By Brian Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has reported the situation of the country—along with his administration’s progress, gains, and challenges in the past three years—in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered at the Batasang Pambansa on Monday.
Secretaries and representatives from key government agencies gather Tuesday for a post-SONA discussion on the President’s pronouncements on various issues and sectors, all aimed at addressing the needs of the Filipino people and improving the quality of life under the “Bagong Pilipinas”.
Communications Usec. and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro sat down with Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Sec. Frederick Go, Finance Sec. Ralph Recto, Trade Sec. Cristina Roque, Budget Sec. Amenah Pangandaman, Tourism Sec. Christina Frasco, Agriculture Sec. Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., Agrarian Reform Sec. Conrado Estrella III, Economy Usec. Rosemarie Edillon, and Irrigation Admin. Eduardo Guillen to tackle the President’s SONA on food security and economic development.
Here are the highlights of the forum:
On the national budget
Following Marcos’ stern warning that he will return any proposed General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2026 if it is not aligned with the National Expenditure Program (NEP), Pangandaman assured that the Cabinet and the President himself thoroughly study the projects and programs that will be prioritized next year.
Explaining the Executive’s process to craft the NEP, which usually starts as early as January of the year, Pangandaman stressed that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) sits down with each and every agency to ensure that their priority projects remain consistent with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 as well as the government’s medium-term fiscal framework.
“So, iyong proseso po ay napakahaba, so pinag-isipan po nang mabuti ng ating Pangulo, ng Executive kung paano po babalangkasin iyang budget na iyan,” she said.
However, she also warned of possible delays in the implementation of programs and projects if there would be changes in the NEP: “Madi-delay po ang mga proyekto kapag hindi po consistent ang ating budget doon sa inaprubahan po ng Executive.”
The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) is also supportive of the President’s directive to the Regional Project Monitoring Committee to examine the list of flood-control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways to determine those that failed, were unfinished, or suspected to be ghost projects.
According to Edillon, while waiting for the DPWH list, the Regional Development Council (RDC) would begin crafting the protocol for the review of flood control projects.
“Magiging objective po iyong pagri-review nito at gaya nga ng sinabi ko mayroon tayong private sector na representative dito at magiging maagap din po kami sa pag-report po nito sa RDC siyempre at sa Pangulo po,” the DEPDev official said.
On economy, investments, and employment
The Philippines remains one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, Recto maintained, noting that the Philippine economy has expanded by an average of 5.9% since Marcos took office in 2022.
He also noted that inflation has been tamed, easing to 1.4% as of June 2025; and that employment figures rose, with 50.29 million as of May this year.
“Ibig sabihin, mas dekalidad na iyong trabaho dito ngayon sa Pilipinas kumpara sa nakaraang administrasyon,” Recto said.
“We are one of the fastest growing economies, we are able to create jobs, and if we can grow 6 to 7 percent annually for the next ten years, that will double the size of the Philippine economy,” he added.
For the Department of Tourism (DOT), Frasco noted that the tourism sector contributed 8.9% to the Philippine economic growth, citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that showed around 6.75 million Filipinos directly gained jobs through tourism, while nearly 10 million obtained indirect jobs and opportunities through the sector.
“Isipin natin na iyong P3.86 trillion na tourism spending sa bansa, whether by international tourist or domestic tourist, pumupunta po ito sa ating mga kababayan, sa kanilang mga pamilya,” she said.
Frasco also assured that their agency remains focused on increasing opportunities for tourism employment and providing training and scholarships for human capital development.
The DBM is also working to address the teaching backlogs in the education sector, with plans to create more teaching and non-teaching positions by next year, according to Pangandaman.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), meanwhile, highlighted its commitment to supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by providing loans to business owners—helping them begin and sustain their businesses.
Roque said, “Napaka importante po ang puhunan sa isang MSME… kasi iyon ang pinaka importante na kailangan nila. Most of them, mayroon na po silang mga produkto pero hindi nila maisulong ito dahil kulang po sila ng puhunan.”
The DTI also reaffirmed its commitment to boost industries such as car manufacturing, electronics, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and construction among others, saying: “We always push all the industries of the PH, kailangan talaga nating i-push aggressively and kailangan nating suportahan. So, the DTI is here to make sure that we get this done.”
SAPIEA Go likewise underscored the CREATE More Law, Public-Private Partnership Law, and Executive Orders issued by the President on the ease of doing business to attract investment opportunities in the country that will generate quality jobs for Filipinos.
“Napakahalaga po sa atin na maka-attract ng investments dito sa bansa natin, dahil ito po ang nagpo-provide ng mga trabaho, ito po ang nagpo-provide ng good high-quality jobs dito sa ating bansa.”
On agriculture
In line with the President’s goal to achieve food security in the country, the Department of Agriculture (D.A.) will allocate P18 billion for the nationwide expansion of the P20 per kilo rice under the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na” program beginning next year.
Laurel said they are eyeing to sell the P20-per-kilo rice to about 15 million households, “Ang isang household po is about 4.2 people per household, so about 60 million Filipinos ang tatargetin natin and this is middle-income families, below. So, halos kalahati po ng ating populasyon ang ating mabibigyan ng bente peso rice.”
To sustain the program until the end of the President’s term, the DA chief called for amendments on the Rice Tariffication Law to restore the powers and functions of the National Food Authority (NFA) to sell rice on top of keeping stocks.
He added that they are also planning to buy more palay from local farmers with their additional funds, with 20% of the purchased rice to be sold at P20 per kilo while the remaining 80% will be sold to retailers—of which the profit will be used to subsidize the P20 rice.
Laurel also said that the D.A. will invest more in rural areas through irrigation, water impounding, post-harvest facilities, rice mill dryers, and cold storage facilities for high-value crops.
Over 100,000 hectares of irrigation projects are also underway, Guillen said. This include the INISAIP (Ilocos Norte-Ilocos Sur, Abra Irrigation Project), Tumauini Reservoir in Isabela, Balog-Balog Dam in Tarlac, and the Panay River Basin.
Laurel and Go also reiterated the President’s directive to go after unscrupulous traders using the “Anti-agricultural Economic Sabotage Act”.
“Kailangan talaga nating habulin ito kasi ito po iyong nagpapasakit sa ating mga domestic industry sa ating mga magsasaka ‘no, et cetera. So, this is a warning to those who engage in unscrupulous trades na hahabulin po sila,” Laurel said.
“Nakikita naman natin na ang puso ng ating Presidente ay palaging nasa panig ng mga farmers natin kaya’t siya mismo ang nagbigay ng direktiba na habulin ‘tong mga ‘to at imbestigahan—at kung kailangang kasuhan, kasuhan kaagad,” Go said.
Meanwhile, to empower more farmers through land ownership, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is projecting to distribute 300,000 to 400,000 certificates of land ownership awards (CLOAs) and e-titles to agrarian reform beneficiaries throughout 2025.
“Libre na ho ang lupa na ipinapamigay natin at iyan po sana ay pangalagaan pati ng mga anak at ng mga apo ng ating mga agrarian reform beneficiaries,” Estrella said.
-jpv
