Metro Manila, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will again report to the Filipino people about the country’s state of affairs.
He will deliver his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on Monday, July 22.
NewsWatch Plus recaps some of the president’s promises and what happened to them after a year.
Agriculture
Marcos talked big on agriculture in his SONA last year. He was then concurrent agriculture secretary. He had turned over the portfolio to fishing tycoon Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
The chief executive vowed to catch agricultural smugglers and hoarders supposedly behind the manipulation of agricultural product prices.
“Bilang na ang mga araw ng mga smugglers at hoarders na ‘yan,” he said.
[Translation: The days of those smugglers and hoarders are numbered.]
Upon taking over, Laurel said he will create an intelligence group to curb corruption in the department. He also formed a task force to go after smugglers.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has filed cases against at least 40 onion smugglers. Laurel said he was prepared to blacklist some companies with smuggling links.
Significant movements on the crackdown have yet to be announced, while Marcos has yet to enact amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Bill.
Meanwhile, the Philippines posted around ₱9.8 billion worth of agricultural damage from the El Niño, raising questions on Marcos’s pronouncement that the government prepared for the weather phenomenon. In previous months, the president conducted a roadshow to provide aid to affected farmers and fisherfolk.
Another measure to benchmark the administration’s performance in the agriculture sector is the state of rice prices. The president cut the tariff on imported staple to 15% in June. The Department of Agriculture also introduced in Kadiwa stores subsidized rice at ₱29 per kilogram (kg) for vulnerable sectors. Still, it’s far from Marcos’ campaign promise of ₱20/kg.
WATCH: Presyo ng bigas malayo pa rin sa pangakong ₱20 kada kilo | SONA 2024
Illegal drugs
The president continued his predecessor’s campaign against illegal drugs. But instead of the bloody war under the Duterte administration, Marcos carried out a health-based approach: community-based treatment, rehabilitation, education, and reintegration.
In 2022, the Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA) program was launched.
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos early this year reported that 15 regions participated in the program in 2023.
“We are definitely off to a good start. We were able to bring the spirit of BIDA down to our communities in just over a year since its launch,” Abalos said in a statement in January.
“Asahan po ninyo na magpapatuloy at lalo pang palalakasin ang kampanyang ito sa tulong ng iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan,” he added.
[Translation: Expect that the campaign will continue and will be intensified with the help of various sectors of the society.]
Based on Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) data for 2023, there were 5,546 admissions for rehabilitation: 4,425 new, 85 readmitted, and 1,036 outpatient cases. A total of 82 Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers serviced the cases.
Last year’s admissions were 43 percent higher than in 2022.
“The rise in admission can be attributed to the enhanced implementation of programs for persons who use drugs (PWUDs), assisting them to gain access to appropriate intervention, referral to treatment and rehabilitation, and the different advocacy programs being implemented nationwide that encourage PWUDs to undergo treatment and rehabilitation,” the DDB analysis stated.
Its data also said that methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, is still the leading substance of abuse.
RELATED: Sulyapan ang Mega Drug Rehab Center sa Nueva Ecija | NewsWatch Reports
Education
Under Vice President Sara Duterte’s leadership, the Department of Education (DepEd) implemented the National Learning Recovery Program amid low Programme for International Student Assessment scores of Filipino students. The recalibrated K-10 MATATAG curriculum will have a phased-implementation this school year.
But her stint was overshadowed with her confidential fund requests for DepEd. Duterte resigned from the post effective July 19.
Aside from highlighting learning recovery, Marcos also mentioned that his government would address the shortage of classrooms and facilities.
Notably, he said in his SONA, “[S]chools and facilities are being retrofitted to become ready for the future — ready for hybrid and high-tech learning, and also climate-ready and disaster-proof.”
This has yet to fully materialize. In one instance, the sweltering heat in April forced education officials to ground students in their homes and switch to home-based and online learning to protect them from health risks.
Such a scenario triggered the push to revert to the previous June-March school calendar beginning in the academic year 2024-2025.
The country has been identified as among these vulnerable to the impact of climate extremes, with schools converted into evacuation shelters during floods and storms. But schools would also be hit by calamities.
Duterte acknowledged that DepEd in 2023 fell short in its goal to build 6,300 new classrooms, having only constructed around more than half or 3,600.
The new education secretary, Sonny Angara, would be inheriting what has been described as an “education crisis.”
Infrastructure
Marcos, during his SONA last year, said that the Build Better More program is underway.
