Marcos Year 2: Promises delivered, promises to keep

"THE state of the nation is sound and is improving." That's what President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last year.Fast forward to July 22, during which the President will deliver his third SONA. The President says this will be a performance report to Filipinos about his administration's accomplishments over the last 3 years — and an opportunity to review the status of his past promises.Have they come to fruition, or at least started taking shape? Or have they reinforced the age-old saying that promises are meant to be broken?In his second SONA, Marcos echoed his late father, particularly his plans on economy, agriculture and infrastructure.One of his promises was to grow the economy from 2023 until his term ends in 2028 at a rate of 6.5 to 8 percent.He said the Philippines economy had posted a 7.6-percent growth in 2022, the country's highest growth rate in 46 years.Growth, however, slowed in the first quarter of 2024 to 5.7 percent, which compares with the downward-revised 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the 6.4 percent in January to March of 2023. The President also reported about the significant drop in the country's inflation rate from 8.7 percent in January to 5.4 percent in June last year.Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that inflation decreased to 3.7 percent in June 2024, slower than the 3.9 percent reported in May 2024 and the 5.4 percent in June 2023.June's result marked the lowest inflation rate since March. The result was driven by moderating price pressures for housing and utilities. Kadiwa storesTo lower prices of food and other agricultural commodities, Marcos planned to further expand his administration's Kadiwa stores initiative nationwide.To date, there are a total of 265 regular Kadiwa stores nationwide and 119 Kadiwa pop-up stores that operate on a scheduled basis to respond to consumer demand.Early this month, the Department of Agriculture launched Program 29, in which the government sells aging buffer rice stocks — guaranteed safe for human consumption — for P29 per kilo.Marcos campaigned partly on a platform of cutting rice prices to P20 a kilo during the 2022 presidential race. He later clarified that it was merely an "aspiration."AgricultureMarcos, who early in his administration took on the role as chief of the Department of Agriculture, also made lofty promises for agriculture.He urged Congress to revisit and amend the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 (Republic Act 8550) with science-based analysis to better determine appropriate fishing areas.Marcos also called for the support of Congress to amend the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 to speed up the formation of cooperatives.Notably, Marcos also promised to help farmers by endorsing to Congress a law freeing agrarian reform beneficiaries from their debt burden. This was delivered in July 2023 when debt condonation for at least 610,000 farmers, who owed more than P57 billion in land payments, became law. According to the data provided by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), 131,113 land titles, equivalent to 157,766 hectares, were given to at least 133,693 agrarian reform beneficiaries in the first 2 years of the Marcos administration. This is a significant increase from 17,640 land titles distributed from March 2021 to June 2022.From July to December 2022 alone, around 21,876 titles were awarded. For the remaining half of the year, the DAR will distribute 300,000 certificates of condonation nationwide.The President has also been visiting different provinces to distribute land titles to agrarian reform beneficiaries as well as government assistance to the farmers and fishers who have been severely affected by the El Niño phenomenon.InfrastructureThe President also promised to upgrade airports and build new ones. The start of 2023, however, was marked by the shutdown of the main gateway Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as a result of a power outage. This was repeated in May.During the ceremonial signing of the NAIA concession agreement in Malacañang in March, Marcos directed officials of the consortium that won the P170.6 billion contract to rehabilitate the airport to fix the problems.Once the NAIA modernization is complete, its runway capacity will increase by at least 48 air traffic movements at the peak hourly rate.Additionally, the project is expected to generate P900 billion of earnings for the national government or about P36 billion annually throughout its full 25-year concession period.Marcos also vowed to expand on the Build, Build, Build program, revising its name to Build Better More or BBM.National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan earlier said at least three infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) have been completed since the President's last SONA while six more have been given approval.Of the current 185 IFPs, the government aims to complete 76 within the term of Marcos, Balisacan said during the Build Better More Infrastructure Forum in Tarlac.Balisacan said 15 projects are being eyed to be delivered this year; 11 IFPs to be finished in 2025; and eight to be completed in 2026.The bulk of the projects targeted for completion will be in 2027 with a total of 23 IFPs. In the last year of the Marcos administration, 19 projects are expected to be delivered.Balisacan said 103 projects are slated for completion beyond 2028 while five IFPs are still to be confirmed with the implementing agencies for the target year of completion.In 2023, Marcos inaugurated the first IFP completed during his term, the Samar Pacific Coastal Road Project.HealthFor health, Marcos said that 60 specialty centers opened to the public in 2022 while 3,400 projects to construct more public health facilities were completed.As of December 2023, Marcos said that they have established 131 specialty centers nationwide, adding that P11.12 billion has been allocated for specialty medical centers in the 2024 national budget.In August 2023, Marcos signed the Regional Specialty Centers Act, mandating every region to have a specialty