Now Reading
Strategic policies for the Marcos admin
Dark Light

Strategic policies for the Marcos admin

In our previous column, we assessed the midterm performance of President Marcos’ administration and Congress across four key sectors: economy, infrastructure, human development, and transparency.

In this follow-up, we lay down specific recommendations for the second half of the term. With focused and sustained effort, meaningful progress is still possible, especially in resolving persistent policy and implementation bottlenecks. These proposals seek to close performance gaps and respond to the public’s most urgent needs.

Economy. To support robust growth, diversify our growth sources by investing in agriculture and industry sectors. Strategically engage public-private partnerships to build common warehouses and cold-storage facilities to minimize post-harvest losses and make food products more affordable. Pass the Livestock Development bill, Amendments to the Warehouse Receipts law and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, including increasing the land retention limit.

Allot more budget in shared service facilities and innovation centers; and address access to finance through government grants and low-interest loans to support growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises, as well as technology startups.

To maximize revenue collections: Congress must stop providing VAT exemptions on goods and services that erode the tax base and make it prone to abuse. Create a single web-based registry of vat-exempt groups and integrate it with the National ID to minimize leakages.

Infrastructure. Infrastructure and energy projects should be implemented and completed on time and within budget. In this regard, Congress should not move counterpart funds for foreign-assisted projects from programmed appropriations which have definite sources of funding to unprogrammed appropriations which lack assured financing. Close monitoring of the 2026 budget should be done through the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council.

To ensure secure power supply, energy projects must be accelerated through the improved implementation of the energy virtual one-stop shop.

Human development. Standardize and expand existing voucher programs such as the education service contracting and senior high school vouchers to ensure more equitable access to quality education, especially for students from low-income families. This will help improve eligibility systems, increase funding for underserved areas, and align guidelines nationwide to help close learning gaps.

Expand the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act (Republic Act No. 11148) to cover the first 2,000 days of a child’s life, extending support from the current 1,000 days up to 5 years old. This initiative will enable programs to cover early childhood nutrition, vaccinations, psychosocial care, and linkages with daycare and preschool services, creating a more holistic foundation for lifelong well-being.

Finally, accelerate the full rollout of the universal health care law to improve access, equity, and system efficiency. Invest in fully equipped community health centers, expand preventive care, and build the capacity of local health workers, especially in rural areas.

Transparency and accountability. The government should urgently ramp up its initiatives to improve transparency and accountability in different areas.

For the national budget:

Congress should open the bicameral meetings through live streaming and publication of minutes to allow citizens to scrutinize the budget.

The joint congressional oversight committee on public expenditures in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management, should be more proactive in monitoring the fund utilization across government.

See Also

Widen citizen participation in evaluating and auditing the performance of government agencies through the Commission on Audit’s Citizen Participatory Audit program.

Congress should pass the freedom of information bill mandating all three branches of government to disclose government information (except those of national security concern). Also, include a provision requiring all government officials to make their statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth available to the public.

Strongly support amendments to the bank secrecy law, allowing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to examine bank accounts of public officials. This will help ensure greater transparency, substantially reduce corruption, and strengthen public trust in government.

The President’s upcoming Sona is an opportunity to fully realign the government’s efforts with what truly matters to most Filipinos. After the first half, the government found itself trailing behind a huge margin. Now is the halftime period where reflections are most needed. The second half is about to start. The government must relentlessly demonstrate its commitment and energy to overcome this deficit.

—————-

Gary B. Teves had served as finance secretary under the Arroyo administration. For comments/queries you may contact gbtresearchteam@gmail.com

Have problems with your subscription? Contact us via
Email: plus@inquirer.com.ph, subscription@inquirer.com.ph
Landine: (02) 8896-6000
SMS/Viber: 0908-8966000, 0919-0838000

© The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Scroll To Top