Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gestures after he delivers his second state of the nation address at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, Philippines on Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Monday said that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. delivered a clear message in his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) — the country is doing well, despite external shocks and global uncertainty.
Romualdez, in a statement said that even other countries lauded the Philippines’ efforts to ensure that it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Malinaw ang mga sinabi ng ating Pangulo sa kanyang SONA. Sa kabila ng kaguluhan sa ibang parte ng mundo, maganda ang lagay ng ating ekonomiya at nakikinabang dito ang nakakaraming bilang ng mga Pilipino,” Romualdez said.
(The President’s message in the Sona was clear: Despite the conflict in other parts of the world, the Philippines’ economy is good and many Filipinos benefit from it.)
“Maging ang ibang bansa ay kumikilala sa kakayahan ng Pilipinas na maging best performing economy sa ating rehiyon. Umaasa tayo magiging mahalaga ang papel ng Kongreso para maipagpapatuloy ang pag-unlad ng ating ekonomiya sa mga darating na taon,” he added.
(Even the other countries have acknowledged the ability of the Philippines to be the best-performing economy in the region. We are hoping that Congress will play a key part in pushing for economic improvement in the coming years.)
The Philippines was one of the best performing countries within the Asean region, registering a 7.6 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2022 — ranking high along with Malaysia’s 8.7 percent in the same year.
He assured the public that the House of Representatives would continue to work towards the creation of more jobs, promising that they would remove restrictions that hinder the entry of foreign investments into the Philippines.
“Magpapapasa kami sa House of Representatives ng mga kakailanganing batas para lalo pang maparami ang job at livelihood opportunities sa bansa. Tatanggalin natin ang lahat ng sagabal na pumipigil sa pagpasok ng dayuhang puhunan sa bansa,” he added.
(We in the the House of Representatives will pass laws that will increase the job at livelihood opportunities in the country. We will remove all hindrances to foreign investments.)
The President said that while the country reeled from the effects of high prices of goods, the administration’s economic team worked out solutions which eventually led to a downtrend in headline inflation rates.
“Inflation rate is moving in the right direction. From 8.7 percent in January, our inflation has continued to decrease in all regions settling now at 5.4 percent June. What this means is that in spite of all the difficulties we are transforming the economy. We are stabilizing the prices of all commodities,” Marcos said.
“Inflation is expected to decrease further by the close of year, and projected at 2.9 percent by 2024,” he added.