Bing: Government spending vital to economic recovery

[post-views]
Facebook
Twitter
Email

Government spending is necessary for the economic recovery of every community in view of the effects of COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia.

“When we talk about economic recovery, we should start with government spending. We should spend money so we can create jobs and we can stir the economy once again,” the mayor said during the City Development Council (CDC) meeting recently.

Leonardia, who chairs the CDC, said cities like Bacolod should strive to catch up with the bigger cities like those in Metro Manila to maximize their economic potentials.

“It’s just a matter of time. We should dream that whatever we see in the bigger cities, we should also have them in Bacolod as well. We should catch up,” he stressed.

The mayor also cited how competitive cities in the United States are. It is not the complete monopoly of the big cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. He said: “I dream that we will have a similar set-up in the Philippines. We cannot allow the mega cities to dominate, we must strive to level the playing field.”

PRIORITY

In Bacolod, procurement of COVID-19 vaccines is a top priority in the city government’s economic recovery program.

According to Leonardia, Bacolod was among the first cities to cut a deal to secure vaccines. A survey conducted by CNN lists Bacolod as among the top five cities that secured the biggest number of vaccines from the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The others are Davao, Quezon, Makati, and Manila.

The mayor said that although the vaccine “won’t come tomorrow” – since its scheduled delivery is in the third quarter yet – the vaccine availment agreement will still “give a sense of assurance, security, and direction” to the people of Bacolod.

“The vaccine is our savior. But hand in hand of what is happening, we also have to think of what we shall do after COVID-19,” Leonardia added.

He said that he is optimistic that Bacolod will regain its business growth momentum once the pandemic is over.

“Bacolod will be back in business and will continue to be among the most progressive cities in the country because we have the fundamentals already established here,” he stressed.

MORE STORIES

error: