foreign [Music] state of the nation address of President Ferdinand R Marcus Jr [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] already [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh yeah [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] address of President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr [Music] to my fellow Filipinos foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign let our Filipino Spirit ever remain undimmed I know this in my mind I know it in my heart I know it in my very soul state of the nation is sound [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] foreign foreign [Music] thank you [Music] ladies and gentlemen let's rise and welcome the president of the Republic of the Philippines its Excellency Ferdinand romwaldes Marcos Jr foreign [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] Mr President on the part of the Senate The Joint session is hereby called to order on the part of the House of Representatives The Joint session is called to order please remain standing for the singing of the Philippine national anthem to be led by Miss Lara Marie moscardon Maria h foreign around please remain standing for the nation's prayer kindly bow your heads in prayer adios Ka the kabakbigai [Music] pandemiah [Music] Filipinas foreign foreign foreign foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] Kami malalim [Music] a [Music] um foreign climate change a [Music] [Music] foreign thank you good luck water okay all right ladies and gentlemen honorable members of Congress of the Philippines his Excellency Marcus Jr president of the Republic of the Philippines thank you thank you thank you very much allow me to be vice president Sarah Zimmerman duterte the former presidents our former presidents President Joseph Estrada and president Gloria macapagal Arroyo Senate President Juan Miguel sabiri and The Honorable members of the Senate house Speaker Ferdinand Martin ramaldez and The Honorable members of the House of Representatives chief justice Alexander gizmundo and The Honorable justices of the Supreme Court his Excellency most Reverend Charles John Brown and the esteemed members of The Diplomatic Corps executive secretary Lucas bershamin and the members of the cabinet first lady Luis Araneta Marcos [Applause] former first lady first lady Imelda romaldes Marcos [Applause] yes [Applause] ladies and gentlemen one year ago today I stood here before you setting forth the plans that we have to improve our economy bring jobs to our people improve the ease of doing business recalibrate our educational system to adapt to the new economy lower and rationalize energy costs boost agricultural production enhance health care and continue social programs for the poor and the vulnerable let me now report to the people on the successes that we can now lay claim to and also the challenges that we continue to face last year we emphasized certain strong headwinds that were confronting us along with the rest of the world in our post-pandemic economic recovery and the biggest problem that we encountered was inflation Mercado pandemia H is foreign foreign six percent growth in 2022 our highest growth rate in 46 years [Applause] for the first quarter of this year our growth has registered at 6.4 percent it remains within our Target of six to seven percent for 2023. we are still considered to be amongst the fastest growing economies in the Asian region and in the world it is a testament [Applause] it is a testament fundamentals our financial system the nerve center of our economy remains strong and stable Banks the transmission arms of our monetary policy have strong capital and liquidity positions stimulated by the relaxation of pandemic restrictions transactions once again have flourished alongside the booming e-commerce that was undeterred by the pandemic in 2022. the digital economy contributed 2 trillion pesos the equivalent of 9.4 percent of our GDP the economy is revived and rejuvenated backstopped by a favorable enabling environment and the strong rule of law this year the World Bank projects a six percent overall growth rate well within the range of our targets for the year it's it is anchored on strong local Demand underpinned by consumer spending and draw strength from the bibyod industry and of course the steady flow of remittances and the continuing jobs recovery inflation rate is moving in the right direction from 8.7 percent in January our inflation has continued to ease up in all regions settling now at 5.4 percent for this for June what this means is that in spite of all the difficulties we are transforming the economy we are stabilizing the prices of all critical Commodities according to the Banco Central inflation is expected to ease further by the close of the year and projected a 2.9 percent by 2024. [Applause] on matters of the economy there are many things over which we have no control but over those where we do have control we are doing everything we can use Industries Philippine development plan investments in public infrastructure and in the capacity of our people through food Education Health jobs and social protection remain our top priority for this year economic and social services were allocated almost 70 percent of the national budget higher Revenue collections will be critical in our build to bolster public Investments under our fiscal framework we envision our Tax and Revenue efforts to further increase to up to 16.9 and 17.3 percent by 2028. Revenue generation has improved this year from January to May the Bureau of internal revenue has posted record collections amounting to 1.05 trillion pesos an increase of almost 10 percent over the last year for its part the Bureau of Customs has also increased its collection by 7.4 percent for the first seven months of 2023 amounting to 476 billion pesos since July 2022 we have seen