PRESIDENT FERDINAND MARCOS JR. DELIVERS HIS FIRST STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS (SONA)

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. delivered his first State of the Nation Address (Sona), giving a glimpse of his first few days in office and his plans for the next six years.

President Marcos Jr. arrived at Batasan. He was greeted by lawmakers including newly elected Congress leaders, Speaker Martin Romualdez and Senate President Zubiri. He is accompanied by First Lady Liza Marcos.

Instead of the presidential march, Marcos entered the House of Representatives session hall to "Pilipinas Kong Mahal", a patriotic song from the 1930s.

His first SONA, described by an analyst as "business-like," lasted for an hour and 14 minutes. Unlike his inaugural address, where Marcos spoke mostly in English, his first SONA was spoken in a mix of English and Filipino, not deviating from his drafted speech.

Cheers and applause greeted Marcos before he began his speech.

A gushing First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos highlighted the introductory of Marcos' SONA, who broke character when her husband addressed her in front of guests.

Araneta-Marcos briefly covered her face with a piece of paper and made a face directed at her husband. Vice President Sara Duterte, her husband's running-mate and her seatmate for the event, cheered her on.

Marcos dedicated the first 10 minutes of his speech discussing his government's plans to solve the country's economic woes, compounded by high prices of food and fuel.

Marcos vowed to support the agriculture sector, make health care accessible to every Filipino, and bared his legislative agenda through 2028 during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA).

"I have instructed the NEDA to coordinate with other agencies and work on the Philippine Development Plan for 2023 to 2028 and to submit to me the complete blueprint and progress of its implementation not later than year-end," he said.

In the end, Marcos said: “The state of the nation is sound.”

THE FIRST SONA OF MARCOS 1.0: KEY POINTS

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa on Monay July 25, on top of overwhelming calls for concrete plans on the nation’s economic and health crises.

In his speech that spanned over an hour, Marcos headlined with his economic and agricultural plans, while health was mentioned 25 minutes into the address.

Here are the highlights of his speech:

ECONOMY

As Filipinos continue to suffer from rising inflation, Marcos orders the government to realign its expenditure priorities and to implement a “sound fiscal management.”

•           Real gross GDP: 6.5-7.5% in 2022

•           Real GDP growth: 6.5-8% annually from 2023-2028

•           Poverty rate: 9% or single-digit povery rate by 2028

•           National deficit to GDP ratio: 3% by 2028

•           National debt to GDP ratio: >60% 2025

•           US dollar income per capita: >$4,256

•           Attainment of upper middle-income status by 2024

AGRICULTURE

Marcos calls for a one-year moratorium on the payment of amortization on lands distributed through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries who have yet to be awarded lands will no longer have the obligation to pay amortization for land when it is awarded to them.

Marcos says the Department of Agriculture will aim to increase production in the next planting season by giving financial and technical assistance to farms.

He says that aside from loans, the government will bring in farming inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, seeds for distribution.  Subsidies will also help agricultural workers, he says.

Marcos also talks about integrating the value chain from farmers to consumers.

TOURISM

Marcos recognizes the role of tourism not only in regular employment but also in job creation.

To empower the sector, the Departments of Tourism and the Public Works and Highways have been tasked to:

•           Make basic developments and road improvements for easier access to tourist spots

•           Upgrade airport to help decongest the Manila airport

•           Make it more convenient for tourists to go to undiscovered tourist spots

HEALTH

There would no more COVID lockdowns in the Philippines, Marcos vowed. He promised to build a vaccine institute and a center for disease control and prevention.

Government will continue to implement the alert level system for now, the President said during the SONA at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City.

Post-pandemic, Marcos said there remains a need to strengthen the healthcare system. He vowed to build more hospitals, clinics and regional health units.

EDUCATION

Later into his speech, Marcos also bared the Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) as part of his priority legislation, which was also pushed by Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte.

•           In the educational sector, I believe it is time for our children to return to full face-to-face classes once again.

