PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday, July 24, 2023, during his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) that the establishment of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) is vital for the country’s high priority infrastructure projects.
“In pooling a small fraction of the considerable but underutilized government funds, the Maharlika Fund shall be used to make high-impact and profitable investments, such as the Build-Better-More program. The gains from the Fund shall be reinvested into the country’s economic well-being,” he said.
He said the government has allocated P8.3 trillion for the “Build Better More” Program, which is seen to implement 194 infrastructure projects, 123 of which were new.
The flagship projects cover investments in the areas of physical connectivity, water resources, agriculture, health, digital connectivity, and energy.
About 83 percent of the program was physical connectivity infrastructure such as roads, bridges, seaports, airports, and mass transport.
He cited the 1,200-kilometer Luzon Spine Expressway Network Program, which will “effectively connect” Ilocos to Bicol, the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges, and the Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge.
As of June 2023, Marcos said the government constructed, maintained and upgraded more than 4,000 kilometers of roads and around 500 bridges across the country.
He also noted the “crucial” airport and port development projects, including Cebu’s Pier 88 smart port, the new passenger terminal buildings of Clark Airport and the Port of Calapan.
The President said the administration also initiated several railway projects, with a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers, including the southern leg of the North-South Commuter Railway System, which is now in full swing.
“The underlying logic to our infrastructure development is economic efficiency. We are opening up all gateways to mobilize goods and services at less cost and in less time, and ultimately, to drive the economy,” said Marcos.
“Inter-modal connectivity will be a primary consideration. Roads, bridges and mass transport systems will be interconnected. This network will provide access and passage to vital and bustling economic markets, such as agriculture hubs, tourism sites, and key business districts,” he added.
Last July 18, Marcos signed into law, amid criticism, including from lawmakers, Republic Act 11954, or the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Act of 2023.
The P125 billion MIF seed capital, which will be sourced from the Landbank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines and National Government, will be used to invest in a wide range of assets, including foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, commercial real estate, and infrastructure projects.
To ensure sound financial management, Marcos said a group of internationally recognized economic managers shall oversee the operations of the MIF, absent political influence.
Energy security
Marcos also vowed to achieve full household electrification by the end of his term in 2028, saying almost 500 million homes had been given access to electricity since he assumed office.
He said the construction of eight power plants during his administration increased the number of power generation facilities to 17, substantially increasing the country’s energy production by 1,174 megawatts.
“We are aggressively promoting renewables, so that it provides a 35 percent share in the power mix by 2030, and then on to 50 percent by 2040. To accelerate the realization of this green energy goal, we have opened renewable energy projects to foreign investments,” he said.
Marcos said 126 renewable energy contracts with potential capacity of 31,000 megawatts have been awarded since 2022.
He said currently, the country has over a thousand active projects spread all over the country: 299 of these are solar; 187 are wind; 436 are hydroelectric; 58 are biomass; 36 are geothermal; and nine are ocean-powered.
He said the government will also push for more gas exploration in other parts of the country.
He said they have partnered with the Bangsamoro region on energy exploration, development, and utilization within its territorial jurisdiction.
“We finally have a Unified National Grid, with the interconnection of the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids. The ‘One Grid, One Market’ will enable more efficient transfers and more competitive pricing of electricity throughout the country,” the President said.
“However, 68 grid connection projects are much delayed, according to the ERC’s (Energy Regulatory Commision) count. We are conducting a performance review of our private concessionaire, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP). We look to NGCP to complete all of its deliverables, starting with the vital Mindanao-Visayas and the Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnections,” he added.
Water security
Marcos raised the importance of water security especially amid the looming crisis brought about by El Niño, the onset of which state weather bureau Pagasa declared last July 4, 2023.
Marcos noted the creation of the Water Resources Management Office under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources through Executive Order 22 issued in April.
For 2023, the government allocated P14.6 billion for water supply projects across the country.
He cited the “significant boost” in the water supply in the National Capital Region and Rizal due to the completion of the first phase of the Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project.
Marcos said 6,000 rainwater collection systems have been installed in the country ahead of the dry spell, and that government had also started preparing buffer stocks and irrigation equipment.
Biggest challenge
Saying the biggest challenge the country faced over the past year was inflation brought by global events, including the lower production of oil, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Covid-19 pandemic, Marcos nevertheless said inflation was now falling.
“From 8.7 percent in January, our inflation has continued to ease up in all regions, settling at 5.4 percent this June. What this means is that... we are stabilizing the prices of all critical commodities.”
He also noted that the economy posted a 7.6 percent growth in 2022, the highest over the past 46 years, making the country one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
“Stimulated by the relaxation of pandemic restrictions, transactions once again flourished -- alongside the booming e-commerce that was undeterred by the pandemic. In 2022, the digital economy contributed P2 trillion, equivalent to 9.4 percent of our GD (gross domestic product),” he added.
Marcos said investments in public infrastructure as well as for the capacity of the people remain as his administration’s priority, noting that in 2023, 70 percent of the national budget was allocated for economic and social services.
Agriculture
To lower food prices, Marcos vowed to support initiatives to boost food production, as well as to punish smugglers and hoarders.
He said the Kadiwa ng Pangulo, now in 7,000 areas across the country, helping millions of families, will be expanded.
“Our aim is to boost our local agricultural production -- through consolidation, modernization, mechanization, and improvement of value chains -- augmented by timely and calibrated importation, as needed,” he added.
He also called for the amendment of the cooperative code to simplify the establishment of cooperatives which will boost the production and market force.
Marcos said that so far, the administration distributed 28,000 new farming machinery in different parts of the country, as well as more than 50 million rice seeds, over a million corn seeds and other vegetable seeds to aid the farmers.
Marcos said the government is also mapping out farm-to-market roads to support 14 million hectares of farm.
He said so far, 600 kilometers of farm-to-market roads had been laid in various parts of the country, 49,000 hectares of farms were provided with irrigation, while 4,000 more fabrication laboratories, production and cold storage facilities were constructed.
Drug war
Marcos said that under his administration, the government’s campaign against illegal drugs “is now geared towards community-based treatment, rehabilitation, education, and reintegration, to curb drug dependence among our affected citizenry.”
He highlighted the launching in December 2022 of “Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan,” or Bida program, an “intensified and more holistic campaign” against illegal drugs by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
He also said local government units had established 102 more Balay Silangan Reformation Centers nationwide for the rehabilitation of drug surrenderers.
He said his administration would continue to go after drug syndicates and bring unscrupulous law enforcers and others involved in the “nefarious drug trade” to justice.
From January 1, 2022 to June 7, 2023, at least 836 erring cops were dismissed from the service and 1,703 were suspended. Some of these police officers were involved in the illegal drug trade.
From 2016 to 2022, President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on illegal drugs resulted in the killing of thousands of people. The Duterte administration’s drug war is now a subject of investigation by the International Criminal Court. (With LMY)