Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri (left) shakes the hand of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (center) after delivering his first State of the Nation Address at Batasang Pambansa on July 25, 2022. Also in photo is House Speaker Martin Romualdez. PRIB file photo / Voltaire F. Domingo
MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and other lawmakers gave President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. high scores for his first year in office, claiming that the Chief Executive did his best in addressing the common folk’s concerns.
Romualdez, in a statement on Thursday — a day before Marcos marks his first year as President — said that the administration was immediately confronted with several issues after assuming office, like the high inflation rates or the rising prices of commodities, particularly onions and sugar.
However, Romualdez said key projects like the reopening of Kadiwa stores and the whole-of-government approach, which entailed Congressional investigations on alleged smuggling, pushed prices down, leading to a four-month downtrend in headline inflation rates.
“Shortly after assuming office, he was confronted with spikes in the price of certain commodities like onions, which were selling for as much as P800 a kilo, and the basic staple rice,” Romualdez said. “Through a combination of measures, and with the help of Congress, the administration was able to bring down and stabilize the price of onions and rice.”
“He has a genuine concern, compassion, and empathy for the poor,” he added.
READ: PH inflation rate for May 2023 slows down further to 6.1%
Romualdez also lauded Marcos’ determination to improve the economy and rekindle old ties, especially with the United States, while not forgetting relations with China.
“The economy grew by 7.6 percent and 7.2 percent in the third and fourth quarters of 2022, and 6.4 percent in the first quarter of this year. Those growth periods were the first nine months of the Marcos administration. I sincerely hope we can sustain it,” he said.
“He has cultivated our ties with our old, reliable ally and partner, the US, and renewed bilateral discussions with China to uphold our interests in the West Philippine Sea and our exclusive economic zone,” he added.
Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. LRay Villafuerte meanwhile said that Marcos’ performance was above par, saying that the President only had a short learning curve since he took office last June 30, 2022.
“President Marcos has performed above par as Chief Executive, with his first year in office distinguished by notable breakthroughs in his overriding promise of more jobs and better lives for our people via an economy that is not only strong and resilient but also inclusive and sustainable,” he said.
“It has been a short learning curve for Mr. Marcos as his Administration has managed to accomplish better-than-expected initial results in the President’s 2022 ‘Bangon Bayan Muli’ campaign pledge to uplift the lives of all Filipinos,” he added.
Villafuerte, however, admitted that there is much to do for the administration if it wishes to deliver on its promise of inclusive growth.
“The rosy indicators this early on the watch of Mr. Marcos underscores that while his government needs to do a lot more over the next five years to fully realize its social and economic transformation agenda, it is, for sure, on track toward achieving the President’s vision for a prosperous, inclusive and resilient Philippines,” he added.
“Mr. Marcos’ pro-poor and pro-growth initiatives have won broad and deep support from our people and the business community as shown by the latest opinion polls pointing to the President’s high approval ratings along with public optimism that the country and our economy will be better in the year ahead,” he added.
Kabayan Rep. Ron Salo, meanwhile, said that Marcos delivered on his promise of unifying the nation, in reference to the President’s ‘unity’ catchphrase during the 2022 election campaign period.
“In a year, His Excellency President BBM has delivered on his promise of uniting the Filipino people. The President has worked to mend the divide caused by the past election, which is an outstanding feat by itself, considering it was very divisive,” Salo said.
“During his campaign, the President promised to reduce the unemployment rate through the creation of job opportunities. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the unemployment rate has steadily declined from 5.2% in July 2022 to 4.5% in April 2023,” he added.
In his first State of the Nation Address last July 2022, Marcos highlighted several things that his administration needs to focus on, including economic recovery for a post-pandemic world, agriculture and food security, and digitalization.
Marcos however assured that despite external turmoil and uncertainty, the state of the nation is sound.
READ: Marcos’ first Sona: ‘The state of the nation is sound’
READ: Bongbong Marcos’ first SONA: It’s all about economy
However, opposition groups have questioned Marcos’ achievements in his first year, saying that not much has changed since he took office. Last Monday, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers said that Marcos’ policies towards the education sector need “immediate remediation” after requests like salary increases for teachers, hiring of more educational staffers, and safe return to schools were not acted upon. With reports from Kirsten Segui, trainee
READ: Teachers’ group bats for remedial education sector policies