•           The condition and availability of school rooms for our students must also be addressed, again, in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways.

•           We are giving [the K to 12 program] a careful review, and all necessary inputs and points of view are now being considered.

•           Need to provide Filipino students with better internet connectivity and devices to help them "participate fully in the digital community.

•           We must do better in the international rankings especially when it comes to the so-called STEM subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

DIGITALIZATION

With the rapid technological advancements taking place, Marcos hoped to attain universal connectivity across the country through his National Broadband Plan.

•           The mission of our Department of Information and Communications Technology is to identify and utilize these innovations to improve governance.

•           The voluminous records stored in the government warehouses and archives have to be digitized.  Those that are already stored in various inventories of data should be harmonized and shared across departments and agencies.

•           We expect to issue 30 million physical IDs and 20 million digital IDs by the end of the year. The target is to accomplish the issuance of about 92 million IDs by the middle of next year.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Marcos appeared keen to follow the footsteps of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte as he vowed to maintain high infrastructure spending.

 •          I will not suspend any of the ongoing projects as those have already been shown to be of benefit to the public that they serve.

•           Infrastructure development spending will be sustained at 5% to 6% of the GDP.

•           We will also continue to improve our roads and transportation systems in key cities throughout the country.

ENERGY

As part of his plans to adopt renewable energy, he again backed the revival of nuclear power plants, which green groups have previously flagged to be costly and damaging to the environment.

•           We must build new power plants.

•           In the move to lowering our carbon footprint caused by energy production, our advancement to renewables will have a lead time.

•           I believe also it is time to re-examine our strategy towards building nuclear power plants in the Philippines.

CLIMATE CHANGE

In response to the worsening climate crisis, Marcos gave platitudes about “disaster-proof planning” communities but did not further elaborate on enforcing environmental laws.

•           The use of renewable energy is at the top of our climate agenda.  We will increase our use of renewable energy sources such as hydropower, geothermal power, solar, and wind.

•           We will also look into the precarious fresh water supply situation in the country, especially in our urban areas.

•           The Philippines has excellent laws on the environment, but we have to guarantee that these laws are properly enforced.

•           Companies who exploit our natural resources must follow the law.

MIGRANT WORKERS

Marcos banked on the newly-set up Department of Migrant Workers in ensuring the welfare and employment of Filipinos abroad. He also pushed for digital empowerment among OFWs and the eradication of all forms of red tape.

•           Tinatawagan ko rin ang Department of Foreign Affairs na makipagtulungan sa Department of Migrant Workers na tiyaking ang lahat ng mga diplomatic post ay tutulong na agarang maibalik sa trabaho ang mga ating mga Overseas Filipino workers na nawalan ng hanapbuhay nitong nakalipas na mga taon.

•           We shall automate the verification of contracts and issue secure Overseas Employment Certifications (OEC) that you can keep on your smartphone.

•           Mula sa tatlong buwan ay gagawin na lamang nating tatlong linggo para sa isang dayuhang employer na  i-proseso ang mga papeles ng Filipinong nais nitong kunin bilang empleyado.

FOREIGN POLICY

While Marcos assured he will not yield Filipino territory to foreign powers, he did not make direct mentions of the West Philippine Sea issue.

•           I will not preside over any process that will abandon even a square inch of territory of the Republic of the Philippines to any foreign power.

•           The Philippines has always been open and welcoming to all our foreign friends and visitors. That is our world view, and that is our culture.

The president also listed 19 priority bills for the incoming Congress, including the Budget Modernization Bill, Internet Transaction Act and the National Defense Act, among others.

THINGS MARCOS LEFT OUT IN HIS FIRST SONA

MANILA, Philippines — Among other things, each president’s State of the Nation Address is expected to bring relief to millions of Filipinos and a plan for the task ahead, especially with the nation in the midst of crises on several fronts.

