Arangkada PH Forum 2021: Pathways to an Educated and Healthy Workforce

By Cleo Quiblat

On December 1, 2021, I attended Panel 3 at the Arangkada Philippines Forum 2021, entitled “Pathways to an Educated and Healthy Workforce.” Sharing his insights on the topic was Dr. Ernesto Pernia, Former Secretary of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

Dr. Pernia is an economist, writer, and professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines School of Economics. He formerly served as Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority and Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2020.

Pathways to an Educated and Healthy Workforce

Dr. Pernia mentioned that the Philippines has failed in its population program due to bad governance, corruption, paltry FDI, and inadequate infrastructure, including health and education.

The Philippines’ population program seemed to be doing well in the 1970s, however, due to the opposition to family planning of the Roman Catholic Church and conservative groups, the Marcos administration dropped this program in the 1980s for political reasons.

The failed family planning program aimed to decline fertility, which was necessary for demographic transition towards faster economic growth, higher employment, and poverty reduction could not be achieved.

Compared to other Asian countries with similar demographic-economic indicators in 1970 — such as Thailand — that sustained its Population and Family Planning Program, ours drastically diverged in 2020.

The following are Dr. Pernia’s recommendations to achieve an educated and healthy workforce:

1. With our experience in COVID-19, there is a need to fortify and enhance our weak healthcare system capacity, consisting of healthcare workers and social infrastructure, such as hospitals, laboratories, etc.
2. The national leaders, legislators, industry and church leaders should realize why and how the Population and Family Planning Program can beneficially affect the economy and society as a whole.
3. Sex education should be a required subject in public and private schools to contain or forestall rising teenage pregnancies.
4. The Early Childhood Development Program must be adequately funded and strictly implemented.
5. Family planning services must be made readily accessible to women/couples, especially those of the lower income groups.
6. Science, technology, and innovation must be given more importance and an ample budget.
7. Revitalize the anemic agriculture and narrow, shallow manufacturing sector.
8. Drop the country’s protectionist stance and open up the economy.
9. Foster and strengthen Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
10. Boldly invest in the environment, nature protection, and disaster risk reduction.
11. Protect, preserve, and sustainably harness the country’s vast wealth in its blue economy in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and around the archipelago for the benefit of, not only the people living off the sea, but the country at large.
12. We need to develop or heighten a culture/habit of sense of urgency or “virtuous impatience”.

Dr. Pernia ended his presentation saying, “the primordial and supreme challenge to all, evidently, is the kind of national leader our country will have beginning in mid-2022. Is this possible? Or, will it just be business-as-usual? It all depends on us!”

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About the author:

Cleo Quiblat is a Recruitment Consultant from Professional Staffers, a Division of John Clements Consultants, Inc. She enjoys cooking and gardening.