Asian Development Bank (ADB) Headquarters, Mandaluyong City
19 June 2013
President Benigno S. Aquino III attended the 14th Annual Global Development Conference of the Global Development Network (GDN) held at the ADB headquarters in Mandaluyong City. The Philippines is the first Southeast Asian country to host the GDN’s annual conference.
During the opening ceremony, Dr. Jose Yap, President of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and Regional Coordinator of the East Asian Development Network (EADN), cited the government’s program of good governance and its favorable outcome in strengthening the Philippines’ economic outlook. He added that the current administration’s conditional cash transfer (4Ps) program is an effective means of addressing the inequality and providing social protection on the micro level.
In his speech, the President said that “for most of the developing world, the overarching problems can be summed up in a few words: poverty, hunger, unemployment, lack of education and corruption. All these problems combine to deprive people of hope, initiative and opportunities. And while no one can guarantee outcomes, I believe it is incumbent upon government to provide meaningful opportunities to individuals, and an environment conducive to empowering our fellow citizens to seek out and maximize opportunities that come their way.”
President Aquino also emphasized that in the next three years of his leadership, there will be continued interventions on the poorest of the poor focusing on the vulnerable but emerging sectors of the society. These are all made possible by prudent public finance policies and honesty in public administration.
With the theme “Inequality, Social Protection and Inclusive Growth,” this year’s conference pursues a threefold objective: To move from endless and ineffective recommendations to evidence-based and operational discussions; to raise the voice of developing country researchers; and to encapsulate GDN’s overarching theme of research capacity building to inspire better policies.
* * *