Thank you. Allow me to greet the former presidents who are with us here today. President Joseph Ejercito Estrada and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Senate President Cheese Escudero and the Honorable Member of the House of Representatives. members of the Senate, House Speaker Martin Romaldes, and the honorable members of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice Alexander Gismundo, and the honorable justices of the Supreme Court. His Excellency.
the most reverend Charles John Brown and the esteemed members of the diplomatic corps, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and the members of the cabinet, of course the First Lady, First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos. Other distinguished guests, mga minamahal kong kababayan, magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat. The hard lesson of this last year has made it very clear that whatever current data... Bannering our country as among the best performing in Asia means nothing to a Filipino who is confronted by the price of rice at 45 to 65 pesos per kilo. Bagamat maganda ang mga statistika ng ito.
But it is not important to worry about our fellow countrymen who are burdened by the price of rice. My fellow countrymen, I know that you feel the same. We do not ignore your hardships and difficulties.
Despite the obstacles we face, we witnessed the highest level of poverty in the country. It has reached more than 20 million tons, the highest level since 1987. Likewise, However, this year's income is just over 13 million tons of rice. This is still not enough for our need of 16 million tons of rice. If we are forced to...
But local production is still what we will value the most. That is why we continue to support the agriculture sector to make it faster, faster and stronger. production mula sa pagpunla, pag-ani at paghuli hanggang sa pagbiyahe at pagbenta upang maiwasan din ang pagkasira ng mga produkto.
Nitong nakalipas na taon, higit isandaang milyong kilo ng mga sari-saring binhi, suwi at pataba ng ipinamahagi sa mga magsasaka. Namigay rin ang pamahalaan ng mahigit tatlong daan libong inahin upang ito ay maparami. For the fishermen, more than 500 million finger lids and 3,000 banks were distributed.
Fish ports and cold storage were also helped to support their industry. Aside from these, there were also technical and financial help for additional knowledge on new methods and the acquisition of sufficient... of capital.
The government is also ready to release vaccines against swine fever that will strengthen animal farms and give guarantees to farmers against swine fever. We are also making connections to lower the price and also increase our supply of food. Because of compelling emergency reasons such as illegal price manipulations by hoarders, smuggling, we were constrained to temporarily implement mandated price ceilings on rice.
We also extended the reduced tariff rates to facilitate the importation of rice, corn and pork until the end of this year. I assure the farmers and the entire agriculture sector that these are just temporary solutions. As for the reform of farming, our program and the distribution of titles to farmers are still ongoing.
In the past two years, we have already provided 130,000 titles to beneficiaries. Thank you. We continue and we are accelerating the distribution of the Collective Certificate of Land Ownership Award, or the CLOA, for its individual beneficiaries. The Certificate of Condonation is also being distributed along with the removal of a visa of more than P57 billion, a debt of 600,000 beneficiaries.
Aside from this, more than 70,000 cases regarding the agrarian reform have been resolved. This includes more than 2,000 cases that have been reviewed long before the administration entered. Through modernized customs procedures and heightened enforcement efforts, more than P2.7 billion worth of smuggled agri-fisheries products have been seized, preventing them from entering the market and negatively influencing prices. As a lesson, the… The rice that has been harvested is immediately distributed to our poor countrymen. The same will be the case with all the rice that will be wasted.
We will destroy or burn other products aside from the harvest of the last-ditching salaried. Soon we will be implementing the pre-border technical verification and cross-border electronic invoicing of import commodities. This will send a strong message that we mean serious business.
To reduce the necessary business costs, local government units no longer collect fees and charges from motorists transporting goods and merchandise while passing through national roads. On the same principle, LGUs have been strongly urged to refrain from collecting similar fees for the use of local roads. The people of the country served as guardians of the land during a time when the food prices were high.
Because this became effective, the landowners'centers will continue. Like the local governments, we added landowners to different parts of the country. More than anything, we will make landowners'visits permanent and more frequent.
After this year, the 1,200 km of farm-to-market roads in the country, more than 7,300 machinery will be distributed and facilitated. that can be done this year. We will continue to open and complete irrigation in the entire Philippines. This year, we will give water to almost 45,000 hectares of new land.
We will revive irrigation in almost 38,000 hectares of land throughout the country. One of the finished projects is Stage 2 of the Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project. Almost 10,000 hectares of land in North Cotabato and Maguindanao del Sur will be used for irrigation. Thank you.
The irrigation we are doing today is solar. It means that these are being run by the sun. It is not running out and it does not need to be used crudely.
An example is the KABARUAN Solar Powered Pump Irrigation Project in Quirino, Isabela. Meanwhile, because of the Halao River Multipurpose Project in Iloilo, almost 32,000 hectares of land will be given to water. The Halao River project will prove the overwhelming potential of irrigation.
It can no longer only do water for farming. It will also be used to control the rain, to control the pollution of the Korean... and also for tourism.
Moving forward, irrigation dams will supplement all our other bulk water projects to ensure water security for our people, especially in the underserved areas. Matindi ang naging efekto ng dumaang El Niño, lalo na sa mga sakahan. Sa tinamong pinsala mula sa pagkasira ng mga pananim, nagkaroon ng proteksyon ang ating mga magsasaka sa pamamagitan ng ating binigay na crop insurance. Sa nakalipas ng dalawang taon, mahigit siyam na libong piso halagaan ang naging bayad, pinsala para sa mga apiktadong magsasaka at mangingisda.
