Photo from Presidential Communications Office
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to deliver his third State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 22, where he is expected to tackle the country’s pressing issues on top of all the achievements his administration carried for the past year.
Political analyst and professor Dr. Froilan Calilung on Saturday listed down the key considerations that Marcos would air in his address.
“First will be the aspect of economic context, particularly in combating inflation because we know that the President has been very keen on trying to curb the inflation post pandemic,” Calilung said on Saturday News Forum.
READ: Marcos: Inflation rate at reasonable level
The political analyst pointed out how the economic aspect is associated with the agriculture self-sufficiency, including food security and monetary and fiscal policies to ensure that there will be no spike in inflation. He also noted that the inflation rate did not decrease but the sudden spike in inflation rate is contained.
Calilung noted that another important issue that the President should discuss is the current status of the minimum wage in the country. The government approved a P35 increase in the minimum wage of workers in the National Capital Region (NCR) where it was criticized as an “insult” citing the Family Living Wage of P1,200 to survive each day.
READ: Marcos: PH won’t yield West Philippine Sea; to defend it at all cost
“It would be better if we hear not just the policies, but also the concrete programs because sometimes there are policies, legislations, they exist on paper but in reality, its transmission to those we call marginalized becomes a problem,” he added.
Calilung said that it is important to focus on inflation because “it will increase public confidence and it will also increase investor confidence which is in the long run, important in creating more jobs.”
Calilung also sees the topic on Education to be discussed where Senator Sonny Angara was appointed as the Education chief after VIce President Sara Duterte resigned from the post. Angara’s appointment was widely welcomed by lawmakers and groups, citing his background on education and crafting educational policies.
The political analyst said that another “focal point of consideration” is territorial sovereignty, particularly in the West Philippine Sea where he believes is “the meat of his foreign policy for the past year.”
For Calilung, we should see the “gains” of his foreign trips and what translated into actions and not just pledges. According to the General Appropriations Act of 2024 which the President signed in December, he was granted P1.4 billion of funds for his local and foreign trips.
Marcos should also tackle corruption, communist insurgency, drugs, and petty street crimes. Calilung said that such issues are the ones the Filipinos are expecting to hear from him.