno’s 10-point economic agenda

Presidential aspirant and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso on Monday unveiled his 10-point economic plan should he win the presidency in the upcoming elections.

His plan covers housing, education, labor and employment, health, tourism and creatives, infrastructure, digital information and industry 4.0, agriculture, good governance, and smart governance.

Of these, Moreno said, his administration will focus on livelihood as well as the minimum basic needs such as housing, schools, and hospitals.

“As you all know, life and livelihood will be the main focus and immediately will be attended to,” Moreno said in a live briefing.

Under housing, the Manila Mayor seeks to allot 1.3% of the gross domestic product to housing per year to build one million disaster-resilient housing units in six years for 4.5 million homeless people.

In education, Moreno seeks to increase the budget to GDP ratio of education to 4.3%, invest in early childhood education and development widen accessibility to quality basic education, and revise curricula among others.

Meanwhile, Moreno seeks to create jobs, continue the giving of aid to Filipino families affected by the pandemic, and increase the loan pool of micro, small, and medium enterprises to P30 billion.

He also seeks to increase the salaries of nurses as well as to establish 107,000 hospital beds in the first 1,000 days.

“Una, proportion. Dapat ‘yung sweldo, nakakabuhay ng pamilya. Kung anong samang ng inflation, effect sa bawat indibidwal o sa pamilya, dapat ‘yung kanyang kinikita, makakatugon sa kanyang pangangailangan,” he said.

(First of all, proportion. The wages should be able to provide for one's family.)

Moreno said he will also continue the special risk allowance.

Under tourism and the creative industry, Moreno aims to promote the culture of sustainable tourism, event-based tourism, and increase the number of tourists to 16 million.

More roads

Meanwhile, Moreno said he will prioritize building more power plants, both conventional and renewable to grow the economy and attract foreign investments, thus providing more jobs.

Moreno also said he will “duplicate roads” vertically.

“We should create more connectors from not only from the north and south, but I think it’s high time where east meets the west type of vertical roads,” he said.

He also seeks to increase to 2% the government research and development spending as well as prioritize A1, robotics and automation, and additive manufacturing.

Under agriculture, Moreno’s administration seeks to raise the income of farmers to the level of average Filipino workers, build more irrigation systems, and establish the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Meanwhile, smart governance promotes citizen participation, public data accessibility, and simplification of government processes. — BM, GMA News