Gov’t urged to refocus on pre-pandemic economic goals

MANILA – Economists from the academe and financial markets on Tuesday, June 6 urged the government to set its sights back to pre-pandemic targets now that the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contagion have waned.

Roberto Galang, dean at the Ateneo de Manila’s (ADM) John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSM), said the government needs to “refocus efforts on fundamental problems that were glossed over by the pandemic.”

“The Philippines has fully recovered from the pandemic and has returned to a comfortable growth path,” he said in an interview.

Galang said high on the administration’s “to-do list” should be the rehabilitation of the country’s congested transport infrastructure.

“Manila airport (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) is suffering from intense congestion, which three years of limited travel has allowed us to forget,” he said.

More investments are needed in power plants and bulk water supply, which were also put in the backburner during the pandemic, he added.