Ngunit, mainam na rin na nailunsad na maaga ang mga modernong paraan ng pagtatanim tulad ng low-water-use farming technologies. Sa ating nasimulaan na proyektong lawa at binhi, isinasagawa na ang mga modernong imbakan ng tubig upang lalong maging handa at protektado ang ating mga magsasaka sa banta ng tagtuyot. As we can see in all the world, weather events are as has been.
been predicted getting more extreme, such as torrential rains that instantly shift to scorching heat waves or vice versa. Our country's geographical location makes us highly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Precisely because of our inherent vulnerability, we are proactive advocates for heightened climate responsibility and justice on the global stage.
To this end, we have secured a seat on the board of the loss and damage fund. And further, the Philippines has also been selected as host country to that fund. This will require an enabling law from Congress to confer the legal personality and capacity to the board.
This welcome development shall complement all our other climate adaptation and mitigation measures and give us a strong voice. to access the needed financial assistance for climate-related initiatives and impacts. At the same time, the most important thing is that the whole country is strong and always ready for the upcoming disasters. We are leading our DRRM workers to ensure our broad preparation and our readiness at any time.
As a leading preparation, we are building important infrastructure that will serve as protection and center of coordination, especially in the aspect of assistance. Within the past two years, almost a hundred evacuations have been carried out in the DRRM. centers have already been built. While in January of this year, we started the operations of our Disaster Response Command Center which shall serve as a central hub for the government's disaster response efforts. Now, in the blink of an eye, the rainstorm and heavy rains are our main concern and our main priority.
More than 5,500 flood control projects have already been completed. and many others are currently being done throughout the country. One of these is the Flood Risk Management Project in the Cagayan de Oro River, which will provide long-term protection to more than 600 hectares of land and 60,000 of our fellow citizens.
Another is the project in Pampanggabay that will serve as an extra moon for the people of the country. Last January, we announced the cleanliness of the new Philippines, where we have been able to... our barangays to clean their communities. In just five months, more than 40,000 tons of garbage were collected by more than 22,000 barangays in the country.
I hope that the local governments will continue to support the cleaning of our communities. As an example here in Manila, the broad help has already begun to give life again to the flood. As we enter the midterm, our infrastructure development remains sustained, strategic, and on schedule.
Aside from agriculture and disaster risk, our other vital sectors and pillars, such as education, health, energy, low-cost housing, transport, information technology. They all stand to benefit from our aggressive infrastructure development as befitting our upper middle-income economic target. With the results that we have seen... two years into this administration, we can claim that despite challenges, we are steadily progressing towards our targets in the medium term. Our power and internet services are continuously being upgraded in both capacity and connectivity.
In our free Wi-Fi program, almost 10 million unique user devices are being used for free internet in more than 13,000 places throughout the Philippines. infrastructure development, phase one of the national fiber backbone has been completed and operationalized. Phase two and three have already begun early this year and shall be completed by 2018. This fiber backbone will give us sufficient capacity in terms of bandwidth. As of 2022, only 77% or 20.6 million households were connected to the internet.
This is much too low. Together with our private sector partners, we will efficiently harness the concept of common towers to provide connectivity to Filipinos who are at the far end of the last mile. Expect full government support to ensure the successful completion of this critical project, including policy reforms and streamlined processes.
Bigger and faster IT infrastructures require stronger and more impervious cyber defense. Our recently launched National Cyber Security Plan lays down the blueprint for us to safeguard our systems against cyber attacks. With this said, I have directed the agency's concern to ensure that the speed and quality of our IT development always mirrors the pace and trajectory of our economic aspirations. As energy projects get completed and new investments pour into the sector, we expect our nation's power supply to increase at a steady pace to meet our growing demand in the next few years. Nonetheless, we are continuously diagnosing and urgently addressing power shortages, as well as the systemic causes of blackouts in unserved and underserved areas.
ang pangangailangan ng mga lugar na wala pang kuryente at madalas mabrown out sa pamamagitan ng microgrid at off-grid systems at mga missionary small power utilities na sinusuportahan pa rin ng solar. Running through Bataan, Pampanga, and Bulacan, the newly inaugurated Mariveles-Hermosa-San Jose transmission line will further strengthen the reliability of the Luzon power grid. In the Visayas, all stages of the Cebu-Negros-Panay Backbone Project have likewise been completed.
This project shall serve to stabilize the power situation in western and central Visayas and avert recurrences of power outages experienced in the past. Because of this project, the blackout on Panay Island was avoided from April to June despite the yellow and red alerts in the region. And just last week, And just last week, the Dumanug-Korelia line of the Cebu-Bohol interconnection project was energized, enabling the transfer of power between Cebu and Bohol. With these systems currently operating at capacity, these major power lines shall contribute to the efficient power exchanges not only between Luzon and the Visayas, but also involving Mindanao. Energy sharing and transfers between, among, And within the three island groups have now been made possible with the energization last January of the Mindanao-Visayas interconnection.
