Duterte to acting NEDA chief Karl Chua: Work on national ID system, COVID-19 recovery plan

President Rodrigo Duterte has laid out his expectations for acting National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua as the country deals with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Duterte ordered Chua to speed up the rollout of the national ID system, work on the COVID-19 recovery plan, and ensure better implementation of the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday.

Before Chua’s appointment, the NEDA had already proposed a three-phase approach to mitigate the social and economic impact of COVID-19.

The proposal includes ways to rebuild consumer and business confidence and the resumption of a "new normal" state of economic activity more prepared for another possible pandemic.

A former Finance undersecretary and World Bank senior country economist, Chua replaced Ernesto Pernia, who resigned last Friday due to personal reasons and “differences in development philosophy” with other Cabinet members.

Pernia said he wanted to continue serving in the Cabinet in the fight against COVID-19, but his proposal to open up more economic activity was a "dissonant" voice in the Cabinet.—AOL, GMA News