July 25, 2023
MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. opened his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) by pointing to the biggest challenge he thought the country faced: Inflation.
“Last year, we emphasized certain headwinds confronting us, along with the rest of the world, in our post-pandemic economic recovery, and the biggest problem we encountered was inflation,” said the President.
Marcos mentioned world events that fuel inflation, including the war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One year ago today, I stood here before you, setting forth the plans we have to improve the economy, bring jobs to our people, improve the ease of doing business, recalibrate our educational system to adapt to our new economy, lower and rationalize energy costs, boost agricultural production, enhance healthcare, and continue social programs for the poor and the vulnerable,” he said in his opening statement.
“Let me now report to the people on the successes we can now claim to and also the challenges we continue to face,” he added.
According to Marcos, the situation was further exacerbated by lessening oil production from countries that the Philippines imported from, which triggered the domino effect on other sectors.
However, Marcos said in his Sona that economists could craft policies that will serve as baselines for the economy in the coming years, as indicated in the medium-term fiscal framework.