Introduction

The President of the Philippines Bongbong Marcos delivered his first State of the
Nation Address on the twenty-fifth of July. He went to address about the economy and
the entire cycle of challenges facing the Philippines. He believes Filipinos care
deeply, especially the economic recovery program, the government’s pandemic
response, and also about returning face-to-face schooling. For the 25 minutes, he
talked about health wherein Filipinos can no longer afford another lockdown.  The
president reiterated the importance of farm-to-market roads to ease the transport and
delivery of farm inputs and products from the farms to trading centers. Moreover,
towards a more healthy diet, he will focus on providing better access to food through
modernized public markets. He mentioned that a healthy diet will not alone improve
people’s health but will also lower the costs of treatment and medication. Aside from
increasing food production, the president is also determined to provide consumers
access to safe and quality food items at affordable prices.

The president began his speech by stating that we are living in difficult times but we
are finding solutions to our problems. In Economy, Marcos vowed to create a fiscal
management tax administration reform that will increase revenue collection. He also
said that expenditure will be realigned and eco-zones will be fully supported. He said
the country’s tax system will be adjusted in order to catch up with digital economy.

The Philippines is one of the fastest-growing major economies in the region and one
of Asia’s most diversified economies. Despite this, it experiences high rates of
poverty, inequality, and unemployment.It is clear from his policies that President
Marcos has the best interest of the country at heart. One way to address these
challenges is through fiscal policy or government decisions about taxes, government
spending and borrowing that affect economic growth as well as income distribution
within a country. Fiscal policy is important to address poverty and inequality. By
Boosting investments in physical and human capital, which can help the poor
participate more productively in the economy. By providing transfers to the poor, who
are often unable to contribute meaningfully to the economy through work because of
their low levels of income. These transfers can help the poor increase their
consumption, which is an important way they can better support themselves and their
families.By increasing transfers to lower-income workers, who may not pay enough
income tax due to low wages or tax evasion by wealthier taxpayers.It is important that
the government should not burden its citizens with heavy taxes. Implementing this
will help the filipino people from burden.

FOOD CRISIS -- Marcos said the Department of Agriculture, which he heads, will
come up with solutions to the rising prices and lack of supply of food. One way to
address this, he said, is by increasing the production of farmers in the planting season
by providing them financial and technical assistance. The government will also
strengthen the value chain.
Marcos also vowed to provide subsidies for farmers amid the soaring prices of
fertilizers and pesticides, among others.

The recent food crisis in the Philippines has led to an increase of food prices and a deficit in
supply. With the recent food crisis in the country and prices of basic goods increasing, we should
learn how to protect ourselves from price fluctuations in the market.

FARM-TO-MARKET ROADS -- The government vowed to establish a national

network of farm-to-market roads that will help improve the delivery of goods to
markets.
MORATORIUM ON LAND AMORTIZATION -- Marcos ordered a one-year
moratorium on the payment of land and interest rates to help “unburden the farmers of
their dues and be able to focus on improving farm productivity,” saying this has been
included in Republic Act 11469, or the Bayanihan to Health As One Act and has been
supported by civil society organizations. He said he will issue an executive order for
this initiative.
A moratorium will give the farmers the ability to channel the resources in developing
their farms maximizing their capacity to produce and propel the growth of our
economy,” he said.

AGRARIAN REFORM BENEFICIARIES’ LOANS -- In his first Sona, Marcos

asked Congress to pass a law that will condone the loans of agrarian reform
beneficiaries. H
“In this law, the loans of agrarian reform beneficiaries with unpaid amortization and
interest shall be condoned. Layunin ng batas na ito na burahin ang hindi mabayarang
utang ng ating mga magsasaka na benepisyaryo ng agrarian reform,” Marcos said.

TOURISM -- Marcos acknowledged the “abundance of opportunities” that the

tourism sector creates. With this, he said his government, together with the
Department of Tourism and Department of Public Works and Highways, will work
hard to boost the tourism industry by improving roads and tourism spots, upgrading
airports and seaports to make going around the Philippines more convenient to
tourists.
CALAMITY RESPONSE -- Marcos said he tasked the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) to immediately respond to victims of calamities
by ensuring that field offices can deliver assistance, such as food packs, to local
government units (LGUs) affected by calamities.

He said the government will strengthen the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis

Situation (AICS), while he tasked the DSWD to make sure that qualified families are
given assistance through 4Ps. He said the 4Ps list of beneficiaries will be reviewed to
ensure that it is “clean.”
VIOLENCE VS WOMEN, CHILDREN -- Marcos said the government will not
forget the welfare of solo parents, women and children, as his administration vowed
to strengthen the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act. He said the
government will provide counseling, among other services, for VAWC victims with
the help of LGUs.

HEALTH, COVID-19 PANDEMIC -- Marcos said the country cannot afford

another lockdown, thus there is a need to balance the health and safety of the public
and the economy. He said he had asked the help of several agencies, particularly the
Department of Health (DOH), to make sure that the country’s healthcare system has
capacity to prevent a spike in Covid-19 cases.
MORE HEALTH CENTERS, HOSPITALS -- Marcos asked Congress to pass a
law that will create the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as a
vaccine institute. He also said that his administration will build more health centers
and hospitals not only in Metro Manila but also in other areas in the country.

