THE Davao Consumer Movement said the fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. left much to be desired at a time when consumers continue to struggle with high prices, while Mindanao seems to have once again been left on the sidelines.
“We noticed that Mindanao was only briefly mentioned throughout the Sona. For the most part, it was grouped together with the Visayas, giving the impression to many Mindanawons that our island continues to be treated as an afterthought rather than as a region with its own development priorities and challenges,” the group said in a statement.
It added that while it acknowledges the government’s programs and projects for Mindanao over the past year — including disaster response, healthcare, and other social services — these do not fully address the island’s long-term development needs.
The group added that many of the initiatives highlighted in the Sona focus on immediate or medium-term interventions but offer few new strategies that would sustainably strengthen Mindanao’s economy.
“The President outlined plans related to disaster preparedness, energy, transportation, education, and healthcare in Mindanao. However, the Sona fell short in discussing key sectors where the island stands to benefit the most, particularly infrastructure and agriculture,” DCM stated.
DCM also said that the President’s Sona did not discuss major infrastructure initiatives for Mindanao, such as the Mindanao Railway, expanded port development, or other logistics projects that could improve connectivity, reduce transport costs, and support tourism and industrial growth across the island.
It added that there was also little discussion of initiatives specifically addressing the unique challenges faced by Mindanao’s agricultural sector despite its vital contribution to the country’s food production.
“Mindanao’s farmers continue to face climate change, crop and livestock diseases, and limited access to modern agricultural facilities. While the President outlined national agricultural programs, there were few initiatives that directly responded to these long-standing concerns or highlighted Mindanao’s role in strengthening the country’s food security,” the group said.
“We also believe greater emphasis should have been placed on boosting local food production instead of relying primarily on importation and other market interventions to stabilize prices. Strengthening irrigation, mechanization, access to quality farm inputs, affordable credit, and post-harvest facilities would help increase domestic food production while lowering food costs for consumers,” the consumer group stressed.
DCM emphasized that the overall Sona only presented a few new economic development initiatives specifically focused on Mindanao beyond existing national programs.
“This raises the question of whether Mindanao will once again have to rely largely on its own resilience while waiting for a clearer and more comprehensive development agenda from the national government,” the group added.
Meanwhile, DCM lauded the government’s implementation of short-term measures that aim to cushion consumers from the high cost of fuel, food, electricity, transportation, and other essential goods and services. The group admitted that these interventions provide immediate relief to Filipino families, but that the government must do more to address the structural issues behind these rising costs.
“While the President called for the removal of the system loss charge from electricity bills, we believe a more balanced and sustainable approach is needed. Eliminating system loss entirely may provide immediate relief, but it also raises questions about how legitimate distribution losses will eventually be recovered. Instead, we believe the government should prioritize removing the value-added tax imposed on the system loss charge and ensuring equal treatment between private distribution utilities and electric cooperatives,” DCM stated.
The group revealed that at present, private distribution utilities are allowed to recover only up to 5 percent system loss, while electric cooperatives are allowed up to 12 percent. This results in consumers served by electric cooperatives paying significantly higher system loss charges than those served by private utilities.
It also suggested that for fuel prices, the government should study the fuel price stabilization policies adopted by neighboring Southeast Asian countries.
“Diesel subsidies and transportation assistance are welcome short-term measures, but they are not sustainable over the long term. The government should consider reducing or removing one of the two taxes imposed on petroleum products — the excise tax or the 12% value-added tax — to help cushion consumers from volatile global oil prices,” the group said.
DCM emphasized that addressing fuel prices through long-term policy reforms would also help ease the rising costs of transportation and food, since fuel remains one of the largest cost drivers across the economy.
Meanwhile, for food security, DCM advised that the government should have clearly outlined how it intends to strengthen local food production and provide greater support to Filipino farmers. Improving irrigation, mechanization, access to quality farm inputs, affordable credit, and post-harvest facilities would help increase production while making food more affordable for consumers.
“Ultimately, the fifth Sona provided several short-term measures to cushion Filipino consumers from rising prices, but offered few structural reforms that would permanently address the root causes of high electricity, fuel, food, and transportation costs. Likewise, it fell short of presenting a clear long-term economic development agenda for Mindanao,” the group stressed.
It added that as one of the country’s primary food-producing and resource-rich regions, Mindanao deserves a more defined role in the nation’s growth strategy rather than being treated as an extension of broader national programs. PR
