President Marcos, Jr. failed to mention strategies on how he would address key economic issues that the country is facing right now, particularly soaring consumer prices, worsening unemployment and poverty, according to think tank IBON Foundation.
IBON Foundation Executive Director Sonny Africa said the President’s first SONA did not even include specific figures related to targeted subsidies or measures related to health, education, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and Overseas Filipino Workers unlike in terms of infrastructure spending wherein the government was able to commit spending 5 to 6 percent of GDP.
While the President cited the implementation of sound fiscal management under his term, Africa expressed concern that the administration wants to spend less on social services rather than on infrastructure, noting that that the government wants to even remove over a million beneficiaries that were listed under the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps).
“Unfortunately, he did not say anything about what he will do with inflation, high prices, worsening joblessness and growing poverty,” Africa said in a phone interview with BusinessMirror. “
“Sa amin, super striking talaga na in the face of austerity, it’s austerity for social services, not for infrastructure,” he added.
Africa said this shows that the government is still prioritizing infrastructure spending while refusing to impose wealth tax, which he said could have been the “easiest way to expand the country’s fiscal space” at the moment.
He also agreed that the President did not talk much about new taxes in his first SONA because of issue of the unpaid Marcos estate tax which have already amounted to P203 billion.
Apart from this, Africa also pointed out that the President also did not mention anything on human rights, corruption or good governance.
“Walang Marcos na pwedeng magsalita on human rights, corruption or good governance. Come to think of it, walang Marcos na pwede magsalita on direct taxation on income and wealth kasi they are right now clearly one of the biggest tax avoiders in the country.
For his part, economist and Foundation for Economic Freedom President Calixto V. Chikiamco pointed out that the President’s SONA was “quite comprehensive” because it covered a lot of areas from economy to foreign affairs but he said the President failed to include the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the National Land Titling Program.
“He didn’t mention RCEP, did he? PBBM should ask the Senate to ratify RCEP,” Chikiamco said, referring to the free-trade agreement among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
The RCEP covers roughly 50.4 percent of the Philippines’s export markets, 67.3 percent of the country’s import sources, and a source of 58 percent of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).
Following the Senate’s failure to ratify the trade agreement before the 18th Congress went on sine die adjournment, RCEP’s ratification or rejection now falls under the new Congress.
Meanwhile, Chikiamco said the National Land Titling Program is crucial as this would give farmers and landowners a sense of security, and increase the value and bankability of their land.
Nonetheless, he said the administration is on the right track on its fiscal consolidation to gradually reduce the country’s debt ratio.
Among the “sound” fiscal policies mentioned during the President’s SONA include: budget modernization, rightsizing the bureaucracy, tax on digital transactions, land valuation reform, tax reform on financial transactions, digitization and simplification of tax payments.
“They are on the right track. First, grow the economy through investment-driven growth. Second, impose additional tax measures, but not the ones that will have to be shouldered by the poor.
Also, make the bureaucracy more effective through rightsizing,” he said.