A GOVERNMENT SCORECARD that tracks the Philippines’ progress in meeting economic development targets showed the government making strides in improving environmental quality and strengthening competitiveness but per-forming poorly in science and technology, housing, and agriculture.

Based on the Statistical Indicators on Philippine Development (StatDev) 2020, 126 out of 300 indicators showed “high likelihood” of hitting targets by 2022, when President Rodrigo R. Duterte ends his six-year term.

The StatDev report, released on Tuesday by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), also showed 33 indicators had “medium likelihood” while 141 showed “low likelihood” of meeting their respective targets.

“Majority (53%) of the 300 indicators covered in the StatDev 2020 posted either high or medium likelihood of achieving the target in the fourth year of the medium-term development plan,” the report read, referring to 2020 targets.

StatDev monitors the progress of meeting economic and social development goals set under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022.

Among the 14 sectors, 10 “had at least half of their respective indicators exhibiting high or medium likelihood of achieving the target in 2022,” the PSA said.

Having a “high likelihood” means a target is likely to be achieved by 2022 while “medium likelihood” means a target may or not be achieved. “Low likelihood” means a target is unlikely to be met.

The StatDev report noted the progress made in the competitiveness and environment sectors.

Under competitiveness, the report noted the proportion of studies on competition law and economics of major academic and research institutions completed at 11.01% in 2020, which was “almost thrice” the 4% target in 2022. It also noted the annual number of competition policy-related training programs for executive agencies conducted in 2020 surpassed their end-of-plan target.

In the environment sector, the PSA noted the coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas had exceeded the target of 0.76% in 2022 with 1.42% in 2020. Likewise, the 4,130 hectares of newly planted man-groves in 2020 already reached 4,130 hectares, exceeding the end-of-plan target of 1,974 hectares.

Passing marks were also given for industry and services, citing surpassed targets in the number of consumer awareness and advocacy initiatives, as well as the number of consumer education, information and communication materials, and the resolution rate in consumer complaints.

On the other hand, the report cited low likelihood of meeting targets in science and technology; social protection; agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; and shelter and housing.

“Both of the indicators — number of Filipino industrial designs registered, and number of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics graduates in Higher Education Institutes — already passed the 50% mark of their end-of-plan target. However, the number of Technology Business Incubators graduates from 2017 to 2020 was only 18.8% (188) of the 1,000-target,” the PSA noted of science and technology. — BTMG

For social safety nets in 2020, the government agency cited the 257 deaths and 56 missing persons due to natural and human-induced disasters, which were “way far” from the end-of-plan target of zero. The same was said for membership among overseas Filipino workers in the labor agency Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, which fell to 710,837 in 2020 from 1.38 million the previous year “rendering a shortfall of 1.20 million from the target value.”

“Likewise, the percentage of population covered by social health insurance posted at 87% is still short of the full 100% target coverage,” the PSA said.

Majority of the indicators in the agriculture showed low likelihoods of achieving the end-of-plan target, the PSA said.

“For instance, out of 12 major commodities, only sugarcane and abaca posted medium likelihoods, while the rest had low likelihoods of achieving their target yield,” the PSA noted.

The report stated that despite the low likelihood of reaching the 2022 target in shelter and housing, the indicator “proportion of low-cost housing targets met to housing needs” of 5.27% almost hit the 5.50% target.

On the other hand, the “proportion of socialized housing met to housing needs” was way off the market with 8.38% versus the 16.53% target.

The PSA noted having a poor sectoral progress does not necessarily imply poor performance from concerned agencies as it depends on the number of indicators considered and the latest available data for the indicators.

“A poor sectoral progress may still improve in subsequent years during the plan period with the changes/updates in the sector,” the PSA said. — BTMG

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