“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many global banks were predicting that the Philippines would become a big economy by 2050 and beyond”
Exactly five days from now, on Monday, July 24, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will deliver his second State-of-the Nation Address or SONA before a joint session of Congress.
The customary report to the nation will be different from the 2022 SONA that basically outlined what he wanted to do in the coming year.
The 2023 SONA will allow the public a glimpse into what the administration has achieved one year later—and perhaps what else he wants done until his term of office ends in 2028.
We recall that in the previous year’s SONA the President directed the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to draft a national development plan for 2023 to 2028.
The agency did just that and submitted the full blueprint not long after. This is what guides the entire government right now.
Since the first SONA, the Marcos administration has undertaken reforms in fiscal management and tax administration to increase revenue collection.
The country’s tax system is also being adjusted to align it with the requirements of a digital economy.
Recognizing that infrastructure is the backbone of the economy, the President vowed to continue and expand the infrastructure program of the previous administration: “We shall confidently build on this firm foundation established by my predecessor…We must keep the momentum, and aspire to build better more.” Since then, infrastructure development has become a high priority of his administration via the public-private partnership (PPP) program which holds great potential for expansion and innovation.
As part of its infrastructure push, the administration has embarked on modernizing the country’s railway system since this is cheapest way to transport goods and passengers.
Among the railway projects the government has committed to finish are the 147-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway System; 33-kilometer Metro Manila Subway Project; and railway projects in Panay, Cebu and Mindanao.
Corollary to this, the President also promised to improve road and transportation systems throughout the country: “My order to the Department of Transportation or DOTr is really very simple: Full speed ahead.”
To give agriculture the priority it deserves, Marcos opted to head the Department of Agriculture for the time being so that it can come up with lasting solutions to rising prices and inadequate food supply.
Today, the agency has been extending financial and technical assistance to farmers to increase production.
The government is also providing subsidies to farmers amid the soaring prices of fertilizers and pesticides, apart from establishing a national network of farm-to-market roads to help improve the delivery of goods to markets.
The President asked Congress to pass a law that will condone the loans of agrarian reform beneficiaries.
This law, signed recently, amends Section 26 of Republic Act 6657 and condones the loans of agrarian reform beneficiaries with unpaid amortization.
The administration has been working towards cheaper and reliable energy by expanding the present power supply and building new power plants.
“Our search for new power sources should always be with an eye to improving the mix of the energy supply between traditional and renewable sources,” the President said.
The administration is also exploring the possibility of building small-scale nuclear power plants that comply with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations.
The administration is now ramping up digitalization to help improve government services. The Department of Information and Communication (DICT) has begun to expand digital connectivity across various islands in the country and started implementation of the National Broadband Plan. The National Identification System (ID) will play a big part in digital transformation.
The Marcos administration has acknowledged the “abundance of opportunities” that the tourism sector creates.
Hence, the Tourism and Public Works departments are jointly working to boost the tourism industry by improving roads and tourism spots and upgrade airports and seaports to make travel around the Philippines more convenient to tourists both foreign and local.
What the government has achieved since the 2022 SONA is to reopen the economy after three years of stagnation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The overarching goal is to make the country achieve middle-income status by 2028.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many global banks were predicting that the Philippines would become a big economy by 2050 and beyond.
With the country returning to an average annual growth rate of at least 6 percent, the government wants to further open up the economy through structural reforms and policies that would attract investments both from domestic and foreign sources, cut red tape and facilitate the ease of doing business.
The President is likely to announce on Monday that he has already signed the Maharlika Investment Fund as a key component of the government’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, all of which are designed to bring about the country’s economic transformation.
Improving the country’s economic situation remains a priority of his administration, the President himself has said time and again.
But this is not a time for complacency, he pointed out. “Whatever it is that we have managed to do, there is still a great deal more to do…It is very clear that the most successful economies are those that are agile and resilient. And we have to put the basic elements in place to do that.”
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)