Senatorial bet and Antique Rep. Loren Legarda (left) and "The Chatroom" host, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar (Photo courtesy of Martin Andanar Facebook)
MANILA – Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, eyeing a return to the Senate, believes that pushing for innovation, research and development, and knowledge economy will be the game-changers in the country’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
If elected anew to the Upper House, Legarda said she will also prioritize the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and seek the creation of more jobs through science-informed and risk-sensitive adaptations.
“We can even have more value-added by focusing on the jobs that can be generated through an intense support to knowledge economy, such as programmers, science-research, and development,” Legarda said in an interview in “The Chatroom” on Saturday, aired over state-run People’s Television Network Inc. and hosted by Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar. “That’s the way to exit from the pandemic brought about by Covid-19.”
“The Chatroom” and “The President’s Chatroom” are being held in partnership with the Commission on Elections and the PCOO to inform the public about candidates’ platforms and agenda.
Legarda said the government’s decisions and actions in responding to the health crisis must be science-based and science-informed, thus the investment in people with creative and scientific abilities.
“Bigyan natin ng suporta and ating mga kabataang malikhain (We should support our creative youths). Innovation and knowledge economy, kambal ‘yan (they’re twins),” she added.
Legarda also urged the next administration to look into Republic Act No. 11293, or the Philippine Innovation Act, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 17, 2019.
Principally authored by Legarda, it aims to “foster innovation in the country as a vital component of national development and sustainable economic growth”.
Legarda said the government could simultaneously use science, innovation, and technology to make the Philippines a more competitive country.
She added that the effective implementation of the act with adequate funding for its enabling programs can help micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises sustain and promote their businesses, not just in the domestic market, but also globally.
Legarda is among the senatorial bets endorsed by President Duterte and is under the UniTeam coalition. (PNA)
