For the first time in the history of the Philippines as an independent nation, the advent of the golden age — the New Philippines and the New Filipino — has come.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has been in office just one year, six months and twenty days but look, and behold, what he has so far achieved and what is happening now.

Every agency in the most important branch and level of our government is inspired to do its best for the good and glory of our country and people.

Kudos to the Sandiganbayan on its decision in the case of Senator Jinggoy Estrada. Its dispensation of justice in the plunder case was at its best because the audit report of the Commission on Audit on the priority development assistance fund, or PDAF, of members of Congress was crudely presented, open to question, due to inadequate and confusing statements, which resulted in doubt on the validity of CoA’s verdict contained in the dispositive portion of its decisions. The evidence supporting its conclusions was doubtful.

PBBM recently issued an executive order to keep children off the streets nationwide, provide them and their families with a means of livelihood, and liberate them from continuous dependency.

This move, according to keen political observers, is so far the greatest and most realistic large scale approach by any President of this country to uplift the social and economic wellbeing of the poorest of the poor.

President Bongbong Marcos issued on 18 January 2024 Executive Order 52 whereby he announced that it was imperative to institutionalize the program called “Oplan Pag-abot” (reaching out) when it was piloted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development as one of his administration’s antipoverty measures.

“The Philippines is fully committed to realizing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 1 to eradicate poverty, implementing rationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, and granting equal access to economic resources, particularly for the poor and vulnerable sector of society,” the EO said.

The President wants his campaign for “families or individuals in street situations,” or FISS, coordinated through a long-term approach to take them off the streets into shelters to finally their secure future.

The program is an assistance package, from financial, transportation and relocation, transitory shelter, to livelihood and employment.

An interagency committee headed by the social welfare secretary as chairman, assisted by the interior and local government secretary as vice chairman, will oversee the program.

The committee members are the secretaries of trade, labor, health, budget and education, the head of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the chairman of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, the president of the Small Business Corporation, and the administrator of the Cooperative Development Authority.

The seriousness and sincerity of the President in pursuing this noblest of his campaigns can be judged by the involvement of the participating government officials and agencies.

According to Social Welfare Undersecretary Eduardo Punay, the Pag-abot Program has been provided P300 million for 2024, part of which would be used to profile around 5,000 families or individuals in street situations.

“We are expanding the operations by boosting our staff complement, both in the National Capital Region and the receiving regions. We are digitalizing the program through an e-profiling tool and a data-base of families or individuals in street situations,” he said.

(To be continued)