On 12 December 2022, ESCAP conducted a one-day event on social protection in the Philippines. The event was convened in collaboration with DSWD, NEDA and the UNRCO.

The morning session discussed the draft report on the Philippines’ Readiness to Implement the Action Plan to Strengthen Regional Cooperation on Social Protection in Asia and the Pacific and gathered some 50 participants from key Departments, the national Sub-Committee on Social Protection, as well as key international entities and civil society organisations. Participants discussed the realization of universal social protection and debated the proposed recommendations to implement the 12 national actions in the Action Plan. The consultation served as an important forum to lay out government directions on social protection as it launches the upcoming Philippines National Development Plan 2023-2028, as well as its accompanying National Social Protection Plan.  

In the afternoon, ESCAP conducted an Expert Group Meeting on its SPOT Social Protection Simulator. The Meeting helped strengthen capacity to identify the impact of non-contributory social protection benefits on key development outcomes such as poverty, inequality and consumption and the cost of these interventions. Participants also provided feedback on the functionality of the tool, as well as their user experience, and highlighted its usefulness to strengthen advocacy and the evidence base on social protection.