President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has described his State of the Nation Address before Congress this afternoon as a “performance report” to the Filipino people, a straightforward narrative of what was promised a year ago and what has been achieved so far.
We expect the SONA to be comprehensive, covering the economic, political and social dimensions of governance.
But we anticipate the report to highlight specific policies and programs that the administration considers game changers.
On the economic front, there’s the Maharlika Investment Fund Act, signed only on July 11.
The President himself cited the significance of this piece of legislation: “The MIF is a bold step towards our country’s meaningful economic transformation…Just as we are recovering from the adverse effects of the pandemic, we are now ready to enter a new age of sustainable progress, robust stability, and broad-based empowerment.”
The sovereign wealth fund will “widen the government’s fiscal space and ease pressure in financing public infrastructure projects” and speed up the implementation of the 194 flagship infrastructure projects approved by the National Economic and Development Authority.
The Maharlika Investments Corp. (MIC), which will be the sole vehicle for mobilizing and utilizing the MIF for investments, is expected to have at least P75 billion in paid-up capital this year, with P50 billion sourced from the Land Bank of the Philippines and P25 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
The Fund will be invested in a wide range of assets, including foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and high-impact infrastructure projects, and projects related to sustainable development.
The past year also saw enhanced efforts by the administration to allow ordinary Filipinos to cope with high inflation.
The Kadiwa program allows ordinary Filipinos to purchase basic commodities such as rice and vegetables at lower prices because it eliminates intermediaries, allowing local producers to generate higher income by selling their produce directly to consumers.
The Food Stamps program, on the other hand, will complement other existing anti-hunger and anti-poverty initiatives by giving P3,000 monthly to poor families for their food needs.
The opening up of the economy after three years of the COVID-19 pandemic has led not only to renewed business activity but also to the return to face-to-face classes at all levels, bringing the nation closer to pre-COVID-19 normalcy.
We also forged closer relations with the United States, China, Japan and our ASEAN and APEC partners as part of a foreign policy focused on what the President said is being a “friend to all, an enemy to none.”
The diplomatic offensive during the past year not only led to some P3.7 trillion in investment pledges, but also enhanced the country’s standing in the international community.
All in all, a truly productive year that can only lead to more significant progress in all aspects in the years ahead.
