2023 (2)

WHAT has been achieved in the political and social spheres since the first SONA of President Marcos in July 2022?

Early on, President Marcos Jr. proposed 19 measures for Congress to pass in support of his administration’s key policies and programs. Among these were the National Government Rightsizing Program and the E-Governance Act, designed to streamline the bureaucracy and make it more efficient and responsive to current needs.

Other priority bills proposed for legislative action by Malacañang in last year’s SONA are all urgent. These include Budget Modernization; Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery; Creation of the Department of Water Resources; Unified System of Separation, Retirement, and Pension; and the National Land Use Act.

Many of the proposed bills have been approved by the House of Representatives and now up for deliberation and approval in the Senate.

Apart from pushing much-needed legislation aimed at rationalizing government operations in the economic, political and social spheres, the administration has also moved to curb corruption at various levels, maintain law and order through sustained police operations against both street-level and organized crime, and strengthen local autonomy.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the end-product of a comprehensive peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front after several decades of armed hostilities, is up and running, and focusing on economic and social development to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of Muslim Filipinos.

the 2022 SONA has focused on education, health, OFW rights and welfare, and disaster resilience.

Since July last year, the Marcos administration has taken definite steps to resume face-to-face classes with utmost consideration for the safety of students and teachers.

The government’s K to 12 program is now under review, with all inputs being considered to address the poor quality of education materials and supplies.

The country cannot afford another lockdown, thus there is a need to balance the health and safety of the public and the needs of the economy.

nations said.

The 26 countries said they are committed to secure, free, and open maritime supply routes in the Indo-Pacific, in full compliance with international and “in the interest of all.”

We must thank the EU members for supporting the “swift conclusion of talks aiming at an effective” Code of Conduct between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China that is fully compatible with UNCLOS and also respects the rights of third parties.

After all, Beijing’s ‘so-called ‘ninedash line’ is a blatant lie that is without any historical precedent or legal basis in international law.

Washington has also urged Beijing to “halt its disruption to states’ sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage natural resources.” industry since an open market would lead to lower medicine prices and health benefits for more Filipinos.

We are on the right track in circling the wagons and asking other countries to support us in our struggle to compel Beijing to recognize our claim to our EEZ in the West Philippine Sea based on UNCLOS, which China also signed.

Perhaps it might work. Or perhaps not at all. But we have international law behind us, and we should hammer on this point even before the United Nations General Assembly.

To protect the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, the Department of Migrant Workers, established during the Duterte administration, will serve as the refuge especially of distressed migrant workers.

The administration wants to eliminate red tape in the system by automating the verification of contracts.

The government will also establish the One Repatriation Command Center for Filipinos outside the country who need to be sent home due to conflicts and other reasons.

From another direction, the Department of Social Welfare and Development is prepared to immediately respond to victims of calamities by ensuring that field offices can deliver assistance, such as food packs, to local government units (LGUs).

The government will strengthen the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation, and the DSWD will make sure that qualified families are given assistance through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps.

The 4Ps list of beneficiaries is being reviewed to ensure that it is “clean.” power interruptions and overloading. MORE Power is a living proof that modernization funds will indeed provide real and efficient solutions to the problems in the power sector.

Since capacity building for natural disaster resiliency is imperative, more investments in science and technology must be made to enable the Philippines to have accurate weather forecasts and on-time disaster alerts.

The Department of Health is making sure that the country’s healthcare system has the capacity to prevent a spike in COVID-19 cases.

This glaring reality haunts the 121 electric cooperatives in the country which practically have no funds for modernization.

Their facilities can no longer keep up with the current demand resulting in poor service.

Power supply crisis is serious and widespread in the country.

In fact, the Senate Committee on Public Services and the Committee on Energy are conducting a joint investigation of the rotational brownouts experienced in Panay, Negros, Nueva Ecija, Northern Samar, Pampanga, San Isidro and San Jose in Nueva Ecija, Calaca in Batangas, Quezon province, Tabuk City in Kalinga, South Cotabato, Maguindanao, Ozamiz, Lumban in Laguna, Zamboanga City, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Marinduque, Camarines Norte, Echague in Isabela, Zamboanga Sibugay, Masbate, Davao Oriental (near my hometown), Southern Leyte, Casiguran in Aurora, and Bicol.

During the Senate Inquiry, Sen. Poe pointed out that the electric cooperatives were being loaned with government funds.

They were also given incentives to improve the service in rural communities.

However, cooperatives still cannot keep up with the demand.

And this is something that is really unacceptable for I could not fathom and comprehend why those electric cooperatives were still given subsidies worth millions by local government units to operate.

In the course of investigation, one very important thing has prevailed –

In so far as foreign policy is concerned, President Marcos Jr. said in his 2022 SONA: “I will not preside over any process that will abandon even one square inch of territory of the Republic of the Philippines to any foreign power.” Further on, he pointed out that “the Philippines will continue to be a friend to all, an enemy to none.”

This has been the thrust of his foreign policy since the start of his term, with his trips abroad not only aimed at forging closer ties with the United States, Japan and China, but also actively seeking closer economic cooperation and trade and investment deals with individual countries and regional blocs. Meantime, social development since

The government wants to build more health centers and hospitals to keep in step with our growing population.

Congress is likely to pass the bill that would create the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as a vaccine institute. The administration plans to build more health facilities not only in Metro Manila but also in other areas in the country.

Apart from these, the government seeks to bring down prices of medicines and ensure enough supply.

The government has started talking to pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of medicines.

The Philippine Competition Commission also wants to regulate the pharmaceutical

And because of limited resources, it is difficult for ECs to implement new technologies and innovations compared to big private sector utilities that have large financial resources. Hence, it is no surprise the private sector has more capacity to implement immediate infrastructure upgrades, technological advancements and operational efficiencies with reliable results and quality service.

While the administration has clearly achieved significant gains in nation-building in its first year in office, the Chief Executive has said he agrees with an assessment which gave him a grade of “incomplete” in his performance as the highest official of the country.

“We are not done,” he said.

“We still have a lot to do, there are many, many things that we still need to do. We have to undo 30, 35, almost 40 years of neglect when it comes to the agricultural sector,” he pointed out.

The delivery of services to Filipinos is “a work in progress,” and “an ongoing process. The job ahead is to make big structural big changes, and to make them work so we can see the results in the lives of ordinary people.”

(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com) modernization is really necessary to address the decades-long problem of power supply. Electric Cooperatives are managed by the National Electrification Administration. Based on their website, as of June, NEA had extended a total P560.66 million loan assistance to 18 Electric Cooperatives. But despite the large amount of loans extended to the cooperatives every year to strengthen the technical, managerial capability and financial viability of the ECs, the fact remains their resources for infrastructure development are still insufficient and limited.

So one of the solutions Sen. Poe sees is the entry of private players like MORE Power –for her this is the key in improving the power service because of their large capitalization. We should not be afraid of changes. We should not be afraid of reforms. We should not be afraid of the privatization of electric cooperatives because the Energy Regulatory Commission has regulatory oversight power to ensure quality standards, fair pricing and that monopolistic practices are avoided.

(The author is a civil engineer and a longtime resident of the Davao area, with his own small construction business)