increased revenues from bug Corps of 47.9 percent and from the pcso of 20 percent we therefore see once again the continued support of Congress to enact into law the policies and reforms under our fiscal framework is foreign [Music] foreign foreign [Applause] through consolidation modernization mechanization and Improvement of value change augmented by timely and calibrated importation as needed foreign in our quest for food security our methods are now more Guided by science and the balance of nature so that production is both sustainable and responsible benefiting both this and future Generations our Fisheries codes must be revived must be revised to incorporate and strengthen science-based analysis and determination of fishing areas this approach will protect both the interests of our Fisher food and our fisheries and Aquatic resources to this end we will seek the support of Congress to amend the code to guarantee sustainable development of our fishery sector in harmony with environmental balance Google farm and Fisheries clustering at my livestock multiplier Farms and Cooperative good foreign [Applause] [Music] foreign belong s is [Music] foreign [Music] fertilizer discount vouchers foreign [Applause] foreign foreign fabrication lab production at cold storage facility species [Laughter] foreign foreign [Music] foreign [Applause] [Applause] foreign [Applause] foreign [Applause] considering its fundamental importance water security deserves a special focus our efforts must not be scatter shout but rather cohesive centralized and systematic so given that urgency we have created the Water Resources management office to specifically handle the delicate job involving this most precious Resource Department of Water Resource Management [Applause] this year we have allocated 14.6 billion pesos for water supply projects which will benefit communities all over the country recently the water supply of NCR and Rizal received a significant Boost from the first phase of the Wawa bulk water supply project the water supply will increase as the project enters the second phase we have installed six thousand rainwater collection systems across the country in preparation fall the looming dry spell brought about by El Nino one of the keys to continuing economic growth is infrastructure development so we will build better and more our 8.3 trillion pesos build better more program is currently in progress and being vigorously implemented [Applause] foreign the flagship projects cover investments in the areas of physical connectivity Water Resources agriculture Health digital connectivity and energy physical connectivity infrastructure such as roads and bridges seaports airports mass transport account for 83 percent of this program our infrastructure spending will stay at five to six percent of our GDP [Applause] 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 forward our road Network plans must link not only our three major islands but all prospective sites of Economic Development the 1200 kilometer Luzon spine Expressway networks program will effectively connect Ilocos to bicol from 20 hours to just nine hours of travel bridge program 12 Bridges totally 19 kilo 90 kilometers will be constructed connecting islands and areas separated by Waters the program notably includes the Bataan Cavite Interlink Bridge [Applause] negros s each spanning 32 kilometers and also the samal island Davao City Connector Bridge [Applause] as of June this year we have constructed maintained and upgraded more than four thousand kilometers of roads and around 500 Bridges across the country crucial airport and Port development projects across the country have also been completed including Cebu Piers 8080 88 smart port and the new Passenger Terminal buildings of Clark airport and the port of kalapan we initiated several Railway projects with a total length of more than one thousand kilometers notably the southern leg of the north-south commuter Railway system is now in full swing in a few years travel from Pampanga to Laguna will will be reduced from four hours to just two [Applause] Intermodal connectivity will also 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 for strategic financing some of the nation's high priority projects can now look to the newly established maharlika investment fund without the added debt burden in pooling a small fraction of the considerable but underutilized government funds the funds shall be used to make high impact and profitable Investments such as the build better more program the games from the fund shall be reinvested into the country's economic well-being to ensure sound financial management a group of internationally recognized economic managers shall oversee the operations of the fund Guided by the principles of transparency and accountability this guarantees that investment decisions will be based on financial considerations alone absent any political influence [Applause] the funds for the Social Security and public health insurance of our people shall remain intact and separate owing to favorable market conditions the price of crude oil has stabilized gasoline since last year gasoline and diesel prices have gone down by 18 to 29 respectively we have built eight new additional power plants this brings to 17 the total number of power generation facilities that have been switched on across the country since last year substantially increasing our energy production by 1174 megawatts alongside power generation we are also as Relentless in pursuing total electrification since my assumption into office almost half a million homes have been given access to electricity we will spare no effort to achieve full household electrification by the end of my term one hundred percent is within our reach [Applause] when it comes to energy renewable energy is the way forward we are aggressively promoting Renewables so