LAWYER Larry Gadon has called on supporters of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to sustain what they began and keep supporting the administration’s initiatives in addressing the country’s problems.
Addressing the BBM National Leader’s Convention last Saturday, Gadon said people who helped Marcos win by landslide, should also sustain such support.
“To supporters of BBM, it is not enough that we elected him as President, we must help the Marcos administration to be successful; his success as our leader also means success of countrymen,” said Gadon.
According to Gadon, the country is facing huge problems, citing a P14-trillion national debt; the highest power rates in Asia and one of the highest in the world; and lack of infrastructure for water catchment systems and for energy generation.
But this debt pile was only inherited by the Marcos administration, according to Gadon. He was apparently referring to the spike in the national debt as the preceding Duterte administration borrowed heavily to fund its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The problems facing the nation are so huge, this is the time that we are going to focus our effort in helping President Marcos in achieving the success of this administration because he can’t do it alone, we need to help him,” the lawyer added.
“These are very difficult problems so we need strong cooperation from our countrymen while President Marcos is doing everything to solve our problems,” he said.
Gadon, meanwhile, slammed obstructionists who always opposed the President.
“These obstructionists, despite the 31 million that the President has garnered [during last presidential election], are still trying to overthrow our government by spreading wrong information, programs and narratives. But those who object are only a…minority,” he added.
Marcos received 31,629,783 votes during the May 2022 elections.
The President vowed to repay the “trust and the confidence” of over 31 million Filipinos who voted for him.
Currently, the Marcos administration is implementing the Agenda for Prosperity to address the country’s problems. This agenda has as its core mission the country’s economic transformation towards inclusivity and sustainability.
The House of Representatives has already adopted the Marcos administration’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework and 8-Point Socio-Economic Agenda, which comprise the roadmap for the Agenda for Prosperity.
The economic objectives outlined in the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) are as follows: growth of 6.5 to 7.5 percent in real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022 and 6.5 to 8.0 percent real GDP growth annually between 2023 and 2028; a 9 percent or single-digit poverty rate by 2028; a 3-percent National Government (NG) deficit-to-GDP ratio by 2028; less than 60 percent NG debt-to-GDP ratio by 2025; and the attainment of upper-middle-income status for the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda under the MTFF comprises the following focus areas: (1) food security, (2) improved transportation, (3) affordable and clean energy, (4) health care, (5) social services, (6) education, (7) bureaucratic efficiency, and (8) sound fiscal management.
The overall goal of the Marcos administration’s MTFF is to reinvigorate job creation and poverty reduction by steering the economy back to its high-growth path in the near term and sustain the high—but inclusive and resilient —growth all through 2028.
The medium-term growth targets and the assumptions regarding key macroeconomic variables underpin the medium-term fiscal plan.
The framework also seeks to recognize the importance of a fiscal consolidation and resource mobilization plan, to include measures such as rightsizing of government structures and personnel, and encouraging localized investment and growth programs.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza