The joint Philippine national government and United Nations (UN) steering committee, which will guide the fine-tuning and implementation of the UN-Philippines Partnership Framework for Sustainable Development (PFSD), convened for the first time with its members agreeing to work closely towards achieving global and national development priorities.
Officials from various Philippine government agencies led by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, and from UN agencies in the Philippines led by UN Resident Coordinator Ola Almgren met on Friday for a briefing on the PFSD.
The PFSD is the new strategic framework that will set the direction for UN agencies in the Philippines in consultation with the Philippine government and its other partners. It will succeed the UN Development Assistance Framework 2012-2018, the seven-year development guide for the Philippines and the UN.
The briefing, which tackled the roles and objectives of the National Steering Committee (NSC), was a preparatory gathering before the formal meeting of the steering committee later this year.
“As members of the National Steering Committee, we are responsible for providing high-level policy guidance and advice on the implementation and further improvement of this Framework,” Secretary Pernia said.
The NSC is co-chaired by the Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the UN Resident Coordinator in the Philippines.
From the government, serving as members of the Committee are the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, and the Department of Interior and Local Government. Advisor members include the Department of Budget and Management, the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
From the set of 17 UN global goals collectively called the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN has determined three pillars—People, Planet and Prosperity, and Peace—that will be the basis of its support to the Philippines’ development agenda.(NEDA)