The energization of the Mindanao-Visayas interconnection is a defining moment not only for the power sector but for the entire country. Finally we have connected the power grids of all three major island groups. The unified Philippine grid is a fulfillment of this dream, whose seeds were planted in the 80s through a vision bolstered by R&D, which we accomplished by applying typical Filipino persistence and dedication.
Let us all agree that the current price here in our country is high. So let us continue to add more infrastructure of current that will lower the price. In the other hand, we also firmly believe that the consumer's rights are important. Some of the steps that the government has taken are, first, the better and more legal lifeline rate program for the poor, especially for the beneficiaries of 4Peace.
Second, the temporary suspension of the fit-all tariff on our electric bill. Third, the anti-bill shock program. And fourth, the suspension of the whole...
sale electricity spot market noong panahon na nag-red alert sa Luzon at Visayas Grid. At ang panghuli, mga refund at pagpapatanggal ng mga sobrang singil sa consumer tulad ng franchise fee. We are returning and we are re-demanding the EPIRA to find out if it is still relevant to our current situation or if it is time for it to be amended. I ask the Congress... I ask the Congress to help us, especially the right-wing Filipinos, at the high price of the country's electricity, which is not only difficult for the businessmen, but especially the people.
As of May this year, 12,000 kilometers worth of roads and more than 1,200 bridges have been built and upgraded across the country. Of note... We have provided the budget to upgrade 367 bridges and almost 1,600 kilometers of road along our country's longest thoroughfare, the Maharlika Highway from Luzon all the way to... the now. Moreover, significant segments of major expressways which are part of the Luzon-Spine Expressway Network have now been opened to the public.
The Celex-Enlex-Slex connector and the Plaridel bypass will be fully completed by the end of this year. Calax and the C5 Southlink will be fully operational by next year. Because of these important roads, the north, middle of Luzon, Manila, and eastern Luzon will be even more... connected to each other. Under our Inter-Island Linkage Bridge Program, we expect two major bridges to be opened to motorists this year.
One is the Pangil Bay Bridge, touted as the longest water-spanning bridge in northern Mindanao. This bridge will connect Lanao del Norte to Misamis Occidental. The other is the Gikam Bridge in Sambuanga, Cebu, which shall connect the Olutanga Island to the mainland of Mindanao. In addition, travel to and from Clark Airport is now much faster and more convenient, with the inauguration of the 20-kilometer airport New Clark City Access Road in Pampanga.
We are also in the midst of a railway renaissance. The Metro Manila subway project has logged significant accomplishments in its tunneling works. At this point, Catumbas, The depth of the flood has reached three to six floors and is continuing to spread to the next station. Other railway projects such as the MRT-7 and the North-South Commuter Railway are likewise progressing.
We will make sure that the right-of-way issues are resolved in the most equitable, efficient, and expeditious manner so that these will not get in the way of our infrastructure development. As part of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project, the route of LRT Line 1 in Metro Manila will be expanded from Baklaran to Sukat. It will be opened to the public during this year. And in a few years, this line will reach Bacoor. We also added 76 new and modern trains to LRT1 to make the journey faster and more comfortable for passengers.
Just recently, we opened again to the public the PNR Bicol Line that has a length of 100 kilometers from Naga to Legaspi. Likewise, the improvement of our roads and our roads will continue for the sake of our travelers. First of all, here is the road of Manila. ng siwa ng pribadong sektor, inaasahang gaganda ang itsura at servisyo nito sa mga susunod na taon.
Soon, it will be capable of accommodating 48 flights per hour, servicing our ever-increasing local and international needs. international flight routes and catering to more than 62 million passengers every year. More than 70 airports and seaport development projects across the country have now been completed, and another 350 ongoing projects are set to be completed by the year 2028. Notably, the… Notably, the capacities of the passenger terminal buildings of the General Santos Airport and the Bicol International Airport have been expanded by 300 and 500 percent, now catering to 2,000 and 1,600 passengers, respectively. Meanwhile, the Batangas Port PTB, our popular marine gateway to Mimaropa, the Visayas, and to Mindanao, can now accommodate 8,000 travelers at any given time. Thanks to Congress, the public-private partnership as a crucial funding mechanism for big-ticket projects is now institutionalized by the force of law.
PPP is seen to facilitate strategic investments in the timely development of projects under our Build Better More program, especially since around one-fourth of our flagship projects have been envisioned to be funded through this modality. As a perfect example, the NAIA PPP will go down in our history, not only as among the largest and fastest approved PPPs, but one that has set the bar in terms of openness, transparency, and transparency. competitiveness of the process.
Through this partnership, our foremost aerial gateway is now primed for a revitalization. Once considered as among the worst and most stressful airports in the world, it will soon be a world-class international airport that we can all be proud of. But even before that, the UPPGH Cancer Center is the first PPP to be approved in this administration.
Together with the Philippine Cancer Center of the DOH, which broke ground last March, these two specialty... hospitals will soon join our nation's fight against cancer. These centers will be a godsend to the more than 400,000 Filipinos who are afflicted with this deadly disease. We will continue to increase and improve the quality of our hospitals and specialty centers.
We have already opened more than 20 new urgent care and ambulatory services in other parts of the country. Intended to decongest public hospitals, these centers shall provide competent ambulatory care, most especially to the poor and to the disadvantaged, for health conditions that do not require hospital admission. local na pamahalaan sa mga tinatayo natin mga tawag na super health centers.
