President Marcos on economy: We remain one of the fastest-growing economies in the ASEAN region - #SONA2023
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00:00 One year ago today, I stood here before you,
00:03 setting forth the plans that we have to improve our economy,
00:07 bring jobs to our people, improve the ease of doing
00:11 business, recalibrate our educational system to adapt
00:15 to the new economy, lower and rationalize energy costs,
00:19 boost agricultural production, enhance health care,
00:23 and continue social programs for the poor and the vulnerable.
00:28 Let me now report to the people on the successes
00:31 that we can now lay claim to, and also the challenges
00:35 that we continue to face.
00:38 Last year, we emphasized certain strong headwinds
00:40 that were confronting us, along with the rest of the world,
00:44 in our post-pandemic economic recovery.
00:47 And the biggest problem that we encountered was inflation.
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02:05 While the global prospects were bleak,
02:07 our economy posted a 7.6% growth in 2022,
02:13 our highest growth rate in 46 years.
02:16 [APPLAUSE]
02:22 For the first quarter of this year,
02:24 our growth has registered at 6.4%.
02:27 It remains within our target of 6% to 7% for 2023.
02:32 We are still considered to be amongst the fastest-growing
02:36 economies in the Asian region and in the world.
02:40 It is a testament--
02:41 [APPLAUSE]
02:44 It is a testament to our strong macroeconomic fundamentals.
02:50 Our financial system, the nerve center of our economy,
02:53 remains strong and stable.
02:56 Banks, the transmission arms of our monetary policy,
02:59 have strong capital and liquidity positions.
03:02 Stimulated by the relaxation of pandemic restrictions,
03:06 transactions once again have flourished
03:08 alongside the booming e-commerce that
03:10 was undeterred by the pandemic in 2022.
03:14 The digital economy contributed 2 trillion pesos,
03:18 the equivalent of 9.4% of our GDP.
03:23 The economy is revived and rejuvenated,
03:26 backstopped by a favorable enabling environment
03:29 and the strong rule of law.
03:32 This year, the World Bank projects a 6% overall growth
03:36 rate, well within the range of our targets for the year.
03:41 It is anchored on strong local demand,
03:43 underpinned by consumer spending and draws strength
03:47 from the BPO industry, and of course,
03:49 the steady flow of remittances and the continuing jobs
03:53 recovery.
03:55 Inflation rate is moving in the right direction.
03:58 From 8.7% in January, our inflation
04:02 has continued to ease up in all regions,
04:04 settling now at 5.4% for June.
04:09 What this means is that in spite of all the difficulties,
04:11 we are transforming the economy.
04:14 We are stabilizing the prices of all critical commodities.
04:18 According to the Banco Central, inflation
04:21 is expected to ease further by the close of the year
04:25 and projected at 2.9% by 2024.
04:35 On matters of the economy, there are many things
04:38 over which we have no control.
04:41 But over those where we do have control,
04:43 we are doing everything we can.
04:46 [SPEAKING IN TAGALOG]
04:48,
05:15 Investments in public infrastructure
05:18 and in the capacity of our people
05:20 through food, education, health, jobs, and social protection
05:24 remain our top priority.
05:27 For this year, economic and social services
05:30 were allocated almost 70% of the national budget.
05:34 Higher revenue collections will be
05:36 critical in our bid to bolster public investments.
05:40 Under our fiscal framework, we envision our tax and revenue
05:43 efforts to further increase to up to 16.9% and 17.3% by 2028.
05:52 Revenue generation has improved this year.
05:55 From January to May, the Bureau of Internal Revenue
05:58 has posted record collections amounting
06:01 to 1.05 trillion pesos, an increase of almost 10%
06:07 over the last year.
06:09 For its part, the Bureau of Customs
06:11 has also increased its collection by 7.4%
06:15 for the first seven months of 2023,
06:18 amounting to 476 billion pesos.
06:22 Since July 2022, we have seen increased revenues
06:26 from Pagcor of 47.9% and from the PCSO of 20%.
06:33 We therefore seek, once again, the continued support
06:37 of Congress to enact into law the policies and reforms
06:41 under our fiscal framework.