2024 infra, economic strides improved Pinoys’ lives–Palace

As President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration enters its mid-term, its key economic reforms have resulted in better lives for Filipinos under the banner of “Bagong Pilipinas,” the Palace on Tuesday said.

Mr. Marcos likewise made significant strides in infrastructure development in his first three years in office, bolstering connectivity, energy reliability, and public transportation across the country.

Part of the administration’s commitment to strengthen the economy were sustained investments in irrigation, flood control, supply chain logistics, and climate change adaptation.

There was also a push to liberalize restrictions on information transfer technology, an agenda that prompted Google to expand its business in the Philippines.

President Marcos met with executives of Google in April after his trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in Washington where they discussed ways to strengthen economic and maritime cooperation between the three countries.

He asked Google to increase cybersecurity activity in the Philippines and to come up with a system that will provide efficient digital services for all Filipinos across the country.

The Marcos administration also achieved a milestone by interconnecting the power grids in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, completing several transformative energy projects.

The Mariveles-Hermosa-San Jose (MHSJ) 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line, inaugurated in July, strengthened Luzon’s power grid, while the Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project and the Cebu-Bohol Interconnection Project, energized earlier in the year, addressed long-standing power instability in the Visayas.

The Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project, featuring a high-voltage direct cable with a 450 MW transfer capacity, marked a defining moment for national energy integration.

The President underscored these projects’ long-term impact, including lowering electricity costs and enhancing national resilience.

President Marcos also inaugurated the Panguil Bay Bridge, Mindanao’s longest bridge, connecting Tangub City in Misamis Occidental to Tubod in Lanao del Norte in September.

The 3.16-kilometer bridge, completed despite delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and funding challenges, reduced travel time between the provinces from two hours to just seven minutes.

The President highlighted its significance for economic growth, faster goods transport, and improved quality of life for over 10,000 daily commuters.

In November, Mr. Marcos inaugurated Phase 1 of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project, adding five new stations and extending the line by six kilometers. The extension, serving 80,000 additional passengers daily, reduces travel time between Baclaran and Bacoor from over an hour to just 25 minutes.

On the legislative front, the administration remains on track in achieving its agenda of further expanding the Philippine economy while protecting the welfare of Filipinos and the country’s interests.

The President signed and approved over 100 laws for both local and national levels this year, eleven of which came from the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

Among these priority laws was the New Government Procurement Act. The President was clear on his directive on making public procurement practices at par with international standards.

With the country’s journey to digital transformation, the government also set in place a legislation that would protect financial consumers through the Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act. The VAT on Digital Transactions Act, on the other hand, expands and streamlines the authority of the Bureau of Internal Revenue to collect value added tax on foreign digital services.

The Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act and the Agricultural Tariffication Act are expected to fortify support to Filipino farmers and protect consumers from unjust increases in prices of basic commodities.

President Marcos also signed into law twin measures – the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act – that are crucial in asserting the country’s sovereign rights and maritime domain, including over the West Philippine Sea.

He also boosted support to local defense industries through the Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) Revitalization Act.