FULL TEXT: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s second State of the Nation Address SONA2023
Let me now report to the people on the successes that we can now lay claim to, and also the challenges that we continue to face.
Kasabay nito ang paglulunsad ng mga istratehiya na magpapalakas sa kakayahan ng ating mga kababayan at mga sektor ng ating ekonomiya.While the global prospects were bleak, our economy posted a 7.6 percent growth in 2022—our highest growth rate in 46 years. For the first quarter of this year, our growth has registered at 6.4 percent. It remains within our target of 6 to 7 percent for 2023. We are still considered to be among the fastest-growing economies in the Asian region and in the world.
Inflation rate is moving in the right direction. From 8.7 percent in January, our inflation has continued to ease up in all regions, settling now at 5.4 percent for June. What this means is that in spite of all the difficulties, we are transforming the economy. We are stabilizing the prices of all critical commodities.
Investments in public infrastructure and in the capacity of our people—through food, education, health, jobs, and social protection—remain our top priority. For this year, economic and social services were allocated almost 70% of the national budget. We therefore seek once again the continued support of Congress to enact into law the policies and reforms under our fiscal framework.Napatunayan natin na kayang maipababa ang presyo ng bigas, karne, isda, gulay, at asukal.
Our aim is to boost our local agricultural production—through consolidation, modernization, mechanization, and improvement of value chains—augmented by timely and calibrated importation, as needed.In our quest for food security, our methods are now more guided by science and the balance of nature, so that production is both sustainable and responsible, benefiting both this and future generations.
Upang mas mapabilis at mas mapadali ang pagbuo ng kooperatiba, kakailanganin natin ang suporta ng Kongreso na maamyendahan ang Cooperative Code. Sa ilalim ng iba’t ibang mga programa ng Kagawaran ng Agrikultura, namigay ang pamahalaan ng mahigit na limampung milyong binhi ng palay, mahigit isang milyong binhi ng mais, at sari-saring mga binhi ng gulay. Nagpamigay tayo ng mahigit isandaang libong binhi ng niyog at nagpatanim sa halos sampunlibong ektarya ng lupa sa buong bansa.
Binigyan din natin ng patubig ang mahigit na apatnapu’t siyam na libong ektarya ng bukirin sa buong Pilipinas. Tulad ng ating ipinangako, ipinagpatuloy natin ang repormang pansakahan. Mahalagang haligi ito ng sektor ng agrikultura na ating inaayos. Nitong nakalipas na taon, mahigit pitumpong-libong titulo ng lupa ang ginawad sa mga benepisyaryo ng repormang agraryo.
Considering its fundamental importance, water security deserves a special focus. Our efforts must not be scattershot, but rather, cohesive, centralized, and systematic. One of the keys to continuing economic growth is infrastructure development. So, we will build better, and more. Our 8.3-trillion peso “Build Better More” Program is currently in progress and being vigorously implemented.
The underlying logic to our infrastructure development is economic efficiency. We are opening up all gateways to mobilize goods and services at less cost and in less time, and ultimately, to drive the economy forward. As of June this year, we have constructed, maintained, and upgraded more than 4,000 kilometers of roads and around 500 bridges across the country.
For strategic financing, some of the nation’s high-priority projects can now look to the newly established Maharlika Investment Fund, without the added debt burden. Owing to favorable market conditions, the price of crude oil has stabilized. Since last year, gasoline and diesel prices have gone down by 18 to 29 percent, respectively.
Since last year, an additional 126 renewable energy contracts with potential capacity of 31,000 megawatts have been awarded. To date, we have over a thousand active projects spread all over the country: 299 of these are solar; 187 are wind; 436 are hydroelectric; 58 biomass; 36 geothermal; and 9 are ocean-powered.
However, 68 grid connections are much delayed, according to the ERC’s count. We are conducting a performance review of our private concessionaire, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. We look to NGCP to complete all of its deliverables, starting with the vital Mindanao-Visayas and Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnections.
Hindi lamang DSWD, kundi pati ang DOLE, ang DepEd, TESDA, at CHED, ay tumutulong sa ating mga kababayang nangangailangan. Ang AICS, TUPAD, TVET for Social Equity, Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens, at ang Cash-for-Work para sa mga PWDs ay ilan lamang sa mga mahahalagang programa ng pamahalaan para sa kanila. Nariyan din ang Integrated Livelihood Program-Kabuhayan upang matulungan ang mga maliliit na negosyo.
