Presidential candidate Leni Robredo on Friday secured the endorsement of 137 economists who vouched for her ability to lift the Philippines out of the worst economic crisis since the 1980s that was brought about by the pandemic.
Robredo, who earned her bachelor's degree from the UP School of Economics and a lawyer by profession, is the country's "best hope" given her background, bias for the marginalized, and her experience dealing with the pandemic as reflected in her COVID recovery plan, the economists said.
The group called "Economists for Leni" includes former National Economic and Development Authority Chiefs Ernesto Pernia, Winne Monsod, Emmanuel Esguerra, Dante Canlas, and Cielito Habito.
"At this time when our country is struggling to recover from its deepest economic crisis since the 1980s, we believe that government’s role has never been more indispensable. We are convinced that only a competent leadership can restore the people’s trust and confidence in government enabling it to effectively preside over the collective effort of economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic," the group said.
"That is why we endorse a leadership with a vision for the future; one that understands the protractedness of the economic challenges we face yet appreciates the urgency of providing relief and comfort to the vulnerable," it added.
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Robredo earlier outlined her "Kalayaan sa COVID", which employs a a whole-of-nation approach to fight the disease, hunger and the pandemic's fallout on education.
Believing that what the country needs is a "sound, prompt, informed by science, and evidence-based" pandemic recovery plan, whose approach is systematic and is focused towards the poor and marginalized, the group said Robredo's brand of governance is "the antidote" the country needs.
"Bad governance is a poison that kills both lives and livelihoods. The pandemic made that clear," the group said.
"We invite our colleagues in other disciplines and groups to join us in supporting VP Robredo, so that we may begin to rebuild our faltering institutions, restore our faith in government, and rebuild the foundations for shared prosperity and dignity," it added.
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