The Policies Of Bongbong Marcos In Action – First 7 Months Of Presidency

Written by Christian B Padillo

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is the 17th president of the Republic of the Philippines. While it’s safe to say he’s still in the infancy stage of his presidency, a lot is expected of the public official to improve the economic status of the country and bring the Philippines back to its glory days or even do better.

It has been a rocky start for the president as the country is still trying to recover from the global pandemic. With that being said, here’s a review of key milestones so far in his first 7 months in the position.

Grow business investments

During the president’s recent trip to the United States, he was able to secure at least $4 billion in business investment and another $14.36 billion during his trips to Indonesia and Singapore. This would include sectors like data centers, renewable energy, agriculture, e-commerce, broadband technology, which would significantly ease the country’s high unemployment rate.

With regards to the ongoing global oil crisis, President Marcos is seeking help from Middle East petroleum giant Saudi Arabia which lent a helping hand to the Philippines during the oil crisis of the 70’s and 80’s. This will hopefully lower the petroleum prices who have faced multiple hikes the past few months. 

The palace also moved to release the special risk allowance of frontliners who took care of COVID-19 patients during the pandemic amounting to ₱104 billion.

Strengthen the agriculture industry

President Marcos pledged to lead the Department of Agriculture himself, which is one of his top priorities of sectors to strengthen during his term as he aims for self-sufficiency in food production in the shortest time possible.

A budget of ₱184.1-million is allotted for production of local high value crops such as coffee. Meanwhile, farmers and fishermen who were hit by the recent typhoons will also receive financial assistance worth ₱709 million.

Initiatives aimed at improving the education sector

The education sector, led by the Vice President herself Sara Duterte is facing multiple hurdles to improve the sector due to decades of neglect for the welfare of educators and everyone working in the system.

Initiatives to improve the sector include providing scholarships for graduate and post-graduate studies of teachers, cast assistance to public school teachers whose children are enrolled in state universities and colleges.

As an added boost, there is also the initiative to double the allowances for teachers, especially those who are assigned to the far-flung communities of the country.

More public-private sector collaboration for healthcare

Vaccination programs for Filipinos are still ongoing and have gained traction that resulted in the decision by the palace to ease the use of face masks.

He also urged the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to push for digitization initiatives to improve operations when it comes to providing health insurance for its members. The president also urged for better public and private sector collaboration to further improve the delivery of care to Filipinos in need of medical assistance.This includes plans to improve the current status of nurses to keep them from seeking greener pastures abroad.

The president is also bent on the establishment of the country’s Virology and Vaccine Institute which would allow us to be better equipped for any future cases of pandemics, bioterrorism and the prevention of the reemergence of diseases endemic to the country.

Generate more jobs

As mentioned above, pledges for investment amounting to billions of dollars would eventually generate more jobs for Filipinos in the coming months.

In addition, the overall unemployment rate of Filipinos actually went down to 2.5 million from its previous number of 2.68, a 5% drop that shows progress in the labor sector.

So what do you think of the current president’s progress report in his first seven months? Do you think the country is headed in the right direction, or do you think more needs to be done to further improve the status of the country?

Only time will tell. But hopefully he will be surrounded by the right kind of people to guide him in making the best decisions in service of elevating the Republic and its people. 

 

Featured image source: The Manila Times