The program, worth P8.3 trillion, has 123 new projects as of July 2023.
Among the infrastructure projects are the Luzon Spine Expressway Network Program, Mega-Bridge Program, and the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System.
Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan said that projects on national roads and even flood control are ongoing, adding that those would hopefully be completed before the president’s term ends in 2028.
“Sabi nga namin, we have our hands full of programs kasi malaki ‘yung programa on infrastructure because the president wants us to drum up the implementation of infrastructure programs.
“Sa ngayon po – ang infrastructure program, as the president mentioned in his first SONA, sabi niya kailangan palakasin natin ‘yung istruktura dahil ito ang driver of economy,” Bonoan said in a pre-SONA interview on the government network.
[Translation: As we said, we have our hands full of programs because the president wants us to drum up the implementation of infrastructure programs. The infrastructure program, as the president mentioned in his first SONA, structures need to be strengthened as these are the drivers of our economy.]
“’Yung mga access roads in-improve namin ‘yung mga access roads, ‘yung mga papunta sa airports, mga railroads, mga ganu’n saka sa mga ports para mas madali ‘yung byahe rin ng mga turista sa atin,” he also noted.
[Translation: We improved access roads going to airports, railroads, and ports so tourists’ travel will be smooth.]
For his part, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said that the workers are all out for the NSCR construction.
“Siguro medyo matagal ‘to bago matapos pero full blast ‘yung construction,” Bautista said in a separate pre-SONA interview.
[Translation: The completion may still take some time but the construction is already in full blast.]
Once completed, the NSCR will cut travel time from Pampanga to Laguna by half, or from four to two hours.
Bautista said that an airport express from Clark International Airport in Pampanga to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City is part of the NSCR.
The railway is expected to be completed in 2029, but the government is targeting partial operations in 2027.
Housing
One of the president’s flagship programs is the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing, which aims to construct six million housing units until 2028 or one million units per year of the administration.
The president, in his last report, said there was groundbreaking in 25 areas, and deals were signed to start the project in over 100 locations.
Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jerry Acuzar said there are currently 40 projects that will provide around 140,000 housing units.
The projects may increase to 100 by the end of the year.
The agency also has almost 1.2 million housing units on the pipeline in coordination with banks and financial institutions.
“Township ang gagawin natin dito. Ibig sabihin, pagbaba mo, may swimming pool, may park, may garden,” the chief said in a pre-SONA interview.
[Translation: We will build a township. This means, when you go down, there will be a swimming pool, park, and garden.]
Acuzar said plotting the location of housing units is easy with land planning and funding, except in cities. However, he said the agency is facing building challenges.
“Sa probinsya, madali kasi may lupa. Dito sa city, kulang saka ‘yung squatter, ‘yung mga ISF (informal settler families) na nandiyan mismo. Ang usapan ngayon, kung nasaan sila, du’n na rin sila,” he answered when asked about issues facing the program.
[Translation: In the province, it is easy to implement the project because there are lands. Here in the city, there is a limitation. We also talked to ISFs that they will be housed where they are currently living.]
Digitalization
National ID and the eGov PH app were some of the key topics raised by the president when he talked about the digitalization push. To show its commitment to fully embrace digitalization, the government launched the digital national ID in June.
Marcos mentioned other achievements such as digital payments accounting for 42% of total retail payments in 2022, the Department of Migrant Workers Mobile, and the Philippine internet speed’s improvement.
But in January, the World Bank reported that compared to other members of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines’ internet connectivity “lags in affordability, speed, and access, creating an uneven landscape for digital participation.”
“The country’s poor broadband infrastructure is rooted in outdated policy frameworks that stifle investment in rural areas and foster a market with weak competition, both of which hinder broadband expansion,” the World Bank said.
Marcos also touted the SIM Registration Act, the first legislation he signed since assuming office, in last year’s speech. But text and online scams abound, effectively negating the impact and purpose of the law.
And, unfortunately, the numerous data breaches occurred since last year, including attacks to the Philippine Statistics Authority and state health insurer PhilHealth, compromised the records of millions of Filipinos.
If Marcos tackled digitalization again in the SONA, this would show the need for lawmakers to take action in setting policies and providing budget, especially against online fraud.
Aside from promises, Marcos also laid out a wishlist of legislation to Congress.
READ: Here’s what the 19th Congress aims to accomplish in its last session
Filipinos burdened with making ends meet amid soaring prices and looking for gainful employment could only hope that things would be better halfway through the administration’s term — something that they would want to hear from the president himself.
