Ex-Neda chief pushed for infra works amid lockdown

MANILA, Philippines — Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia on Saturday said his insistence on allowing more economic activity by the private sector during a modified lockdown to control the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) contagion had created dissonance in the Cabinet but that his was not the “lone voice” in the Duterte administration.

Pernia resigned as head of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) on Friday, citing “differences” with some members of the Cabinet on “development philosophy,” or outlook on spurring economic growth.

“I wanted to stay on and continue the fight against the COVID-19, but when the orchestra is not well-orchestrated, then you have a little problem,” Pernia told CNN Philippines on Saturday. “Since I seemed to be a dissonant voice among others, I thought I should just quit.”

He projected that the economy would contract in the second quarter as a result of the pandemic, but the subsequent quarters will see positive growth.

‘Thank you’ from Palace

Malacañang on Saturday thanked Pernia for his contribution to the Philippine economy since 2016.

The former chief economist of the administration was part of President Duterte’s economic team which steered “the country’s strongest economic growth since the mid-1970s,” according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

Pernia said other officials whom he did not identify shared his views on, among other things, the rollout of infrastructure projects to take advantage of the lull created by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) that started in mid-March.

He said he was one of several Cabinet members who wanted to push through with certain critical projects, such as roads and highways as well as railways.

Best time for infra

But that was “thumbed down” by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, the ad hoc government body dealing with the new coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Pernia said he was hopeful that under a modified quarantine setup, building infrastructure would be allowed “because this is the best time for such infrastructure projects when traffic is at a minimal level.”

“And so when we go back to when things are normal, then people can expect easier traffic or less congestion,” he added.

Pernia declined to say who were the Cabinet members that had opposed some of his views, but noted that several of his former colleagues agreed with some of his proposals although opposed his other ideas.

“It’s not good to be pointing fingers at anyone,” he said.

Pernia was a member of the Cabinet’s economic development cluster, or the government’s economic team, headed by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.

The team includes the secretaries of budget and management, trade and industry, public works, transportation, information and communication, science and technology, tourism, agriculture and local government.

According to Pernia, he has been unable to discuss his concerns and eventual resignation with Mr. Duterte as the lockdown also imposed tight security on visitors to Malacañang.

“I felt that nobody is indispensable and Neda has very good technical people there, and whoever takes over should be able to do just as well,” Pernia said.

Continuity seen under Chua

The President had appointed Karl Kendrick Chua, who was serving as undersecretary of finance, as acting socioeconomic secretary and Neda chief.

Roque said Chua was expected to “continue the economic momentum set by his predecessor.”

Chua was also tasked with working closely with other members of the economic team to prepare the country for “a new normal” and mitigate the socioeconomic impact of the health crisis once it is over, Roque said.

A leader of the House of Representatives familiar with the discussions in the economic cluster told the Inquirer that Pernia appeared to agree with the position of business leader Joey Concepcion, the presidential adviser on entrepreneurship, on easing the lockdown after the ECQ ends on April 30.

Concepcion has been pushing for “selective quarantine” so that goods and services would flow unimpeded.

“Our suggestion is to shift from Luzon-wide lockdown to selective quarantine at the barangay level under their respective mayors’ oversight with clear rules and guidelines,” Concepcion said earlier this month.

He said such a scheme would allow free movement of the supply chain with no need for security checkpoints and truck passes, while security would be the barangays’ responsibility.

‘Beyond April 30’

The COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team at the University of the Philippines, where Pernia had taught economics, had published an article, “Modified Community Quarantine beyond April 30: Analysis and Recommendations,” expressing the same sentiment and saying that extending the lockdown might not be sustainable.

“Prolonged restriction on the movement of goods and services over a large area (i.e. region-wide) can unnecessarily paralyze local economies,” the UP group said.

“In light of this reality, our best recourse after April 30 is to implement graduated activation of ECQ depending on the level of risk in certain areas at a given time,” it said. “Under this setup, provinces (or even lower-level LGUs) may be put under ECQ depending on how close or far they are to an estimated outbreak threshold.”

It was unclear whether Pernia had the same position or that he was advocating his former UP colleagues’ views in the Cabinet.

Pernia said it would ultimately be up to Mr. Duterte to decide whether to extend the quarantine.

What will he do now that he is back to being a private citizen?

He said he needed “a long enough” break to finish a book, a compilation of his newspaper columns and return to giving academic lectures. —WITH REPORTS FROM LEILA B. SALAVERRIA AND DJ YAP