With uncertainties about the COVID-19 pandemic waiting in the foreseeable future, the Local Government Unit of Tacurong City is grappling on how to balance coronavirus containment with its economic affairs.
Restarting the local economy becomes a priority after it came to a standstill in the last four months due to the health crisis.
In the meeting of the Incident Management Team and Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 on July 14, the City Planning and Development Coordinating (CPDC) Office presented the City Economy Restart Plan (C-ERP) in the next six months as well as the Rehabilitation & Recovery Plan in the succeeding two years (2021-2022).
The formulation of the plan is also in compliance with the National Inter-Agency Task Force that mandates LGUs to develop their resiliency and recovery plans under the so-called new normal state.
City Planning and Development Coordinator Amelia Bochorno said that for Tacurong City, the overall goal of the C-ERP is to stabilize the city’s economy by instituting effective policies & guidelines and reforming the values and lifestyles of Tacurongnons under the changing conditions.
In formulating the C-ERP, the LGU adopted the PESTILE/SOAR Analysis Tool as recommended by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
PESTILE stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technology, Infrastructure, Legal, and Environment, while SOAR is an acronym for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results.
In the next six months or until the end of 2020, several strategies are to be undertaken by the LGU to address various gaps and challenges especially amidst the current crisis.
One of the focus areas of the plan is how to implement programs that would help or assist the displaced workers and farmers.
Strengthening health facilities and capacitating health workers are also among the areas that will be given attention in the next six months.
Moreover, a rehabilitation and recovery plan is also drafted consisting programs, projects, and activities or PPAs that will be implemented from 2021 to 2022.
Mayor Angelo ‘Roncal’ Montilla said that the restart plan is very crucial for the LGU to properly strategize and implement programs aiming to reboot the economy and at the same time continue to enforce appropriate COVID-19 responses.
“We are hugely affected by this pandemic but with the correct approaches that we need to undertake, we can break out of this economic slump and recover smoothly”, Montilla said. (ASF, LGU Information)