Like the SONAs of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos was hoped to present a comprehensive pandemic roadmap with the Philippines still in the middle of yet another COVID-19 surge.

The chief executive did come armed with figures and statistics in his first State of the Nation Address. Still, many questions remain: which issues did he leave out? How will he work on them moving forward?

Here are a few top-of-mind concerns that the chief executive skimmed over or skipped:

1. HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE WAR ON DRUGS

Not once did the chief executive mention human rights and illegal drugs in his speech.

Earlier, Marcos had said he intended to pursue Duterte's drug war with a different approach, but he has not signaled if he would cooperate with the International Criminal Court's investigation.

Marcos also made no mention of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict's recommendation for amnesty for communist rebels and its stand against red-tagging.

2. LABOR ISSUES AND CONTRACTUALIZATION

Marcos touched on agrarian reform, poor workplace conditions and intellectual property problems of those in creative industries. He also urged the Department of Migrant Workers to ensure it was accessible to overseas Filipino workers.

The president, however, made scant mention of other issues facing workers.

3. THE TRANSPORT CRISIS

Commuter woes have been the new norm ever since the government's coronavirus task force loosened quarantine rules to general community quarantine in June.

While Marcos did touch on public transportation, particularly on the need to improve railways, he only did so mostly in the context of infrastructure projects he wanted his administration to push.

What the chief executive did mention was that the Duterte administration's infrastructure campaign would be continued moving forward. This included upgrading airports and constructing more international airports to address bottlenecks in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

He did not mention road transport woes in the capital region or the canceled Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit Line 1 project. He did promise "to improve our roads."

4. THE FUEL CRISIS

Speaking of the transport crisis, commuter groups and collectives representing transport workers have pointed out that reduced transport supply on the roads is largely caused by drivers looking for work opportunities elsewhere.

Skyrocketing gas prices are also behind muddled supply chains around the world and fueling inflation closer to home.

What Marcos put forward as a solution to the problem was urging more "ayuda" or aid and fuel subsidies, particularly in the agricultural sector.

Marcos said oil supply is expected to catch up and stabilize over the medium term with prices of crude oil barrels expected to settle down towards the end of 2022.

5. THE HOW IN BLENDED LEARNING

Marcos simply reiterated the Department of Education's statement that it was preparing for the push for in-person classes by November.

Vice President Sara Duterte, concurrently education secretary, explained in a statement issued later on that "face-to-face classes shall be the priority and blended modality shall be considered only in specific schools and areas with special circumstances."

To date, neither Marcos nor Duterte have disclosed which schools and areas are being considered for the setup.

Marcos instead said Monday that "it is up to our education system to refine [our] great pool of talent." He also said that the question of the country's medium of instruction in schools "should be continuously questioned."

6. SOUTH CHINA SEA

While he touched on his administration's "friends to all, enemy to none" foreign policy, Marcos made no mention of the country's tensions with Beijing in the West Philippine Sea and how he intends to assert the arbitral ruling.

He did, however, receive applause and standing ovation for declaring that he will "not preside over any process that will abandon even a square inch of territory of the Republic of the Philippines to any foreign power."

He added, meanwhile, that his government "will stand firm in our independent foreign policy, with the national interest as our primordial guide. We commit to maintaining good relations with the rest of the world."

"With respect to our place in the community of nations, the Philippines shall continue to be a friend to all, and an enemy to none. The Philippines has always been open and welcoming to all our foreign friends and visitors. That is our worldview, and that is our culture," Marcos said.

SARA DUTERTE MAKES GRAND ENTRANCE IN BAGOBO TAGABAWA DRESS FOR SONA 2022

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio attended the opening of the 19th Congress wearing a traditional Bagobo Tagabawa dress.

The Bagobo Tagabawa tribe of Davao is one of the largest groups of indigenous peoples in Southern Mindanao.

The tribe’s traditional clothing is known for being colorful. Evident in Duterte’s look is the intricate beading and stitchwork with unique patterns.

