From a long-awaited POGO crackdown to an affirmation of Philippine sovereignty, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. honed in on these specific points for his third State of the Nation Address
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. just delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa on Monday, July 22.
Amid a peculiar “split” with Vice President Sara Duterte, the ongoing hunt for the runaway Alice Guo, the growing clamor for a nationwide crackdown on POGOs, and several other issues many were expecting to be discussed—here are some of our takeaways from SONA 2024.
READ: Sona 2024: A quick look at main issues
“Effective today, all POGOs are banned.”
“I hereby instruct PAGCOR to wind down and cease the operations of POGOs by the end of the year. The DOLE, in coordination with our economic managers, shall use the time between now and then to find new jobs for our countrymen who will be displaced.”
“The Philippines cannot yield. The Philippines cannot waver.”
Against the ongoing battle for the West Philippine Sea, President Marcos assures that the present administration will continue to assert its legitimate claim over the disputed waters.
“Ang West Philippine Sea ay hindi kathang-isip natin lamang. Ito ay atin. At ito ay mananatiling atin, hangga’t nag-aalab ang diwa ng ating minamahal na bansang Pilipinas.”
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An emphasis on meaningful and felt change
Statistics and numbers remain the focus of the SONA 2024. Yet, these “improvements” typically remain unfelt by the general public—a sentiment the president shares.
“The hard lesson of this last year has made it very clear that whatever current data proudly bannering our country as among the best-performing in Asia, means nothing to a Filipino, who is confronted by the price of rice at P45 to P65 per kilo.”
Disaster mitigation efforts
The Philippines remains one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Acknowledging the impact of natural calamities, the president maintains the country’s position in advocating for climate responsibility on the international stage.
He announced that the Philippines will host the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund, which was established to help vulnerable countries in the event of such climate disasters.
Locally, he also reported several national disaster risk reduction projects, including the building of almost a hundred evacuation centers in the past year and the newly-built Disaster Response Command Center.
Free Wi-Fi everywhere
According to President Marcos in his SONA 2024 speech, around 10 million unique user devices have benefited from the administration’s Free Wi-Fi program. He also reported that phase one of their National Fiber Backbone has been completed and that phases two and three will be completed by 2026.
A connected Philippines
The present administration is on a mission to improve the country’s transportation infrastructure at all levels—from jeepney modernization to railway and expressway expansion.
“We have provided the budget to upgrade 367 bridges and almost 1,600 kilometers of road along our country’s longest thoroughfare—the Maharlika Highway—from Luzon all the way to Mindanao.” President Marcos added, “The C-LEX, NLEX-SLEX Connector, and the Plaridel Bypass will be fully completed by the end of this year. CALAX and the C5 South Link will be fully operational by next year.”
He also mentioned that the 20-kilometer Airport-New Clark City Access Road will soon be inaugurated.
READ: Bongbong Marcos checks construction of Clark airport access road
Several other bridges scattered throughout the country are also being built. The president reported that two of them will open this year: Panguil Bay Bridge, the longest water-spanning bridge in Mindanao, and Guicam Bridge in Zamboanga Sibugay.
President Marcos also believes that the country is in the middle of a “railway renaissance” and lauded the progress of the ongoing Metro Manila Subway and the LRT 1 Extension projects.
Protecting OFWs
“Through intense Philippine lobbying, the United Nations has adopted the resolution on ‘Promoting and Protecting the Enjoyment of Human Rights of Seafarers.’ This will ensure their safe and decent living and working conditions at sea—a human rights imperative.”
A bloodless war on drugs
President Marcos reported in his SONA 2024 address that his war on drugs will not only continue to be bloodless but has also encountered massive success. According to him, 71,500 drug bust operations have resulted in the seizure of over P44 billion worth of illegal drugs and the arrest of more than 97,000 drug personalities—6,000 of which were high-value targets.
However, he also included that 440 of those were government employees, while 42 were uniformed personnel and 77 were elected officials.
“To further paralyze their operations, dirty money and assets worth more than P500,000,000 have been frozen and preserved. With strong case buildup and efficient prosecution, the drug conviction rate is at a high of 79 percent.”
He added, “Together with this, we welcome the report that the number of drug-affected barangays in our country has been reduced by 32 percent.”
Declining poverty rates
“Our poverty rate has significantly dropped to 15.5 percent, down from 18 percent in 2021. This present figure is even lower than the pre-pandemic level of 16.7 percent in 2018.”