President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. is set to mark his first 100 days in office since he was inaugurated as the 17th President of the Philippines on June 30, 2022.
Hounded by critics and praised by supporters, here are some of the key accomplishments of the Marcos administration before his first 100 days on October 8.
Health
On August 17, President Marcos spearheaded the launching of "PinasLakas," a nationwide booster vaccine campaign that aims to encourage more Filipinos to receive their booster against COVID-19.
Marcos, who has yet to name his Health Secretary, also received his second booster in the same event that was held in Manila.
Initially, the campaign targeted vaccinating 50 percent of the current population, however, the DOH previously announced that they have adjusted it to 30 percent ahead of Marcos' first 100 days.
Agrarian Reform
The Chief Executive, who also sits as the Agriculture Secretary, signed an Executive Order imposing a one-year moratorium on the amortization and interest payments of agrarian reform beneficiaries, which is seen to "lead to freedom of farmers from debts."
In July, Marcos first bared his plan lifting amortization payments and loan interests for one year during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA).
According to Marcos, this will maximize the "ability of farmers to channel the resources in their farms", and "capacity to produce and propel the country’s economic growth."
Transportation
A day after his inauguration, on July 1, Marcos signed a memorandum seeking to provide free train rides to students and extend the free EDSA Carousel rides until December 2022.
However, days after, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced that the free train rides for students will only be available at Light Rail Transit 2 (LRT 2).
According to Transport Undersecretary Cesar Chavez, the President removed the MRT-3 and PNR from the program because the government will incur losses that can otherwise be used for rail maintenance.
Economy
On his 2nd day at the office, Marcos vetoed a bill creating the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport covering the New Manila International Airport, citing "substantial fiscal risks", incoherence with existing laws, and the proposed economic zone's location near the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone.
“Contrary to the government’s objective of developing a tax system with low rates and a broad tax base, the enrolled bill will significantly narrow our tax base with its mandated incentives applicable to registered entities,” he said.
“In view of these considerations, I am constrained to veto the above-mentioned enrolled bill,” he added.
Defense
In August, the Marcos administration showed interest in buying heavy-lift Chinook helicopters from the United States, after scrapping a deal with Russia worth 12.7 billion pesos ($227.35 million) in order to avoid sanctions.
This comes after former President Rodrigo Duterte scrapped a deal to buy 16 Mi-17 Russian military transport helicopters because of fears of U.S. sanctions linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Infrastructure
In his first SONA, Marcos vowed to continue and expand the "Build, Build, Build" program, the flagship infrastructure program of the Duterte administration.
"The infrastructure program of the Duterte administration must not only continue but, wherever possible, be expanded. We shall confidently build on this firm foundation established by my predecessor — as it is in building an edifice. We must keep the momentum. And aspire to build better more," he said.
On August 23, the Marcos administration requested PHP 1.196 trillion from Congress to fund in 2023 its "Build, Better More" (BBM) infrastructure program, an expansion of the Duterte administration's Build, Build, Build program.
Social Welfare
In July, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Erwin Tulfo bared Marcos' order to clean the list of beneficiaries from the national government's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) following reports of unqualified individuals receiving cash grants and refusing to surrender their accounts.
About 1.3 million beneficiaries identified by the DSWD as no longer among the poor were to face removal from the cash assistance program.
A month after, the DWSD announced its cash assistance for poor students, prohibiting walk-ins after hundreds of people gathered in huge crowds at its regional and central offices.
Recently, the agency stopped accepting online applications for its education assistance program.
In an interview, DWSD spokesman Romel Lopez said their office received over 2 million applications for its cash program for indigent students, prompting their budget to balloon to PHP 1.5 billion which can only benefit up to 400,000 students.
Foreign Policy
Marcos announced in his first SONA his plan to continue Duterte's independent foreign policy of being "friend to all, enemy to none", citing it will be advantageous to the Philippines and other nations.
Amid growing tensions between China and Taiwan, in August 2022, Marcos and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed both countries' commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty.
State Visits
In September, the President made his inaugural state visits to Indonesia, Singapore, and the United States where he met with various leaders.
According to Malacañang, Marcos' visit to Indonesia and Singapore secured more than PHP 800 billion in investment pledges.
On September 18 to 24, he made his first working visit to the United States, where he attended the 77th United Nations General Assembly and received $3.9 billion in investment pledges.