According to reports, Duterte’s spokesman Reynold Munsayac had said the VP borrowed the traditional clothing from Bae Sheirelle Antonio, the deputy mayor of the Tagabawa tribe of Davao City.

MARCOS VOWS TO FINISH ONGOING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, INCLUDING MINDANAO RAILWAY

MANILA - During his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), the president said infrastructure development is "a very high priority" in driving growth and employment.

Marcos also emphasized the importance of railway projects.

Marcos said he is committed to finishing the current investment portfolio including the North-South Commuter Railway system, the Metro Manila Subway Project, the LRT-1 Cavite extension, and the MRT common station.

THE REST

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ZUBIRI IS THE NEW SENATE PRESIDENT

Already the acting as Senate president, Juan Miguel Zubiri was voted in by his colleagues Monday morning at the Senate’s first session ahead of the first State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

ROMUALDEZ ELECTED HOUSE SPEAKER

With 283 votes, Rep. Martin Romualdez (Leyte) becomes the House’s new speaker.

Twenty-two lawmakers did not vote, 4 abstained and one voted against.

ARROYO BECOMES SENIOR DEPUTY SPEAKER

Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Pampanga) nominated as senior deputy speaker.

Arroyo, who is infected with COVID-19, is unable to attend the proceedings.

The following lawmakers, meanwhile, are elected deputy speakers:

Isidro Ungab

Roberto Puno

Camille Villar

Kristine Singson-Meehan

Raymond Democrito Mendoza

Rep. Mannix Dalipe (zamboanga) is elected the House majority leader.

COMELEC: 2.9 MILLION NEW VOTERS FOR BARANGAY, SK POLLS

MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday reported more than 2.9 million registered voters in time for the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

Final data from the poll body showed that as of July 23, there were 2,936,979 newly registered voters in the country.

Most of the new voters were "Millennials" or "Zoomers".

Comelec said more than 1.8 million new voters were aged 15 to 17 years old, while 963,418 newly registered voters were aged 18 to 30.

The poll body also recorded 158,654 aged 31 above on the last day of registration.

The Comelec said it is processing about 3.9 million applications, including those who applied for reactivation and transfer of voting places.

The new registrants are expected to be included in the 65.75 million Filipinos already registered to vote in the upcoming elections this December.

Comelec held the registration for new voters from July 4 to 23.

KARAPATAN WARNS OF COMING RIGHTS CRISIS

Attempts by government to block protests during the State of the Nation Address "are clear indicators of an even worse human rights crisis in the Philippines," rights alliance Karapatan says in a release on Monday.

"In less than a month since his inauguration, [President Ferdinand] Marcos Jr. has already shown his proclivity for denialism, such as dismissing the spiking inflation rate and the massive economic crisis that our country now faces – and yet, the new administration’s priority seems to be to relentlessly and shamelessly orchestrate Marcosian attempts to stifle the exercise of our constitutionally granted rights and freedoms," Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay says.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

ELLEN ADARNA WORKS OUT AFTER BREAST IMPLANTS REMOVAL

MANILA – Two months after undergoing breast explant, actress Ellen Adarna is back on her workout routine.

Adarna took to Instagram to share her jump rope workout after taking time off to recover from her breast implant removal surgery a couple of months ago.

“Took 2 months off, took my time to recover properly. 2 months post op breast explant. No more excuses (my first day of period),” she said. “What's left of my tittles can now jiggle jiggle wiggle wiggle.”

Adarna revealed in May that she had her breast implants removed after experiencing back pain and fatigue.

Through Instagram Stories, Adarna shared a photo of the silicone shells that had been removed from her breasts, saying she had been suffering from “breast implant illness.”

The term has been used for a range of symptoms after undergoing breast augmentation with implants.

In Adarna’s case, her implants had affected her breathing.

She first admitted getting breast implants in 2014, when she told ABS-CBN News, candidly, “My boobs are fake.”

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 56.10

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics. - Thomas Sowell