7-year dev’t plan guide for Philippines signed

MANILA, Philippines—The National Economic and Development Authority and the United Nations signed Thursday a program document describing joint actions and strategies that are aligned with the country’s medium-term development plan.

Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga, UN Country Representative Jacqueline Badcock and Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Leslie B. Gatan, signed the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2012-2018 document.

Badcock, who is also the UN resident coordinator and UN Development Program resident representative in the Philippines, said in a presentation that the plan required funding of about $370 million.

“At the moment, we have about $75 million which comes from UN resources,” she told reporters after the presentation. The rest will be mobilized through partners, donors and others.

Paderanga told reporters after the ceremony that the UNDAF supports the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016.

The UNDAF document signed Thursday was specific to the Philippines, Paderanga said, and was focused on helping the country meet its millennium development goals, or MDGs.

This is one of the so-called pillars or focus areas of the framework, he added. The others are livelihood and governance (including the promotion of high-quality jobs and strengthening of civil society participation) and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Badcock said there would be regular monitoring activities to check on the progress of the UN itself, the concerned agencies in the government and other partners in implementing the UNDAF 2012-2018.

Paderanga stressed the importance of the development partners’ support to the PDP, especially its thrust on “inclusive growth,” which means improving livelihood and access to opportunities even in vulnerable areas.

Badcock said the UNDAF programs would prioritize low-income provinces, disaster-prone areas, and urban areas since these are where social programs for education, health, livelihood, and disaster risk reduction would have the most impact.

The previous UNDAF, crafted for 2005-2009 period, was extended up to 2011.