President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addressed the nation in his second State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 24, highlighting the challenges faced by the Philippines in its post-pandemic economic recovery.
He emphasized the significant obstacle of inflation that the country confronted, attributing it to various global factors.
"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," President Marcos Jr. stated.
He acknowledged that apart from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the continuing effects of the pandemic were exacerbated by the reduced production of oil-exporting countries, which served as sources of our oil imports.
"Nang tumaas ang presyo [ng langis], nagsunuran naring tumaas ang presyo ng iba't ibang bilihin, gaya ng gasolina, kuryente, at pagkain," he pointed out.
"Ramdam sa buong daigdig pati na sa Pilipinas ang naging pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin noong nakalipas na buwan," he added.
To address these challenges, the government has put forth comprehensive policies that will serve as the foundation of the country's economy in the coming years.
"Nakapagbalangkas tayo ng polisya na magsisilbing pundasyon ng ating ekonomiya sa mga susunod na taon," the president asserted.
Despite the difficulties faced by the nation, the President emphasized that the economy is showing signs of positive transformation.
"Inflation rate is moving in the right direction. From 8.7% in January, our inflation is continuing to ease up in all regions settling now at 5.4% for June," he highlighted.
"This means despite all the difficulties, we are transforming the economy," he assured the public.
Moreover, he also cited the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' project that the inflation will ease by the end of the year, with expectations of it reaching 2.9% by 2024.
