PH gov’t seeks public feedback as it prepares for ‘new normal’ due to virus

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The government is seeking feedback from the public as it crafts policies to help the country’s economy adjust to the “new normal” brought by the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement on Sunday, April 5, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General Ernesto Pernia said the government’s inter-agency task force (IATF) has formed a technical working group that is “currently preparing to provide recommendations to rebuild confidence and adjust to the new normal.” 

NEDA chairs the IATF Technical Working Group for Anticipatory and Forward Planning (IATF-TWG-AFP), which was created on March 27.

To help in its efforts, the TWG is currently conducting online surveys for business owners, for consumers (available in English and in Filipino), and for businesses in the agriculture and fisheries sector (in English and in Filipino).

Another survey for the industry and services sector will follow.

An online public consultation (in English and in Filipino) on defining and preparing for the “new normal” is also ongoing.

“As this pandemic affects various sectors, it is important for us to be able to characterize what this new normal would mean to each and every segment of the population,” said Pernia.

“We are currently crowdsourcing for inputs on how the whole of government can address the challenges the country is facing.”

The TWG will “recommend programs and strategies to promote confidence in the country’s health systems through data analytics, recommend programs and strategies to rebuild consumer and business confidence, and recommend policies and programs to adapt to a ‘new normal’ state of economic activities,” said NEDA.

The group is expected to submit a progress report to the IATF on Tuesday, April 7. Their final report should be submitted by April 13.

The IATF-TWG-AFP is composed of various departments as well as the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute. Individuals and institutions from the private sector and the academe are also invited as resource persons, said NEDA. – Rappler.com