“The need for a stronger healthcare system is self-evident... We will bring medical
services to the people, not wait for them to come to centers,” he said.

CHEAP MEDICINES -- Aside from building more health centers and hospitals,
Marcos vowed to bring prices of medicines down and ensure enough supply of it. He
said he had started talking to pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of
medicines.

He added that he ordered the Philippine Competition Commission to ensure equality

and that cartel among pharmaceutical companies is removed. He said an open market
would lead to lower medicine prices and health benefits for more Filipinos.

FULL FACE-TO-FACE CLASSES -- Marcos reiterated in his first Sona that it is

now time for students to return to full face-to-face classes.

He said the Department of Education (DepEd), headed by its secretary Vice President
Sara Duterte, has already been preparing for its implementation in the upcoming
school year “with utmost consideration of the students and teachers’ safety.
K to 12 -- The President also said that the government’s K to 12 program has been
reviewed. “All inputs are now being considered,” he assured.

“As for the horror stories that we have heard about the poor quality of education
materials and supplies, this must end,” Marcos added.

DIGITALIZATION -- Marcos vowed that the government will push for

digitalization to help improve the government’s services. “We cannot stand idly
by...We have to identify these innovations to improve governance.”
INFRASTRUCTURE -- Marcos stressed that infrastructure is the backbone of the
economy. He vowed to continue and expand the infrastructure program of the Duterte
administration.

“We shall confidently build on this firm foundation established by my predecessor, as

it is in building an edifice. We must keep the momentum, and aspire to build better
more... Once again, 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,” he said.

He said that infrastructure development will remain a very high priority of his
administration.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP -- Marcos said the government will continue

to encourage public-private partnerships (PPP) as it plans to expand the infrastructure
projects.

He said PPPs “hold great potential for that expansion, for infrastructure development
and for innovation.”

RAIL TRANSPORT SYSTEM -- Marcos vowed to modernize the old railway

systems, as he acknowledged that a railway is the cheapest way of transporting goods
and passengers.

He mentioned railways projects, which he said his administration will commit to

finish. These include the North-South Commuter Railway System; 33-kilometer
Metro Manila Subway Project; 147-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway
System; 12-kilometer LRT-1 Cavite Extension; 23-kilometer MRT-7; Common
Station that will connect LRT-1, MRT-3 and MRT-7; 102-kilometer Mindanao
Railway Project; Panay Railway Project; and the Cebu railway system.
CHEAP, RELIABLE ENERGY -- Marcos said the country must increase the level
of energy production 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,” he said.

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS -- In his first Sona, Marcos said it is time to re-
examine the government’s strategy toward building nuclear power plants in the
country.

He assured that the government will comply with the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) regulations, stressing that “in the area of nuclear power, there have
been new technologies developed that allow smaller scale modular nuclear plants and
other derivations thereof.”
RENEWABLE ENERGY -- Marcos stressed that the use of renewable energy is at
the top of his climate agenda. He said the government will increase the country’s use
of renewable energy sources such as hydropower, geothermal power, solar, and wind.

DISASTER RESILIENCY -- “Capacity building for our natural disaster resiliency is

therefore a must,” said Marcos, thus he added that investment in science and
technology is imperative to enable the Philippines to have accurate weather forecasts
and on-time disaster alerts.

FRESH WATER SUPPLY -- The government will also look into the “precarious
fresh water supply situation” especially in urban areas. Marcos said the water supply
systems, which date back to the 1950’s, must be rehabilitated and improved.

OFWs WELFARE -- Marcos said the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW),

which was established by the Duterte administration, will serve as the refuge
especially of distressed migrants workers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). He
said his administration will eliminate red tape in the system by automating the
verification of contracts.
FOREIGN POLICY -- “I will not preside over any process that will abandon even
one square inch of territory of the Republic of the Philippines to any foreign power,”
said Marcos, receiving a resounding applause during his Sona.

He said the Philippines will continue to be a friend to all, an enemy to none, but he
stressed: “We are very jealous of all that is Filipino.”

LEGISLATIONS -- Marcos has proposed 19 measures for Congress to pass in

support of his administration plans. These include the National Government
Rightsizing Program; budget modernization bill; valuation reform bill; Passive
Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act; E-Government Act; Internet
Transaction Act; Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed
Enterprises for Economic Recovery; Medical Reserve Corps; National Disease
Prevention Management Authority; Virology Institute of the Philippines; Department
of Water Resources; Unified system of separation, retirement, and pension; E-
Governance Act; National Land Use Act; National Defense Act; Mandatory Reserve
Officers’ Training Corps and National Service Training Program; enactment of
enabling law for natural gas industry; amendments to Electric Power Industry Reform
Act; and amendments to build-operate-transfer law.

‘SOUND’ -- Marcos appealed to Filipinos to “endure,” stressing the government has

“assembled the best Filipino minds to help navigate us through this time of global
crisis that we are now facing.”

“We will endure. Let our Filipino spirit ever remain undimmed. I know this in my
mind. I know it in my heart. I know it in my very soul... The state of the nation is
sound.”