Marcos echoes ‘unity’ sound bite in Sona: It’s key to PH recovery

MANILA, Philippines — Once again, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. maintained that unity — his rallying call during the 2022 national election campaign season — was the reason behind the country’s fast economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marcos, in the latter part of his State of the Nation Address (Sona) speech on Monday, said that the progress the country registered during his first day in office was not the work of a single person or a few government offices.

“This has not been the work of a single person, neither a single branch of government nor even the whole government acting alone.  This is the collective synergy achieved by all Filipinos working together,” he said.

“It took a whole-of-nation effort to achieve this immediate recovery from our pandemic slump.  Unity was what made us rise once more,” he added.

Marcos, however, clarified that this is not yet the end goal for his administration.

“Nagsisimula pa lamang tayo.  Ang pagbagon ng ating bayan ay magpapatuloy pa (We have just started. The recovery of our country will continue),” he added.

Marcos then turned to Congress, asking the legislative body for help to achieve the goals of his administration.

“Hinihiling ko ang inyong tiwala at pakiki-isa.  Sa ganitong paraan makakamtan natin ang ating tanging hangarin: ang maginhawa, matatag, at panatag na buhay para sa lahat ng Pilipino,” he said.

(I am asking for your trust and help.  With this, we can achieve our goal: to make Filipino lives more comfortable, stable, and at peace.)

“Makikipag-tulungan tayo nang mabuti sa Kongreso para sa mahahalagang batas na kinakailangan para sa ating tuloy-tuloy na pag-ahon (We would coordinate with Congress for important laws that we need for continuous recovery).  And once again I appeal to Congress for its support for the following priority legislations,” he added, mentioning thereafter the 20 bills that the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) has prioritized.

Both chambers of Congress — the House of Representatives and the Senate —  resumed their respective sessions on Monday, facing a huge task in the coming months.  Last July 5, Ledac named the 20 bills that they would like to be prioritized:

• Amendments to the BOT Law/PPP Bill
• National Disease Prevention Management Authority
• Internet Transactions Act/E-Commerce Law
• Medical Reserves Corps
• Virology Institute of the Philippines
• Mandatory ROTC and NSTP
• Revitalizing the Salt Industry
• Valuation Reform
• E-Government/E-Governance
• Ease of Paying Taxes
• National Government Rightsizing Program
• Unified System of Separation, Retirement, and Pension of MUPs
• LGU Income Classification
• Waste-to-Energy Bill
• New Philippine Passport Act
• Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers
• National Employment Action Plan
• Amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act
• Amendments to the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law (House Bill No. 7446)
• Anti Financial Accounts Scamming Act (House Bill No. 7393)

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