medical center. The President also vowed to build the Philippines' version of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a vaccine institute. Though the House of Representatives passed bills creating both, these stalled at the Senate by the time Congress ended its first regular session.Marcos also swore to create a stronger health care system and build more public hospitals. Shortly before his second SONA, Marcos inspected the soon-to-rise Clark Multi-Specialty Medical Center in Pampanga. The health care system, however, is largely weighed down by the lack of support for health care workers, which has driven many of them to seek greener pastures abroad.The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) was ordered to address the shortage back in March. Last year, Marcos witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the launch of the Clinical Care Associates (CCA) Upskilling Program aimed at creating a pool of licensed nurses to address their shortage in the country.As of Feb. 20, about 304 CCAs have enrolled from both private and public hospitals, the the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) said, adding that their recruitment would continue for the November 2024 nursing board examination. The PSAC will also roll out the CCA program for the 2025 board examinations.EducationAs President Marcos had instructed in his speech, schools in the Philippines have resumed full face-to-face classes.Last May, the President also approved the country's return to the old school calendar amid the clamor for the immediate restoration of the April-May school break. The opening of classes for School Year 2024 to 2025 would begin on July 29 this year and end on April 15, 2025.Marcos also vowed to review the K-12 education system amid reports of poor quality materials, deficiency of skills among new graduates, and dissatisfaction from Filipinos.He directed incoming Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara to improve the country's education curriculum and enhance the teaching of Philippine history in schools.The President appointed Angara as the next Education secretary, succeeding Vice President Sara Duterte, who resigned on 19 June.Social welfareMarcos' promise on welfare involved the cleansing of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program list, which the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) started in 2022.He also mentioned the Food Stamp Program, which he said will provide beneficiaries who are "food poor" with P3,000 worth of food credits in the latter half of 2023.The DSWD said the government will scale up its food stamp program to 300,000 more food-poor Filipino households by July 2024.The department started the pilot test among 100 households in Tondo, Manila and Dapa, Siargao in July. The full-scale pilot implementation will begin in December. The pilot is funded by the $3 million or about P163 million grant from the Asian Development Bank.TourismMarcos said that the tourism sector is "headed for a great rebound," citing the country's promising visitor arrivals during the first half of the year.Just like in his previous SONA, Marcos mentioned the importance of infrastructure development not just in tourism, but also in the country's overall economic growth.During the 36th joint meeting of the UN Tourism Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UN Tourism Commission for South Asia, the President said that in 2023, the Philippines welcomed 5.45 million international tourists into the country, exceeding the target of 4.8 million for the year. For January to March 2024, international tourist arrivals were recorded at 2.9 million, which Marcos said was proof of the "robust recovery and continued appeal of our country as a top travel destination."Economic missionsMarcos had also touted the total estimated investments from his "economic missions" abroad, which amounts to $71 billion or P3.9 trillion investment. It was said to have the potential to generate 175,000 jobs.In March, Malacañang said that 46 projects worth $14.2 billion in foreign investments have already been actualized from the trips of Marcos in various countries over the past 16 months.Since assuming the presidency on June 30, 2022 and until end-2023, Marcos went abroad 19 times — 11 over the past 12 months of last year. This year, aside from the two trips to Australia, Marcos went to Brunei to attend the wedding of Prince Abdul Mateen, Vietnam for a state visit, Germany for a working visit and Czech Republic for a state visit.According to the General Appropriations Act of 2024 which the President signed in December, he was granted P1.4 billion of funds for his local and foreign trips.Sea rowMeanwhile, Marcos had promised to maintain close relationships with nations while protecting the West Philippine Sea.He said that maritime tension over the Philippines' exclusive economic zone was "not cooling down."Armed Forces chief Romeo Brawner Jr. earlier said the President ordered the military to defuse tensions in the West Philippine Sea after a flare-up with China over missions to resupply Filipino troops on a contested shoal.Marcos' instructions came after Manila and Beijing agreed on the need to restore trust and confidence to better manage maritime disputes during a round of talks which Manila hosted on July 2.Manila has accused the China Coast Guard of intentionally ramming and deliberately puncturing navy vessels and seizing weapons to disrupt the resupply mission on June 17, seriously injuring a Filipino who lost a finger.Marcos said in April that the Philippines would invoke the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty if a Filipino sailor or a member of its military is killed due to China's aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.Legislative measuresThe President also presented the legislative branch with measures he wants passed, including some that were already mentioned in his first SONA.In March, Marcos reported that 14 out of 57 priority bills have been signed into law. The President did not specify the 14 laws, but he recently approved two measures, the Salt Industry Revitalization Act and the New Passport Act, which were