Sona 2022

FILIPINO
DAPHNE G. LOPEZ
GR.10 – AQUAMARINE
SIR. JET B.BARAGA
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. delivered Monday, July 25, 2022,
his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in
Quezon City.
He arrived at the venue around 3:30 p.m.

The country’s 17th President was joined by newly elected Senate President
Aquilino Pimentel III and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
Below is the summary of this year's Sona.

3:30 p.m. -- Marcos arrived at the Batasang Pambansa onboard a helicopter.

3:57 p.m. -- Marcos is welcomed at the plenary where he will deliver his Sona
before hundreds of lawmakers and guests.

3:59 p.m. -- Joint session was called to order.

4 p.m. -- Singing of the Philippine national anthem by singers of Ilocos Norte

4:01 p.m. -- Nation’s Prayer

4:05 p.m. -- The Senate and House of Representatives formally welcomed Marcos.
4:05 p.m. -- Marcos started his Sona by greeting the officials and guests.

Below are the highlights of the President’s Sona:

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.

In line with this, Marcos said he tasked the National Economic Development
Authority (Neda) to come up with a development plant for 2023 to 2028 and
submit the full blueprint not later than yearend.

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.

“Farmers and fisherfolk will be the priority of my administration,” he said.

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. He said this measure will amend Section 26 of Republic Act 6657.

“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.

“Sa ganitong paraan, kahit pa tumaas ang Covid-19 cases, mananatiling mababa
ang maospital at mamamatay...Unti-unti rin tayong masasanay na nariyan ang virus
pero hindi na seryoso ang banta sa ating buhay,” he said.

He added that they will align protocols and strengthen the cooperation with the
private sector to increase confidence, “so that we can go back to full capacity for
our businesses.”

Marcos said information and communication campaign against Covid-19 will also
be strengthened along with vaccination.

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.

He appealed to the public to get booster shots to strengthen their defense against
Covid-19 now that students will go back to schools. Marcos tasked the DOH and
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to undertake another
rollout of booster shots.

“The condition and available of school rooms must also be addressed in

coordination with DPWH,” he added.

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.”

He said the National Identification System (ID) will play a part in digital
transformation. As such, the government targets to distribute 30 million physical
ID cards and 20 million digital IDs by the end of 2022. In the middle of 2023,
Marcos said they target to accomplish 92 million IDs for the Filipinos.

He also said that he has tasked the Department of Information and Communication
(DICT) to deploy digital connectivity across various islands in the country. “This
will be done through the implementation of the National Broadband Plan, the
common tower program, connecting our Geographically Isolated and
Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) via our ‘Broad Band ng Masa’ project,” he said.

“All relevant modes of digital transport should be utilized. These may be through a
combination of terrestrial or submarine fiber optics, wireless and even satellite
technology,” he added.

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.

He said he will also improve the roads and transportation systems in the
Philippines through projects such as the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit, Davao High
Priority Bus System, Ilocos Norte Transportation Hub, and the El Nido Transport
Terminal.

“My order to the Department of Transportation or DOTr is really very simple: Full
speed ahead,” he said.

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.

his administration plans. These include the National Government Rightsizing Program; budget
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.

“I call on the Department of Migrant Workers and the DICT to make this a top
priority,” he said.

He also vowed to establish One Repatriation Command Center for Filipinos

outside the country who need to repatriated due to conflicts and other reasons.

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 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.”

5:19 p.m. -- Marcos ended his Sona.