Smooth sailing for NEDA chief at CA confirmation

MANILA, Philippines — Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Karl Chua breezed through the Commission on Appointments yesterday as he vowed to prioritize the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

The CA confirmed Chua more than a year after he was appointed acting secretary and two months after he was tasked to serve as ad-interim secretary.

It was smooth sailing for Chua as lawmakers had nothing but good words and admiration for the former World Bank economist and finance undersecretary.

During the deliberation, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said Chua’s task to head the NEDA “fits him like a glove” while Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he is “eminently qualified and fit for the position.”

“My priority is to help the country recover from this pandemic through our recovery programs, the infrastructure program, and the national ID,” Chua said.

“I also aim to improve the NEDA organization so that we can give the next administration a better foundation for sound socioeconomic planning with a stronger focus on responsive infrastructure, innovation, regional equity, and sustainable development,” he said.

As Chua heads the government’s pandemic recovery efforts, he said corrective actions should be done to manage the health crisis.

“The only way to move forward is to manage the risk. We are starting to see a recovery if we do three things: don’t be too risk averse, implement recovery programs and fast-track vaccination,” Chua said.

He added that doing all these would allow the country to achieve a six percent growth for the year and even higher for 2022.

“We see strong positive growth in the next two to three years but to be sustainable, we have to do much more to recover lost grounds,” he said.