Sa tulong ng mga LGU, malalagyan natin ang sapat ng mga doktor at NARS ang mga ito at madadagdagan pa natin sa mga susunod na taon. We are hoping that in the near future, all of our cities will have enough centers or facilities that will be able to provide the first medical service for our citizens. Meanwhile, we will ensure that each province will be given a mobile clinic so that the laboratory exam and several other primary medical services will be able to be brought to our countrymen.
In PhilHealth, the generic medicine is now available for outpatient. Of the 21 generic medicines, 53 are already available. There are new medicines for high blood pressure and there are also for nerve pain and epileptic seizures. As a response to the increasing number of incidents and rising prices of medicines, PhilHealth has increased the benefits for the people with severe symptoms such as acute stroke and pneumonia. The limit for these conditions is increased to P76,000 and P70,000.
To further strengthen our fight against cancer, PhilHealth has increased the benefit by more than 1,000% for the treatment of breast cancer. The previous limit of P100,000, now we have made it P1.4 million. The benefits for colon cancer have been paid off. And before the year ends, the benefits of PhilHealth will also include chemotherapy for cancer in the stomach, liver, ovary, and prostate.
Let's clap. We have raised a higher fund for our medical assistance program. That is why more Filipinos will be helped this year.
Through our aggressive hiring efforts, we have enhanced medical and allied health programs, allocated seed funds for public medical schools, and launched scholarships and review and upskilling programs. These are to support the medical and nursing professions. with a goal to strengthen and increase our human resources for health. As part of our recalibrated health approach towards prevention and healthy habits, we are prioritizing vaccinations, nutrition, mental well-being, and active and healthy lifestyles. We will continue to pursue the vaccination of children and infants, especially in Region 6 and in the Barm, where half of the vaccines are not yet available.
And the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition that we are giving this July is also continuing. The convergent programs to stamp out hunger and malnutrition were not only successfully launched but have yielded inspiring results thus far. One survey confirmed that our expanding school-based feeding program has had a significant impact on the physical and mental health of our students.
and mental well-being of more than half of the learner beneficiaries. Therefore, we will continue to further enhance these feeding programs in our schools and day care centers. Recently launched Walang Gutum 2027 will now be fully rolled out from the initial 2,300 households now all the way to 300,000 food poor households across the country by the end of this year. But the program will go on until we feed the 1 million most food poor families by 2027. An important component of our strategies to address malnutrition shall be the program for the first 1,000 days or the first two years of a child's life.
To ensure the health and nutrition of children 0 to 2 years old from the poorest families, we have proposed in the 2025 budget a new grant under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program for this purpose. Through this, a child or a mother... The beneficiaries of 4Peace will receive additional financial assistance for him and his child. This help is to ensure that he and his son, his son or daughter, will be vaccinated and given sufficient nutrition. Closely related to these, the DOST has been continuously undertaking scientific research to develop nutritious food and drinks which can be integrated into the government's feeding program.
Government is aware of the pressing yet delicate social issues of the day, such as the mental well-being of our people. The DOH has launched its comprehensive mental health plan and ensured sufficient supply of medications. Feel health. has also released this year its mental health benefit package for all its members. At the same time, grassroots and sports for all programs are back in the mainstream, catering to Filipinos of all ages.
The year of the national football is back on track. After three years of stopping it due to the pandemic, we are greeting Marikina and Cebu. and the effectiveness of education in their successful performance of these games.
We will continue to support these health-enhancing sports programs. Through these, we will also set forth our youth on the same well-established path that has taken some of our national champions and renowned athletes to sporting greatness. As we speak, 28 of our finest athletes are competing in Paris now for the glory of the Philippines.
Let us wish them well and the best of luck. On the subject of education, Investing in our own people is not only a fundamental moral imperative for us, but an economic one as well. In its report, the World Bank revealed that our promising economic growth is largely attributable to our people. of the country's wealth is being created by the skill, the industry, and the resourcefulness of all Filipinos.
But there are still many more that the Philippines will be able to achieve. We must harness the totality of the Filipinos'potential. For consecutive years, we have prioritized an increase in budget for the inclusive development of Filipinos, not just in food, nutrition, and health, but even more so in education and training. Recent assessments have revealed the poor reality that more than half of our grades 6, 10, and 12 students have failed to reach the ideal proficiency levels, faring low in information literacy, problem solving, and learning. solving and critical thinking skills.
Therefore, our national learning recovery program must proceed without the slightest disruption, especially in basic education. Our system of education must be strategically calibrated to make sure that our youth are not only taught to become literate, but it has also consciously developed them into problem solvers and into critical thinkers, hungry for success, ready for the future. Similarly, as we relentlessly address the classroom gap, the digital gap must also be bridged with equal intensity. We are working towards a day when all students will be equipped with computers, smart TVs, essential programs, digital books, and once again, access to reliable power and the internet.
Digitalization and solar-powered electricity must now become the standard features in our schools and in our classrooms. Simply put, this is educational reform through technology. The perennial problems surrounding textbooks shall be resolved.