deemed urgent by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac).Marcos' pet legislation, Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), breezed past these priority bills after the President had certified the proposed measure as urgent in both chambers of Congress. Despite opposition from minority lawmakers from the Makabayan Bloc and some senators led by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Marcos signed the MIF into law on July 18, 2023.He also earlier signed the SIM Registration Act, an Act Postponing the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, and Amendments to the Armed Forces of the Philippines fixed term law, which were proposed by the Ledac but not mentioned in his last SONA.The 10 priority measures that lawmakers aim to approve before the end of the 19th Congress are the Reform to Philippine Capital Markets, Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, Amendments to the Right-of-Way Act, Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics, Rationalization of the Mining Fiscal Regime, Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or Epira, Department of Water Resources, CREATE MORE Act, Amendments to the Foreign Investors' Long-Term Lease Act and Amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law.Measures included in the second priorities list are the Blue Economy Act, Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act, Amendments to the Universal Health Care Act, Open Access in Data Transmission Act, Waste-to-Energy Bill, Mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension of Military and Uniformed Personnel, E-Government Act or E-Governance Act, Amendments to the Agrarian Reform Law and the Philippine Immigration Act.Bills that are in advance stages of deliberation are the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, Amendments to the Government Procurement Reform Act, Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act, Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act, Philippine Maritime Zones Act, Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program Act, VAT on Digital Services and New Government Auditing Code.Overall, the government has made some progress on the issues President Marcos mentioned during his second SONA. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve the goals he has set.'Different threats'In his third SONA, Marcos said issues likely to be tackled are the "different threats that have been coming to us," including the state of the economy, the government's fight against criminality and illegal drugs as well as Filipinos' quality of life.The President also recognized the challenge of squeezing all relevant national concerns in an hour-long speech. So, the administration is preparing a briefer to supplement the SONA and allow the public to understand his policies."For people to know what we are doing and if the promises we made are really fulfilled. And that's basically what the SONA is going to look like," Marcos said in a recent media interview."So, I will report if what we started is really continuous and progress is still good and how long it will take to finish those big projects," he added.Key considerationsMeanwhile, Political analyst Froilan Calilung listed down the key considerations that Marcos would air in his address."First will be the aspect of economic context, particularly in combating inflation because we know that the President has been very keen on trying to curb the inflation post pandemic," Calilung said.Calilung pointed out how the economic aspect is associated with the agriculture self-sufficiency, including food security and monetary and fiscal policies to ensure that there will be no spike in inflation.He also noted that the inflation rate did not decrease, but the sudden spike in inflation rate is contained.Calilung said another important issue that the President should discuss is the current status of the minimum wage in the country.The government approved a P35 increase in the minimum wage of workers in the National Capital Region where it was criticized as an "insult" given statistics that show a Family Living Wage of P1,200 is needed to survive each day."It would be better if we hear not just the policies [and] legistlation. They exist on paper, but in reality, it's transmission to those we call marginalized becomes a problem," he added.Calilung said it is important to focus on inflation because "it will increase public confidence, and it will also increase investor confidence, which is in the long run, important in creating more jobs."He also expects the topic on education to be discussed, after the President appointed Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara to be education chief, after Vice President Sara Duterte resigned from the post.Angara's appointment was widely welcomed by lawmakers and groups, citing his background on education and crafting educational policies.The political analyst said another "focal point of consideration" is territorial sovereignty, particularly in the West Philippine Sea where he believes is "the meat of his foreign policy for the past year."For Calilung, we should see the "gains" from his foreign trips and what translated into actions and not just pledges.Marcos should also tackle corruption, the communist insurgency, drugs and petty street crimes, Calilung said, adding that such issues are the ones the Filipinos want to see addressed.Constitutional mandateMarcos is set to deliver his SONA on July 22 at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, which, according to the House of Representatives, is likely to have the highest attendance in history with over 2,000 guests.Vice President Duterte, who appointed herself as the "designated survivor," said she is not attending this year's SONA.Article 7, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution requires the President to "address the Congress at the opening of its regular session."The Philippine president delivers the SONA every year, usually held every last Monday of July, to report the state of the country, unveil the administration's agenda for the coming year, and ask Congress to pass priority legislative measures.