Economist-congressman Joey Salceda of Albay’s 2nd district said on Wednesday, July 20, that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. must reveal the “grand national ambitions that are as large and as historic as his mandate from the people” in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) next week.

Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda (FILE PHOTO/MANILA BULLETIN)

Salceda, who is poised to keep his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee, stressed that Marcos’s SONA is an opportunity for him to accomplish “big changes” using his mandate.

The lawmaker enumerated “the reduction of poverty to under nine percent by 2028, lift 2.16 million families out of poverty, create a middle class of 15 million families” as among the points he hopes Marcos would tackle in his July 25 address to the nation.

These also include achieving eight percent growth rate in gross domestic product (GDP) while lowering the national debt and building the foundation for the country’s membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by 2040.

Salceda noted these national goals were also “stated in the proposed House Joint Resolution No. 6, or the Build, Build More infrastructure framework,” which he recently filed.

READ: Congress eyes joint resolution on gov’t fiscal plan—Salceda

He made a proposal to the Chief Executive to set a total infrastructure spending program of P11 trillion during his six-year term.

In a statement, Salceda also laid down other key priorities that he expects Marcos to articulate during his first SONA, among which is addressing the rising inflation and creation of more jobs for Filipinos.

“We need to embark on agricultural revolution unlike anything we have ever seen in the country’s history,” he said, citing that this can be done by increasing export value of high-value agricultural products and achieving global competitiveness in corn.

“Second, we need to be decisive with inflation. What we can control are: price gouging, logistics and middleman costs, second-round impacts, and the effect on the most vulnerable sectors. We need a broad range of presidential powers to act in the areas where we have some control.”

Regarding job creation, Salceda has proposed that government must undertake the National Broadband Network program that will give global opportunities to Filipino workers and businesses.

He also underscored the need to commit to resiliency in technology and fiscal sustainability in the national policies.

“We need to reaffirm our commitment to education as the most important social and economic investment. That begins with a smooth and effective return to face-to-face classes,” Salceda said.

“Sixth, we need to recommit to fiscal prudence which has become the most important policy asset of the Philippines since 2001. Our macro-fiscal management and the continuity of such strategy for over two decades now has been the envy of the world. Reaffirming this commitment will assuage the hesitations of the global community,” he added.

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