that it provides a 35 share in the power mix by 2030 and then on to 50 by 2014. accelerate the realization of this green energy goal we have opened renewable energy projects to foreign investments since last year an additional 126 renewable energy contracts with with a potential capacity of 31 000 megawatts have been awarded to date we have over a thousand active projects spread all over the country 299 of these are solar 187 are wind 436 are hydroelectric 58 biomass 36 geothermal and nine are ocean powered the malampaya project has been a boon to our country energizing 20 of Luzon the renewal of the contract guarantees continued revenues and energy production for another 15 years but aside from malampaya we will also push for more gas exploration in other parts of the country the national government has also partnered with the barn in regard to energy exploration and development and also its utilization within its territorial jurisdiction we therefore expect to see renewed investor interest in its promising sites 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 however 68 grid connections are much delayed according to the erc's account we are conducting a performance review of our private concessionaire the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines we look we look to ngcp to complete all of its deliverables starting with a vital Mindanao visayas and Cebu negro Spanish interconnections [Applause] trabajo foreign [Applause] productivity is for social Equity social pension for Indigent senior citizens pwds is we are inclusive in our pursuit of social protection the pension of the military and the uniform Personnel is as important as urgent and as humanitarian as that of all other civilian Filipino employees efforts are underway to make it fully functional and financially sustainable we are once again working closely with Congress to ease the transition from the old system to the new one so what's to be able to guarantee that no effects are felt by those in the uniform services [Applause] Filipino president education [Applause] we have renewed hope in giving the best to our next batches of students especially the 28.4 million Learners who return to school this year learning recovery will be at the Forefront of our education agenda the matataga agenda for basic education has been launched focusing on relevance and curriculum rapid and rapid and responsive delivery and the welfare of both Learners and teachers we are augmenting as well our school Workforce 90 of the newly created teaching positions have now been filled while additional administrative Personnel have been hired to unburden the teachers of any extra loan taking to Heart the lessons of the pandemic alternate alternative remotes and Blended learning methodologies have been adopted to ensure unhampered learning additional social safety nets such as school-based feeding programs are also being implemented Learners will be made more resilient our public schools and facilities are being increased and fortified the shortage of classrooms and Facilities is being addressed aside from new construction schools and facilities are being retrofitted to become ready for the future ready for hybrid and high-tech learning and also climate ready and disaster proof [Applause] through the depth and partnership assistance portal private sector Partners continue their assistance in the rehabilitation and Improvement of schools as part of their Corporate social responsibility programs we are recalibrating the K to 10 curriculum to ensure that it is always relevant responsive and at par with International standards [Applause] literacy and numeracy skills need to be strengthened the virtue of good citizenship and sense of community are also now integrated into our curriculum we continue to exhaust all efforts to keep our young people away from the Sinister influences in the dark corners of society we are making available to them their participation in formal schooling Alternative Learning non-diploma courses or in Technical vocational education and training or even continues to prove itself to be an empowering educational intervention there are many examples of how its graduates have gone on to secure competitive technical jobs since last year more than a million Filipinos graduated from the Stephen one third of whom were test the scholars more and more all our higher education institutions [Applause] more and more of our higher education institutions have reached world-class status this year 52 Philippines heis have been included in the world universities rankings compared to just 15 last year [Applause] we will not let issue a financial constraints be and hindrance to his education his or her education we have activated social safety nets such as skills development training and youth employment programs tertiary education in state universities and colleges will remain free for our qualified students [Applause] enrolled college students almost 50 percent were beneficiaries of the country's free higher education under the universal access to Quality tertiary education program the serving and talented talented students without the financial capacity to attend school will not be left behind in this education agenda a culture of innovation working hand in glove with a culture of Entrepreneurship must be fostered this is Philippine ovation Science and Technology especially r d will be at its foundation the Dost leads the development of our capabilities in science technology and innovation science and technology related scholarships are made available for the talented and technically gifted students from high school all the way to graduate school to address the challenge of staying at The Cutting Edge of Technology 44 renowned Filipino scientists in diverse areas of expertise have returned home under the balik scientists program they will undertake