World Bank Urges Phl to Empower LGUs

Empowering local government units (LGUs) is crucial to the development of human capital in the Philippines and attaining the goal of becoming a middle-class society by 2040, according to the World Bank.

- By Louella Desiderio

This was among the messages of the World Bank's Philippines Economic Update December 2024 edition.

"The process of building human capital is sequential and cumulative, underscoring the need to start early," Zafer Mustafaoglu, World Bank country director for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam said.

Human capital encompasses the health, knowledge, skills and experience acquired by a person.

As one of the main drivers of economic growth, human capital translates into improvements in living standards.

"Although human capital can be acquired over a lifetime, it is built most effectively when people are young. This is where local governments can play a very critical role," Mustafaoglu said.