The production of instructional materials, especially textbooks, which are up-to-date and error-free must be ensured. The whole process from approval of manuscript to procurement all the way to distribution will be cut short from its present three years to just one year. Ito ngayon ang magiging hamon sa ating bagong kalihim. We have to strengthen the development and improvement of the quality of education in the country in an even easier time.
Clearly, of course, the quality of our education rests on the quality of our teachers. Every classroom that we build will be but an empty and lifeless structure without its moving force, the teacher. But our teachers are not just perfunctory figures in our schools. They are the very foundation of our educational system.
And so, as we build and upgrade schools, so too must we uplift and upskill our teachers, whose competence and trademark Filipino patience, determination, and compassion will be at the core of our national learning recovery. We have added employees who will be involved in the education of teachers. upang magampanan ang mga sari-saring gawain sa paaralan. Sa gayon, ang ating mga guro ay makakatutok ng mabuti sa kanilang profesyon na pagtuturo.
Katuwang ang Kongreso na ay sabatas na ang Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act. Ito'y magbibigay sa mga guro na sa pampublikong paaralan ng taonang Teaching Allowance para pambili ng mga kagamitan sa pagtuturo at mga kaugnay na gastusin. They will receive this from next year.
They also have personal accident insurance from GSIS. They will also receive additional special hardship allowance for additional public school teachers who will be able to survive this, who are experiencing extreme hardship and hardship in their daily work. And there will also be no more debt tagging.
sa mga teacher. Hindi magiging hadlang ang kanilang pagkakautang upang makapag-renew ng kanilang mga lisensya. Bagkos, marapat lamang marapat lamang na sila ay payagan pa rin makapagturo nang sila ay makapaghanap buhay at merong kinikita.
Of equal significance, we have allocated funds to finally implement The expanded career progression system for our public school teachers. This will promote professional development and career advancement within their ranks. This expanded system lays out two major career paths for our teachers to pursue. The teaching and the school administration tracks. Each of which shall have ample career growth opportunities.
With this system in place, we will accelerate the career growth of teachers. No public school teacher will retire as Teacher 1. As the saying goes, if we really want to be successful, we are striving to get up on the education platform. They, our teachers, are the ones we must support and strengthen.
Last year, we reported that our system of higher education was gaining international recognition for all the right reasons. As further evidence, 87 of our higher educational institutions have now made it into various world university rankings. 51 of them are public universities or colleges. Also, we witnessed this past school year a significant rise in the enrollment rate in higher education, both in public and in private institutions.
The same upward trend is likewise noted in Technical Vocational Education and Training, or TVET. Statistics do not lie. Eight out of ten graduates of TVET ultimately land decent jobs.
So with its high employability rate, TVET will definitely be instrumental in capacitating our people and in maintaining our employment rate at consistently high levels. Cognizant of its potential, the DepEd, CHED, Dole and Tesla have joined forces now to incorporate TVET in the senior high school curriculum to further boost the employability of our students. The Filipinovation and Balikhaing Pinoy programs have been launched, both drawing vast interest and inspiring key sectors and the public to generate solutions to share ideas and to drive innovation forward across the country. The IT and creative sectors are burgeoning industries, knowing no territorial bounds, and they hold great promise for our talented and hardworking people. This is the call of our times, and we are moving to answer that call.
The schools will serve as the preeminent incubators of the innovative and creative energies of all Filipinos. Advanced learning systems and technologies in the areas of robotics, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things. shall be made available in TVET innovation centers nationwide. Highly technical and professional-level training courses will soon be launched, notably in cybersecurity and in the creative industries. Of our globally ranked HEIs, 63 have made it into the WURI Global Top 300 Innovative Universities.
In the face of tough global competition, The Mabalacat City College in Pampanga was awarded the Technic Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year. And for the second straight year, Samar State University topped the rankings for its digitally pioneering R&D project entries. Relevant scholarships and R&D grants will continue to be available.
Aligned with our agenda to foster startups, to commercialize and mass produce R&D outputs, crucial support such as intellectual property rights enforcement and venture financing have been put into place. We are also building essential infrastructure and linkages to support the ethical development of artificial intelligence systems for high-impact practical applications. Since the nation's foray into space technology, Our satellites in space have generated more than 51,000 maps, images, and space-borne data for various purposes. These now provide us with vital information that guides our country's stratagems and decision-making in agricultural development, urban planning, and environmental management, including the strengthening of our maritime domain awareness, to name but a few examples.
Along with these discoveries, We are likewise in awe of our countrymen who have carved out their niche as pioneering space scientists and engineers in this emergent field, in collaboration with local space technology companies that provide an additional impetus. As we speak, 16 of our space engineers are in the United Kingdom resuming work on the development of the Multispectral Unit for Land Assessment, or the MULA satellite. Once completed, the MULA satellite will be our largest Earth observation satellite to be launched into space so far.
May they inspire the next generation of Filipino students to follow their footsteps and reach for the stars. To our workers, our employment rate has increased to 95.9%. We also saw a significant increase in high-quality jobs. Underemployment, too, has decreased from 11.7% in May of 2023 to 9.9% today. This is our lowest number since 2005. Notably, we also saw an increase in middle-skilled employment, wage and salaried employment, and full-time jobs.