research in various priority fields and will be supported by upgraded facilities and r d funding [Applause] the Philippines has launched two additional satellites into space together with the first satellite they will track weather predicts storms evaluate Soil and Water Supplies analyze shifts in population and be used for traffic management geo-hazard mapping risk assessment and even including security and defense science technology and Innovation will drive the quality and competitiveness of our Workforce as well as our manufacturing export creative and service Industries in existing markets and in new ones waiting to be explored the bane of the mismatch between jobs and skills among our Workforce is being rectified through strengthened government industry labor academic Partnerships and the continuous reskilling and upskilling training programs that we have put before our Workforce for our seafarers to continue to excel Maritime education in the Philippines has been strengthened this will progress and solidify our country's position as a global Maritime Hub through the steady supply of competent Filipino seafarers to foreign Merchant Marine vessels the question about the European Union's recognition of the standards of training of Filipino seafarers has after 17 years finally been resolved [Applause] this development now effectively maintains the Filipino seafarers distinct competitive advantage in the global Shipping labor market to address the current shortage of healthcare Professionals in our country and to help us achieve our goal of universal health care we are greatly expanding our medical and nursing education programs we will push the envelope even further we are helping nursing graduates hurdle their board exams so that they will obtain their licenses and join our pool of Health Care Professionals Filipino [Applause] [Music] is we are now refocusing our health priorities applying the lessons learned from the pandemic and addressing the weaknesses that it has exposed healthier communities and lifestyles are our advocacy we have launched convergent programs to address hunger and nutrition related issues amongst our people especially the children like stunting and wasting last week we introduced the pilot food stamp program which seeks to supply the nutrition needs of the million most food poor Filipinos the fsp foreign [Applause] shall complement our nutrition continuity programs such as the first 1000 days program which ensures nourishment for the first three years of a child's life the supplemental feeding program is for our children attending day care centers the k-6 program will feed kindergarten to grade six public school students who are suffering from wasting and severe malnutrition we are catching up on the routine vaccinations of our children as of this year more than 80 percent of our eligible children have been vaccinated against measles rubella and polio again [Applause] the whole of society must exert efforts to suppress the alarming rise of tuberculosis and HIV AIDS to stem the tide the Strategic plan is to ensure early diagnosis and treatment and ample testing sites and medications our Health Care system is undergoing structural changes public health facilities are being increased both in number and in capability last year more than 3 400 projects were completed to improve capacity for specialized medical treatment specialty specialty centers in various fields are being established and integrated into our government hospitals in the last year additional 60 specialty centers have been opened to the public just last week we inspected the site of what will soon be a five hectare multi-specialty Center in Pampanga which will specialize in Pediatrics Cardiology kidney and cancer treatment [Applause] we are working for a more direct efficient delivery of services through Integrated Primary Care Providers and networks in Partnerships with the lgus and our partners in the private sector these shall of course be supported by what is now better a better and more efficient Phil health foreign aside from the maximum retail price regulation being implemented strategic vat exemptions also lowered the prices of 59 essential medications such as those for cancer diabetes hypertension kidney disease and mental illness foreign [Applause] Natale centers on foreign [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] doctor and [Applause] again sacrification health workers beneficial s as of May this year our employment rate Rose to 95.7 Clear Proof of the improvement from the severe unemployment that we experienced during the height of the pandemic employment then was a was at a low of 82.4 percent but even with our current high level of employment we must do more we will generate additional jobs for the remaining 4.3 percent of our Workforce as well as for the 11.7 percent underemployed Filipinos seeking better employment opportunities under the banner of our fast-growing economy we are aggressive in our investment and business promotions and facilitations for that we have not limited ourselves to the local economy but we have looked to the global economy for Partnerships and agreements are independent foreign policy a friend to all and enemy of none has proven effective we have formed strategic alliances with our traditional and Newfound Partners in the International Community we have embarked on foreign trips to promote the interest of the country for peace building and for mutually beneficial purposes these economic missions have yielded an estimated total investment value of 3.9 trillion pesos or 71 billion US dollars with the potential to generate 175 000 jobs the implementation of recent economic reforms is underway Boi approved investment projects have reached 1.2 trillion pesos during our first year while other strategic Investments approved for processing through the newly established