President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the adoption of a national policy to speed up the country's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and shift to the "new normal".
Duterte, in an executive order signed Monday but made public Wednesday, said the 10-point agenda is meant to "sustain and accelerate the economic recovery."
"There is an urgent need to adopt policies on economic recovery to sustain current economic gains, minimize the pandemic's long-term adverse effects, and restore the country's development trajectory," Duterte said in his order.
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All government offices, agencies, as well as local government units are tasked to formulate policies aligned with the 10-point policy agenda as follows:
1. Strengthen healthcare capacity
2. Accelerate and expand the vaccination program
3. Further reopen the economy and expand public transport capacity
4. Resume face-to-face learning
5. Reduce restrictions on domestic travel and standardize LGU requirements
6. Relax requirements for international travel
7. Accelerate digital transformation through legislative measures
8. Provide for enhanced and flexible emergency measures through legislation
9. Shift the focus of decision-making and government reporting to more useful and empowering metrics
10. Medium-term preparation for pandemic resilience
Duterte issued the order after nearly the entire Philippines was de-escalated to Alert Level 1 which allows all businesses to operate at 100% capacity.