The MATATAG Agenda for basic education has been launched, focusing on relevance of curriculum, rapid and responsive delivery, and the welfare of both learners and teachers.90 percent of the newly created teaching positions have now been filled, while additional administrative personnel have been hired to unburden the teachers of any extra load.
Through the DepEd Partnership Assistance Portal, private sector partners continue their assistance in the rehabilitation and improvement of schools, as part of their corporate social responsibility programs. Since last year, more than a million Filipinos graduated from the TVET, one-third of whom were TESDA scholars.
Deserving and talented students without the financial capacity to attend school, will not be left behind in this education agenda. Science, technology and innovation will drive the quality and competitiveness of our workforce, as well as our manufacturing, export, creative, and service industries, in existing markets and in new ones waiting to be explored.
To address the current shortage of healthcare professionals in our country, and to help us achieve our goal of universal healthcare, we are greatly expanding our medical and nursing education programs. We will push the envelope even further. We are helping nursing graduates hurdle their board exams, so that they will obtain their licenses and join our pool of healthcare professionals.
We are catching up on the routine vaccinations of our children. As of this year, more than 80 percent of our eligible children have been vaccinated against measles, rubella, and polio. We are working for a more direct, efficient delivery of services, through integrated primary care providers and networks, in partnership with the LGUs and our partners in the private sector. These shall of course be supported by what is now a better and more efficient PhilHealth.
Sa pinagandang Konsulta Package ng PhilHealth, dalawampu’t isang klase ng mga gamot at labin-tatlong laboratory service ang ibibigay nang libre. Ngayon, mayroon na tayong mahigit dalawanlibong Konsultacenters sa buong bansa. Ang bilang na ito ay mas marami nang tatlumpu’t limang porsyento mula noong nakalipas na taon.
Naglagay po tayo ng doktor sa halos dalawangdaang munisipyo sa bansa. Lalagyan natin din ng doktor ang natitirang labing-siyam na bayan na wala pang doktor. But even with our current high level of employment, we must do more. We will generate additional jobs for the remaining 4.3 percent of our workforce, as well as for the 11.7 percent underemployed Filipinos seeking better employment opportunities.
The implementation of recent economic reforms is underway. BOI-approved investment projects have reached 1.2 trillion pesos during our first year, while other strategic investments approved for processing through the newly established “green lanes” amount now to 230 billion pesos. Our tourism has always been a reliable pillar of our economic growth through the years, providing livelihood to more than 5 million of our citizens. Because of the reopening of the economy, and the phenomenon of “revenge travel”, this sector is headed for a great rebound.
Building on institutional reforms of recent years, we have created “green lanes” for strategic investments, and expedited the business processes in various sectors and investment modalities. Digitalization will support the government’s data-driven and science-based planning and decision-making. It is the greatest, most powerful tool, not just to improve the ease of doing business, but also against many forms of graft and corruption.
The eGov PH app has also been launched. As envisioned, all key government services are to be integrated into this single and centralized mobile app, for the convenience of the general public. Because of system upgrades, our internet speed has improved. As of June of this year, our fixed broadband speed ranks 47th amongst 180 countries. This ranking is 11 places higher than it was in last year. Our mobile internet speed is now ranked at 83 out of 142 countries, which is 8 places higher than it was last year.
The first bill that I signed into law was the SIM Registration Act because we are mindful of the risks and vulnerabilities that can lead to negative consequences. Digital users and consumers shall be protected from identity theft, phishing, other online scams, through essential systems and safeguards, such as cybersecurity, data privacy, consumer complaint mechanisms, and financial literacy campaigns.
As the world economy reopens, we are witnessing a rise in overseas Filipino deployment. In 2022, the number has increased by 62 percent. OFWs continue to send in historically high remittances, solidifying their role in our transformative economic growth. In 2022, our OFWs contributed 32.5 billion dollars, or roughly 1.8 trillion pesos, to our economy.
Moreover, the unpaid salaries and other related claims of some 14,000 OFWs, who have been put out of work in Saudi Arabia during the pandemic, are now being processed. The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia himself personally committed to me that the unpaid claims of Filipino workers would now be paid.
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