Senator Loren Legarda on Thursday, July 21 said she looks forward to hearing the specific plans of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on the country’s Covid-19 pandemic recovery and transition to a "better normal."
"I hope that it is one that is aligned and attuned to the climate path," Legarda, an environmentalist, said, of her expectations from the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25.
A four-term senator, Legarda emphasized that the SONA has always been the preamble of every new administration.
In the forthcoming 19th Congress that starts July 25, she will be the Senate President Pro Tempore.
Legarda said that she is ‘’eager to hear the President speak about his priority programs and policy reforms on health and education, food security, agriculture and sustainability programs, economic and fiscal policies, human rights and social justice, unemployment and underemployment, legislative agenda, and the critical role of the local governments.’’
The lady lawmaker also said she also wants to hear from the President his:
- Plans to strengthen the education system in the country, considering that the World Bank reported in 2021 that over 80 percent of Filipino students fall below the minimum proficiency levels. The number suggests that we have a crisis in education;
- Response to the staggering national debt, which now stands at P12.68 trillion;
- Foreign policy, as well as the maritime disputes against China; and
- Plans to address or limit the adverse effects of inflation, particularly the continued fuel hike.