MANILA – Even if the Philippines remains as
one of the fastest growing economies in the region, senator Juan Edgardo
“Sonny” Angara believes that expanding the country’s exports basket will help
in maintaining the growth.
Speaking to the President’s economic managers, Angara said that one of the ways
to boost exports is to focus on innovation by allowing different regions of the
country to diversify its products and cater to an even bigger market globally.
“We have to take a look at what we are providing as support for local
industries,” Angara said as he presided over the Development Budget
Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing on the proposed 2020 national budget.
“Thailand for instance is now producing wine. This is not something anyone
would have expected from a country in our region and yet it is now making a
name for itself among wine connoisseurs,” he added.
“Support for our local industries must be improved and we must continue
developing new products in order to compete with the rest of the region and the
world,” Angara said.
Angara added that the country’s spending on innovation is less than one percent
of Gross Domestic Products and more attention should be placed on this endeavor
in order for the country to produce more top-tier products.
“We don’t have to come up high-tech goods in order to make our mark in the
world stage. We just need to continuously improve on what we already have,
innovate and market these creatively to carve out a niche across various
sectors,” Angara said.
Angara has been advocating for an all-out Tatak Pinoy campaign as a way to
improve the country’s economic productivity and competitiveness, generate more
decent jobs for Filipinos, particularly those in the countryside, and eradicate
chronic poverty and inequality in the country.
“We need to develop strategies on how to develop local industries so that they
can generate higher incomes,” Angara said.
“We can’t just focus on agriculture alone. If all your eggs are in the
agricultural basket, patay ka agad pag
tumama ang el niño, ng bagyo. That is why we have to diversify,” he added./PN