green Lanes amount now to 230 billion pesos our existing bilateral and multilateral trade agreements notably within the asean framework and with Japan and with Europe and allow us to leverage our competitive advantages and reap economic benefits we will continue to forge more of these International Partnerships that will lead to a more balanced trade strategy and a healthier economic position the regional comprehensive economic partnership or rsf is now in force it is a multilateral trade arrangement with with the asean and other countries such as Australia China Japan Korea and New Zealand we can now have competitive access to a regional regional market that comprises 2 billion people as we address our weaknesses and develop competitiveness in other potential areas we must also play to our strengths our competitive Advantage must be leveraged as a service export Powerhouse we must continue to nurture the growth of the services sector particularly the information technology business Process Management sector and of course the tourism industry our tourism has always been a reliable pillar of our economic growth Through The Years providing livelihood to more than 5 million of our citizens because of the reopening of the economy and the phenomenon of Revenge travel this sector is headed for a great rebound from January to June this year we have received three million International visitors this number is already 62 percent of our 4.8 million Target for the entire year [Music] [Applause] opportunities we must ensure that an enabling business environment is in place that there is peace and Order and that the rule of law governs we will solidify our country's reputation as an attractive and reliable investment destination building on institutional reforms of recent years we have created greenlings for strategic Investments and expedited the business processes in various sectors and investment modalities a progressive and rationalized system of Taxation is a component of the ease of doing business the create law has made our corporate tax and incentive schemes Equitable and business friendly there are more structural tax reforms that must be introduced to allow us to reach our socio-economic targets digitalization is the call of today not the call of the future not of the not not the call of the future but of the present it is here it is needed and it is needed today government must fully Embrace digitalization to provide better service to the people through its vital Frontline services and its back end functions digitalization will support the government's data-driven and science-based planning and decision making it is the greatest most powerful tool not just to improve the ease of doing business but also against many forms of graft and Corruption data shows the digitalization in conjunction with government streamlining efforts has significantly boosted efficiency notable examples I mean the areas of government payments company and business registrations issuance and permits and licenses loan applications and revenue collection all our digitalization efforts will be linked to our payment systems whose digital transformation has been accelerating at a remarkable rate digital payments accounted for 42 percent of the total retail payments made in 2022 whether by businesses individ or individuals or by the government it's high trajectory is now well positioned to achieve Banco Central's Target of 50 of total retail payments by this year the eagle pH app has also been launched as envisioned all key government services are to be integrated into the single and centralized mobile app for the convenience of the General Public the national ID system will be at the core of this digitally transformed network of government services it will fundamentally change the lives of each Filipino at 87 percent total registration we are now closer to establishing a complete accurate and reliable digital database of our own for the entire population this has already been integrated into the eagle pH app and can be now accessed by our citizens consistent with this transformative policy Direction all government offices must then ensure that their vital services are digitalized immediately in response to this call the Department of Migrant workers launched last week the department of Migrant workers mobile to make the Journey of our overseas Filipino workers easier because of system art upgrades our internet speed has improved as of June of this year our fixed Broadband speed ranks 47th amongst 180 countries this ranking is 11 Place higher not than it was last year our mobile internet speed is now ranked at 83 out of 142 countries which is eight places higher than it was last year there will be more improvements as our internet infrastructure undergoes further upgrades earlier this year starlink went live in the Philippines now providing high-speed satellite Broadband connectivity our national fiber backbone and broadband and Masa projects will also deliver High connectivity and high-speed internet we are prioritizing geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas the dict has been directed to consolidate all these digitalized government services into the eagle pH app to establish the national government portal and the Philippine business Data Bank to improve the internet speed in our country with our e-commerce roadmap firmly in place we are poised to take this digitalization drive further and Beyond utilizing e-commerce to take full advantage of new technologies the first bill that I signed into law was a Sim registration Act because we are mindful of the risks and vulnerabilities that can lead to negative consequences digital users and consumers shall be protected from identity theft phishing other online scams through essential systems and safeguards such as cyber security data privacy Consumer complaint mechanisms