Good news, my friends, these are the news of the day. ...asang mataas na presyo ng pagkain. Bukod sa paglikha ng trabaho, pinalalakas din natin ang kakayahan ng ating mga mamamayang, lalo na sa panahon ng kanilang kagipitan.
Our adaptive and responsive social protection programs assist our countrymen in times of dire need. reaching those in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. More importantly, these programs seek to develop their productive potential and bridge their capacities towards self-sufficiency.
With a noble aim of Of breaking the cycle of poverty across the country, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program has not only consistently accomplished its annual targets, it has also proven its efficacy over the years. Since the last SONA, more than 420,000 families have graduated from the program. This means, with the help of 4Peace, their condition and ability to fight for life will be better. In fact, more than 4,000 graduates of 4Peace are now in the hands of licensed teachers. And not only that, 35 of the top-notchers of the respective board exams that were held over the past two years came from the families of 4Peace beneficiaries.
Some of them are Teacher Kane Jevy Cervantes of Davao Oriental who got the number one in the Licensure Examination for Professional Teacher. Another one is Engineer Alexis Aligado who won the Civil Engineering Board Exam in April last year. Tomorrow, the birthdate of Apolinario Mabini, we cap off the National Disability Rights Week.
Our PWDs can rest assured of government's effective implementation of beneficial policies. and programs that will guarantee equitable opportunities, special interventions, and incentives for them. Since this administration entered, the programs for the survival of the disabled have already started for our PWDs. Next year, PhilHealth will also be providing these benefits for children with disabilities. Almost the same amount of discount is being given to PWDs and to senior citizens like you for basic necessities and prime commodities.
You're all happy with that, right? Sa lahat ng mga ginagawa natin ito, katuwang natin palagi ang pribadong sektor, lalo na sa mga halagang bagay ng trabaho at pasahod. With tripartite consensus, minimum wage levels have been increased in various sectors. sectors in all regions, including the BAM, for workers and private establishments.
This will be the end of the war against more than 4 million of our countrymen and their families. For our government, they have a medical allowance as an additional benefit for the coming year. And not only that, there are also comments on the salary they will get from the four tranches. We have already raised funds for this from this year and for the coming years.
Furthermore, we have extended the services of our job order and contract of service personnel working in government. This will also afford them ample opportunity to work on their civil service eligibility. while gaining additional relevant experience and training to upgrade their employment qualifications. Our aggressive infrastructure development, business-friendly policies, investment and export promotions, foreign visits, and economic missions are all aimed at generating not just jobs, but quality and quality.
competitive jobs. A substantial number of investment pledges have already commenced operations with many more at various stages of development. Sa bilang natin, bukod sa malalaking kita para sa bansa, makakalika ang mga ito ng mahigit dalawang daan at dalawang libong trabaho para sa ating mga kababayan.
The rationalized incentive scheme under the CREATE Act has also made possible the generation of investments amounting to more than 1 trillion pesos and more than 100,000 new jobs. This promising state of affairs is now beckoning us to create more through the passage of the CREATE MORE Act. Conscious efforts to improve the ease of doing business and delivering government services through digitalization, integration, and streamlining of processes have produced their intended multiplier effects. Cost savings from operations have...
translated to higher revenues and to more speedy transactions. These have effectively addressed the fragmented, overlapping, and time-consuming procedures that have hindered optimal productivity by government. Attributable to these... transformative reforms, government services are becoming more efficient. More and more systems are now digital and cashless, assimilating individuals, MSMEs, even agricultural workers.
These have expedited transactions and commercial exchanges and promoted the convenience of all parties concerned. The Paling QR is one of the programs that is gradually strengthening the public's interest and more and more people are using it. Bolstering our Cybercrime Prevention Act, the recently passed Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act will further protect the public by heightening the responsibility and security systems of banks and financial institutions, and imposing high criminal liabilities on social engineering schemes and money mules.
Job placement also has seen significant progress, especially through our Public Employment Service Offices or PESOS nationwide. Meanwhile, PESOS have harnessed IT capabilities and improved labor-industry coordination. Collectively, they boast a job placement success rate of 98%. Likewise, due to shortened timelines, we have recorded a significant increase in new business and corporate registrations, including foreign firms, which surpassed last year's numbers. The observed choke points in our food supply chains and...
in the logistics sectors are now being removed. And at the same time, the identified gaps are being filled in to make them efficient, interconnected, and seamless, saving precious time and cost. Approval of energy projects is moving towards complete virtual integration of its required procedures. The expedited processing of our infrastructure flagship projects under the Build Better More program shall also follow suit. Our digital infrastructure was substantially strengthened courtesy of common towers that more than tripled in number since last year, owing to streamlining of permitting requirements.
Air transport and tourism have been made more convenient. because of the shift to paperless immigration and customs forms, thanks to the e-travel system. And soon, the piloted e-gates will be standard fixtures at airports to further facilitate ease of mobility during departures and arrivals. And with all this said, the implementation of the Philippine e-visa will be next in our digital transformation agenda.
Let us now go to tourism because we in the Philippines have no less than 7,641 beautiful reasons to tap the potential of our tourism sector for which our archipelagic nation is internationally renowned and from which many Filipinos derive their livelihood. While a resurgence in this all-important sector is being observed, pre-pandemic data presents to us a great challenge that we must surpass. It is a challenge that is well within our grasp.
