INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS NEEDED TO BUILD BACK BETTER – CLEMENTE
BAGUIO CITY – (08 June 2021) – The City Budget Office underscored that during these difficult and trying times, innovative solutions from people to build back better once the Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019 pandemic comes to an end in the near future.
City Budget Officer Leticia O. Clemente called on the people to continue praying for the country’s leaders that they may continue to have the wisdom, intelligence and a caring heart to develop and
implement frameworks designed to make sure that the public may re-start from a better place post-pandemic.
However, she claimed that the country’s leaders need the help of the people because the ongoing fight against the pandemic involves a whole-of-nation and a whole-of-society approach to once and for all curb the same.
The city budget officer noted that the country’s Gross Domestic Produce (GDP) for the first quarter is negative 4.5 percent, and although no data is available for the GDP in the city, it certainly is likewise expected in the negative.
According to her, no country has been saved from the financial impact of the pandemic and almost all of the local governments in the country struggled to make both ends meet but nevertheless, should address the health crisis anyway.
In the city, Clemente pointed out that though the local government suffered a significant setback, the city was able to manage its resources efficiently, avoiding a shortfall, and still generated a surplus at the end of the year.
As the country ushers the celebration of the 123rd Independence Day, Clemente stipulated it is important for the present and future generations to remember great Filipinos who shed blood, sweat and tears to gain freedom from foreign dominion in their own ways.
She revealed that Filipinos are really blessed and should be very grateful because they are still living and wallowing in the luxury of that independence to date.
“Once more our freedom and independence are put to the test. A new battle is being fought, a pandemic, affecting many parts of the world,” she stressed.
Based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), she said that the pandemic has reportedly triggered the deepest economic recession in nearly a century, threatening
health, disrupting economic activities and hurting well being and jobs, thus, extraordinary policies are required to walk the tight rope towards recovery.
Clemente asserted that the word of the country’s national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, is still relevant when he said ‘on this battlefield, no better weapon than his intelligence, no other force than his heart.’
The theme of the celebration of the country’s 123rd Independence Day is ‘Diwa ng Bayan sa Pagkakaisa at Paghilom ng Bayan (Spirit of Freedom and Unity and National Healing.’
She rallied the people to continue the long-standing battle against the pandemic by adhering to the prevailing implementation of the basic health and safety protocols as part of the available weapon to contain the rapid spread of the deadly virus. – Dexter A. See