and financial literacy campaigns the training is necessary to ease the transition of those whose jobs would be affected by the shift of digitalization are also now being included in the curricula and programs offered by tesda the ICT and other agencies of government it is our wish that that one day foreign employment will be driven by choice not by necessity it remains a noble calling that our ofws have answered requiring great Sacrifice from them their families and their communities we are engaging with our partners in the International Community to ensure a safe working environment for our countrymen and as we do so we are also putting in place responsive mechanisms for the social welfare repatriation and re-integration of our returning ofws into the Philippine economy [Applause] as the world economy reopens we are witnessing a rise in overseas Filipino deployment in 2022 the number has increased by 62 percent ofws continue to send in historically High remittances solidifying their role in our transformative economic growth in 2022 our ofws contributed 32.5 billion dollars or roughly 1.8 trillion pesos to our economy several countries several countries have also signified interest to explore bilateral labor cooperation with the Philippines in the areas of healthcare tourism Hospitality engineering construction and information technology recently we signed agreements with Singapore Austria and the province of Alberta in Canada our priority is to ensure that the principles of ethical recruitment Fair Employment and the safe and orderly migration of our people are embodied in our agreements with our with other countries for example the deployment issue in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has now been resolved and as of today 70 000 of our ofws have already been deployed to Saudi Arabia for employment [Applause] moreover 10 000 ofws who have been put out of work in Saudi Arabia during the pandemic are now being processed the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia himself personally committed to me that the unpaid claims of Filipino workers would now be paid [Applause] the continued employment of some 50 000 workers and the deployment of many more Filipino seafarers aboard EU vessels has also been assured the lesson for us is that our education and skills training must always be attuned to the high exacting and constantly evolving Global standards is foreign [Applause] foreign foreign location is [Applause] the building blocks of progressive livable and sustainable communities will never be complete without appropriate and responsible action to mitigate and to adapt to the effects of climate change we can never lose sight of our responsibility to the Future the economic agenda cannot and will not ever be incompatible with our climate change agenda climate change is now an important Criterion in our integral National policies in planning decision making up to the implementation of programs the potential advantages of such enlightened policies extend to jobs and livelihood with the unlocking of the development of the green and blue economies we have learned many painful lessons from past disasters but we continue to be alert and prepared in our Disaster Response it has in fact been commented that sometimes we are over prepared for such natural disasters well to continue that we are reorganizing our response teams to make them more adaptable agile and effective in times of calamities and crises with a clear unity of command our evacuation centers are being upgraded to withstand the greater forces of The New Normal of extreme weather as well as other natural and man-made disasters furthermore new evacuation centers are also being built of which 55 have already been completed we remain committed to Global decarbonization goals and the reduction of our carbon footprint we preserve and protect the treasure that is our forest their value to the environment to the ecology and the economy is incalculable we have adopted the concept of the circular economy using nature as our model the aim is to keep raw materials in a closed loop in our world with scarce resources the circular economy allows us to fully use these resources minimize waste and reduce the need for new resources just as it is in nature just like our climate change action this new system requires the participation of all sectors of society up to each individual citizen for it to succeed only a whole of government and all of society approach will enable us to do all of these it is necessary to apply all the resources that are at hand if we are to progress as quickly as we need to collaboration is the key between and among government offices and between government and the private sector between Industries and the academic between government and international partners and most importantly collaboration between and among our populace and so we shall do the same for the next five years we seek not only to become more effective but more to become truly transformative this approach will be operationalized to the inter-agency corporations as well as through coordinated efforts between and among the three branches of government and the independent constitutional bodies we have organized private sector advisory councils and National local mechanisms to establish the needed linkages once again on this same principle I urge the government to enact a new government procurement law and the new government auditing code [Applause] this to make government procurement and auditing more attuned to these Changing Times we will give effect to the Mandate of the Constitution and the local government code AS clarified by the Supreme Court very soon almost all the required Evolution transition plans of the lgus are done to fully prepare them for optimal Devolution the necessary Technical and financial assistance is being extended to our