Our infrastructure and digital reforms to the development of tourism sites and the enhancement of the overall tourist experience are all calculated to boost the productivity of the tourism sector. While doing so, we shall interpose the wholesome and hospitable Filipino brand in all the key tourism touchpoints. From tourist arrival all the way to departure.
But the tourism challenge has already evolved and now requires a multifaceted strategy. The focus now is on experiential tourism. Food.
culture, heritage, the arts, education, halal, Islamic traditions, dive, cruise, farm and ecotourism, even sports, have now become potent subjects and products of a nation's tourism. This is an imperative. and that we must elevate and expand our understanding of the one town, one product, or OTOP concept.
It must not inhibit, but rather it must inspire. We must not rest content to have just one. Rather, we must seek the optimal number of high-quality products and services which at the same time showcase our community's distinctive history, traditions, and talents. Thank you. Filipino creativity and ingenuity will enliven and unlock the as-yet-untapped potential of these new facets of Philippine tourism.
To our OFWs, according to the data of the Central Bank, more than $37 billion was invested in the country by our OFWs last year. This is a great help to our growing economy. So, not only are we grateful, but we are also proud of what we are doing for all of our OFWs. I hope they can watch this. I feel that your sacrifice is here in our country.
Through vital partnerships with like-minded states, we have been able to promote our mutual interests. resulting not only in investments here and our strengthened national security, but also in quality jobs for our nationals seeking foreign employment. Through intense Philippine lobbying, the United Nations has adopted the resolution on promoting and protecting the enjoyment of human rights of seafarers.
This will ensure their safe and decent living and working conditions at sea, a human rights imperative. We continue to help the OFWs. This will not end their departure from the country.
We opened more special facilities and services for them, just like the OFWs. We have also helped our fellow countrymen who are in the midst of calamities and crises, such as in Taiwan and New Zealand, until their return. Our whole heart, our acceptance and our respect.
Ang nagbabalikbayang mga OFW kasama ng kanilang pamilya ay sinusuportahan nating mabuti upang maging maayos ang kanilang bagong simula dito sa bansa para makakuha ng magandang trabaho o di kaya'y makapagtayo ng negosyo. Kaugnay sa aking naiulat, noong isang taon, sinimulan na ng Saudi Arabia ang pamimigay ng cheque sa ating mga trabahanting na walang ng trabaho doon. Slowly, our affected OFWs are getting paid.
For this, we convey our sincerest gratitude to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Lessons from history and current events teach us that peace and order is an essential ingredient of genuine prosperity and social development. This is the path that we choose to take.
Despite difficulties, Despite our diversity and differences as a people, we are joined together by a unique history and have constantly invested our energies and resources in strengthening the pillars of peace. Our police, military, and Coast Guard undergo continuous capacity building and asset upgrading so that they are better able to preserve the peace and defend our territory. We have noticed...
An overall decrease in crime rate and an improvement in crime solution efficiency. But this is not enough. This is not enough.
Our law enforcement need to continue to earn the trust of our people. The strong pillars of our criminal justice system, especially in light of the new rules on criminal investigation, and our independent judiciary function in unison. In tandem with the justice system, COA's audit mechanism works in harmony with our transparency, streamlining, and open government initiatives. All in all, these successfully foster a culture of accountability that curbs corruption in government. With the newly enacted Republic Act No. 12009 that I signed just last Saturday, Government procurement will be modern and innovative, more streamlined and efficient, and truly at par with global best practices.
We sincerely thank Congress for its timely and decisive action in amending the 20-year-old law. We have come a long way in our quest for a lasting and inclusive peace. No guerrilla fronts remain active across our country today.
Only seven weakened groups remain to be dismantled, and they are the subject of focused operations. But along with the assertion of government might, we also offer peace, community development, and reintegration programs for those who have returned to the fold of the law. Through a comprehensive and transformative approach, we have rebuilt not only lives, but also conflict-affected communities. The implementation of peace agreements is now in its concluding phase. Former combatants now live peaceful and productive lives in their respected communities.
Some of our former rebels are now absorbed into the AFP, serving in the defense of the Republic, while others are now part of the PNP-BARM. Government will honor and fully comply with its remaining deliverables and commitments under these agreements. In November last year, we signed proclamations granting amnesty to former rebels. A month later, and then in June of this year, the House of Representatives and the Senate issued their respective resolutions concurring with these amnesty proclamations.
That Congress is one with us is a testament to the whole nation's sincere desire for peace. In such a short period, the BARM has impressively established a strong foundation for its progressive autonomous social development. Investments continue to pour into the BARM. Last year, investments in the region increased by 140% year on year. The improved peace and order situation, good governance, not to mention high hopes and confidence amongst its people, all contribute to the reasons why BARM's poverty index has significantly decreased.
since 2018. In Marawi, the rehabilitation and rebuilding continue under the supervision now of the Office of the President. Our focus remains on restoring energy, water, and livable communities. As of today, all seven intergovernmental mechanisms of the BARM, as mandated under the Organic Law, have been organized and activated. These will guarantee effective and constant consultation between the Bangsamoro and national governments in the fundamental aspects of governance. Five out of the seven essential laws for the BARM have already been enacted by the BTA Parliament.
