Local government units Wednesday stressed the need to develop the countryside, particularly in the areas of livelihood projects and infrastructure developments, to uplift the overall competitiveness of the country.

During the “Development Forum: Development Synergies for Regional and Local Economic Development,” LGU leaders noted that the national development has sometimes neglected other regions and provinces.

Local leaders have also noted that the government has been focusing its attention to the Mindanao regions and somehow neglected other regions.

Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho L. Petilla cited the role of the government to come up with a conducive environment for the private sector participation in the development of the regions. Petilla also equally stressed the distinct role of the national government in maintaining peace and order in the provinces.
Networking with donor countries was also stressed during the forum.

This year’s PBC has pushed also focused discussions on the development of the regions noting that improving competitiveness, increasing sustainable growth an ensuring grow is inclusive.

With the theme “One. Global. Filipino. Regional Economic Develophe
said.

It was also applicable to those facing looming age-related fiscal pressures, such as Japan and the newly industrialized economies of South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, he said.

''But even for the average Asian country, without fiscal adjustment, debt-to-GDP ratios are projected to remain above pre-crisis levels through 2014,'' he said at a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco conference in Santa Barbara, California.

The debt-to-GDP ratio is a measure of a country's federal debt in relation to its gross domestic product, a basic measure of its economic performance.

Lipsky said ''the principal near-term risk'' was ''the global recovery could stall.

''This could occur if private demand does not pick up and replace the policy stimulus and inventory re-stocking that have recently been the key drivers of growth.

''Policy support therefore should remain in place until a durable recovery is secured.''

Although Asia was not directly exposed to financial assets at the epicenter of the global crisis last year, the region was severely affected by the sharp downturn in the United States and Europe.

Trade fell, capital flowed out of the region, and trade finance stalled.ment: Frontline to Sustainability”, this year’s PBC highlighted the potentials of each city, municipality, and region in keeping the wheels of the Philippine economy rolling.

As such, plenary sessions focused on the core advocacies of PCCI on food security, infrastructure development, re-engineered education, and energy self-sufficiency were held. “We need to identify what to do in terms of satisfying these four areas so as to combat the global economic crisis,” said PCCI president Edgardo B. Lacson.