local governments in everything that we do the enduring Filipino quality of bayanihan will still be our guide foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] we are proud of the progress that the barn has taken we will it will be self-governing [Applause] it will be self-governing it will be Progressive and it will be effective but this was only made possible because of the cooperation of all key groups we talked to the local governments the royal families the mnlf the imlf MLF were all consulted and represented in this transition phase the International Community has also supported us in this smooth transition former adversaries are now Partners in peace its functions have been defined and its basic laws are now being written through the barn we have strengthened the nation's prospects for finally achieving sustainable progress anchored on a true and Lasting peace in southern Philippines we will continue to support the progress of the bomb a pace with our singular vision for all Filipinos a strong and stable rule of law will strengthen the foundation of our transformation our police and armed forces are being strengthened and modernized to be more effective in maintaining peace and Order and in defending our sovereignty we fully support the judiciary's efforts to improve the justice system and to protect constitutional rights the campaign against illegal drugs continues but it has taken on a new face it's now geared towards community-based treatment Rehabilitation education and reintegration to curb drug dependence amongst our affected citizenry last year we launched the buhay ingatan drogate ayawan or Bida program and established an additional 102 Bala isilangan Reformation centers Nationwide we will relentlessly continue our fight against drug syndicates shutting down their illegal activities we will shut down their activities and dismantle their network of operations unscrupulous law enforces and others involved in the highly nefarious drug trade have been exposed I will be accepting their resignations [Applause] in their stead we will install individuals with unquestionable Integrity who will be effective and and trustworthy in handling the task of eliminating this dreaded and corrosive social curse we cannot tolerate corruption or incompetence in government [Applause] for almost half a century some of our fellow Filipinos have taken to Arms to make their views known and felt we are now at the point in our history when their armed struggle has evolved we have now progressed together towards peace and development we have Incorporated capacity building and social protection into our reintegration programs to guarantee full decommissioning of former combatants through Community Development and livelihood programs the barangay development and enhanced con comprehensive local integration programs have been effective in addressing the root cause of conflict in the countryside to complete this reintegration process I will issue a proclamation granting amnesty to Rebel returns and I ask Congress to support me in this endeavor Arjun our journey to progress requires not only unity and social cohesion amongst our people it is also imperative that our nation remains intact and inviolable our sovereignty preserved we will protect our Sovereign rights and preserve our territorial Integrity in defense over rules-based International order [Applause] Paramount we will always pursue constant dialogue and diplomatic approaches to the resolution of any issue that may arise so the initial results of our efforts Inspire confidence let us continue to be relentless in our aspiration of peace and progress this has not been the work of a single person neither a single branch of government or even the whole government acting alone this is the collective Synergy achieved by all Filipinos working together it took a whole of nation effort to achieve this immediate recovery from our pandemic slum Unity was what made us rise once more Filipino [Applause] foreign and once again I appealed to Congress for its support for the following priority legislations the essential tax measures under a medium-term fiscal framework such as excise tax and single-use Plastics VAT on Digital Services rationalization of mining fiscal regime motor vehicle users charge Road users tax the military and uniform Personnel pension Amendment of the Fisheries code Amendment of the anti-agricultural smuggling act amendment of The Cooperative code new government procurement law new government auditing code anti-financial accounts coming the blue economy law is paying taxes lgu income classification and the Philippine Immigration Act in the past year it has been a source of great hope and optimism to me to now know that there is an enormous pool of Highly competent and dedicated workers serving in our government it is not to us to provide good leadership and guidance they love the Philippines and have responded to our core [Applause] I have stated before that my confidence in our future was grounded in our world-class quality Workforce be they the farmers in the field corporate Giants government officials School teachers health workers or employees that confidence has been further buoyed by the demonstration of love for the Philippines every Filipino has unanimously risen to the challenge that we have made to them to be part of our nation's future foreign and thus with this in my heart I know that the state of the nation is sound and is improving Filipinas [Applause] thank you [Applause] thank you [Applause] congratulations [Laughter] [Music] on the part of the Senate The Joint session is adjourned [Music] the part of the House of Representatives The Joint session is adjourned thank you [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the 2023 state of the nation address of President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr foreign