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Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia tendered his resignation today, citing “differences” with his colleagues in President Rodrigo Duterte’s cabinet.
“After reflection during Holy Week, and consultations with my family and close colleagues, I have decided to resign from my post as Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning,” the outgoing chief of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.
Pernia said that his decision was “due partly to personal reasons and partly to differences in development philosophy with a few of my fellow Cabinet members.” He did not elaborate further on what those differences were.
“I would like to thank the President for appointing me to the position. It has been an honor and privilege to have served the country under his administration for the past nearly four years,” the 76-year-old economist, who obtained a PhD from the University of California in Berkeley, said.
Pernia also thanked his colleagues at NEDA “for their trust and confidence in my leadership.”
Following his sudden departure, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea told reporters that Duterte has accepted Pernia’s resignation and appointed Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua as NEDA’s acting chief.
Chua, who has a doctorate degree from the University of the Philippines School of Economics, has been working as the Department of Finance’s chief economist since 2016 after leaving his post in the World Bank, CNN Philippines reports.
NEDA has estimated that COVID-19’s overall economic impact across various sectors could cost the country as much as PHP1.3 trillion (US$25.5 million) in revenues, or up to 6.6% of the country’s GDP. As many as 1.8 million Filipinos might lose their jobs, GMA News reports.
Despite this, Pernia said that he’s leaving his post “knowing that we have initiated and implemented meaningful changes that will help the country overcome these challenging times and on to a higher growth trajectory.”
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