Agri, farmers, boosting economy, to get greater government attention
First SONA shows ambiguity in foreign affairs, hints of drift towards ‘anti-China’ policy
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., on Monday, July 25, 2022, delivered his first ‘State of the Nation Address (SONA) before the members of the newly-constituted 19th Congress where he also submitted 19 pieces of proposed legislations (see related article here).
The proposed measures, he hoped, would help propel the country into the status of a ‘middle-income’ economy within the next two years while strengthening national security thru his administration’s proposed ‘Medium-Term Fiscal Strategy’ under the ‘Philippine Development Plan’ covering his entire 6-year term.
Based on his speech, the President made it clear that the development of the country’s agriculture sector would get the bulk of his attention in order for the country to have stable food supply that is accessible to all. Marcos had earlier opted to be concurrent secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in order to focus his attention to the many problems afflicting the sector.
Marcos made it clear that he is aware that the continued rise in the price of basic commodities is among the top concerns of Filipinos.
He said the country should expect an increase in the country’s food production beginning at the start of the planting season in the second half of the year with the help of experts, modern technology, availability of cheap farm inputs and cheap financing.
“Ang mga pautang at financial assistance sa mga magbubukid at mangingisda ay magiging institusyon at patakaran ng aking administrasyon,” the President said.
Aside from providing a “national network” of farm-to-market roads, Marcos said he also intends to revive the ‘Kadiwa’ program of his father, former President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos during martial law where farm goods are directly brought and sold to major urban centers.
“At gagawa tayo ng mga paraan upang maramdaman ng mga mamimili ang pagluluwag ng presyo ng mga produktong pagkain sa kayang halaga, gaya ng muling pagbubuhay ng mga Kadiwa Centers,” Marcos said.
Marcos said he also intends to ease the financial burden on agrarian reform beneficiaries while expanding its coverage.
“Agrarian reform is not only about acquisition, but also about support
services and distribution. To assist this, I intend to issue an executive order to impose a one-year
moratorium on the payment of land amortization and interest payments,” Marcos said, adding:
A moratorium will give the farmers the ability to channel their resources
in developing their farms, maximizing their capacity to produce, and propel the
growth of our economy.”
He also called on Congress to do its share by passing a law condoning the unpaid amortizations of land reform beneficiaries under RA 6657. The condonation, Marcos noted, would amount to P58.125 billion but would benefit 654,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries tilling some 1.18 million hectares of awarded lands.
But while saying the Philippines “will stand firm” in pursuing the ‘independent foreign policy’ that Pres. Duterte pursued during his entire term (2010 – 2016), Filipino patriots also asked what precisely the ‘territory’ of the Philippines Pres. Marcos is not willing to surrender ‘to any foreign power.’
Marcos added that priority for the awarding of some 52,000 hectares of unused agricultural lands
of the government should be given to: Landless war veterans; Landless surviving spouse and orphans of war veterans; Landless retirees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police and to graduates of college degrees in agriculture who are landless.
“The call of the times is for the infusion of fresh and new blood in the agricultural sector. We need a new breed of farmers equipped with modern agricultural technology able to engage in sustained scientific farming that will not only increase farm yields, but also resilience in the face of climate change,” the President stressed.
‘Anti-China’ rhetoric or genuine patriotism?
But while PBBM received many applauses in the course of his speech running some 1-hour and 15-minutes, it was in the area of foreign policy that he even received a standing ovation among the lawmakers after it was made clear to everyone that Pres. Marcos and his administration is veering towards an ‘anti-China’ policy.
The crowd rose up in agreement after the President said: “On the area of foreign policy, I will not preside over any process that will abandon even one square inch of territory of the Republic of the Philippines to any foreign power,” as to most of them this can only mean taking a hard stance against China in relation to the fake ‘victory’ the Philippines got from a private tribunal at The Hague on July 12, 2016 in its territorial dispute with China at the South China Sea.
Pres. Marcos also said that while the Philippines, “has always been open and welcoming to all our foreign friends and visitors,” he also made it clear that “we are very jealous of all that is Filipino.”
“We will be a good neighbor — always looking for ways to collaborate and
cooperate with the end goal of mutually beneficial outcomes.
“If we agree, we will cooperate and we will work together. And if we differ,
let us talk some more until we develop a consensus.
“After all, that is the Filipino way,” he continued.
But while saying the Philippines “will stand firm” in pursuing the ‘independent foreign policy’ that Pres. Duterte pursued during his entire term (2010 – 2016), Filipino patriots also asked what precisely the ‘territory’ of the Philippines Pres. Marcos is not willing to surrender ‘to any foreign power,’ as his speech is full of ambiguity in this crucial area.
The new President delivered his first SONA against the backdrop of the victory in another arbitration of the Sultanate of Sulu against Malaysia totaling nearly $15 billion for the latter’s continued use and occupation of North Borneo (Sabah). The oil-rich territory is considered a part of Philippine national territory since 1968 under RA 5446 (see Pinoy Exposé, July 18, 2022).
Pres. Marcos Jr. also delivered his speech as the United States continues to occupy various Philippine military installations and conduct various military exercises based on the various military agreements it signed with the United States such as the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) of 1999 and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) of 2014.
The Philippines has also allowed the Australian military to station its troops in certain parts of the country as US Imperialism and its surrogate countries like Australia, Japan, South Korea and the renegade province of Taiwan continue with their preparations for a military confrontation with China.