Now it has its own administrative code. government code, its own election code, and those for education and the civil service as well. So with these inspiring developments, the Barm appears primed and ready for its regular elections, the first ones that they will have in the coming year. On the fight against dangerous drugs, our bloodless war on dangerous drugs adheres and will continue to adhere to the established eight E's of an effective anti-illegal drug strategy. Extermination was never one of them.
And yet, and yet, in more than 71,500 operations, it has resulted in the seizure of more than 44 billion pesos worth of illegal drugs, and the arrest of more than 97,000 drug personalities. More than 6,000 of those arrested were high-value targets. 440 of them were government employees, of whom 42 were uniformed personnel. 77 were elected officials. So to further paralyze their operations, dirty money and assets worth more than 500 million pesos have been frozen and preserved.
With strong case buildup and efficient prosecution, the drug conviction rate is at a high of 79%. Together with this, we welcome the report that the number of drug-affected barangays in our country has been reduced by 32%. In our international relations, we have faced challenges to our territorial sovereignty, and we will assert our rights and interests in the same fair and pacific way that we have always done.
Proper diplomatic channels and mechanisms under the rules-based international order remain the only acceptable means of settling disputes. Peace and community building will always be our clarion call, especially when the country serves as chair and the host of ASEAN Summit in 2026. We continuously try to find ways to de-escalate tensions in contested areas with our counterparts. Without compromising our position and our principles, I know that our neighbors too are doing their best to make this work. The Philippines cannot yield.
The Philippines cannot waver. We are now more conscious as a people and strategic in heightening our aerial and maritime domain awareness. We are continuing to strengthen our defensive posture, both through developing self-reliance and through partnerships with like-minded states.
The West Philippine Sea is not just our own mind, it is ours. And this will remain until the life of our beloved country, the Philippines, is over. We will strengthen and strengthen the wisdom and knowledge of the whole country and we will ensure that we will pass it on to the youth and our next generations. Laws on our maritime...
zones and archipelagic sea lanes, make sure that this intergenerational mandate, this duty, will firmly take root in the hearts and minds of all our people. To the entire force of force, to the Coast Guard, to our fishermen in the West Philippine Sea, you have the heart and soul of the whole country because of your hard work and sacrifice. Let us now turn to our economic status and our Prospects.
In spite of headwinds that we have faced, we have stayed the course. The country exhibits healthy signs of post-pandemic resilience comparable to strong economies in our region. Our poverty rate has significantly dropped to 15.5% down from 18% in 2021. This present figure is even lower than the pre-pandemic level. of 16.7 percent in 2018. Ang katumbas nito ay halos dalawat kalahating milyong Pilipino ang naiangat natin mula sa kahirapan. At the same time, the number of Filipinos who do not have enough to buy food has been reduced by more than 1,700,000.
Let us continue to strive for more of us to grow from poverty. To sustain the country's economic gains, we are promoting investment-led growth. We have set in motion policies and programs to create an environment conducive for business to thrive, like reforms in the capital markets and implementation of green lanes. As a result, we have green lanes certified around 100 projects with a total investment of about 3 trillion pesos across the sectors of renewable energy, digital infrastructure, food security and manufacturing. The Philippine financial system remains robust and resilient.
Tax and non-tax revenue collection has also become more efficient in pace with our rejuvenated economy. Notably, for the past two years, our GOCCs have remitted dividends to the national government with a combined tally exceeding their contributions in 2022. To build on this, and guided by strong fiscal discipline, our proposed government budget for this year was crafted with utmost care, diligence, and meticulous attention. We look to the cooperation of our colleagues in the legislature, not only that our proposed national budget be approved. in your usual timely manner, but it be adhered to as closely as possible.
We expect all agencies to ensure that every centavo allocated will be judiciously spent for our urgent priorities and socially impactful programs. Mga kababayan, sa lahat ng ginagawa natin ito at mga gagawin pa, mataas ang aking kumpiansa. that we will also overcome the obstacles that we are going through. Because this is the first step of the people of the country. We will not stop fighting the poverty and looking for a solution to return to normal the price of buying, especially rice.
And now, we can hear the loud cry of the people of the country against the fire. Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming, such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder. The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws must stop.
We need to stop this mess in our society and the destruction of our country. Effective today, all Pogos are banned. I hereby, I hereby instruct Pagor to wind down and cease the operations of Pogos by the end of the year.
The dollars in coordination with our economic managers shall use the time between now and then to find new jobs for our countrymen who will be displaced. This will solve many of the problems that we are encountering. It will solve many of the problems that we have been encountering, but it will not solve all of them.
To solve all the problems that we have been suffering under, all officials, law enforcers, workers in government, and most of all, the citizenry, must always be vigilant, principled, and think of the health of the nation. So, ladies and gentlemen, let me end by recalling the words of a great man. Let not anyone pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing.
He is not a good man. He is not a good man who without a protest allows wrong to be committed in his name. My dear fellow citizens, We always fight the wrong and the bad. We always fight the right and the good.
We always... We always love the Philippines. We always love the Filipinos. Long live to you and long live to the new Filipinos. Thank you very much.
Hey! On the part of the Senate, the joint session is hereby adjourned. On the part of the House of Representatives, the joint session is adjourned.