Lawmakers expect Marcos to tackle 'serious issues' in SONA

Apart from banning illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, lawmakers expect President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to discuss serious issues that are core to his base, including policies in the West Philippine Sea, affordable rice, inflation, and wages, in his State of the Nation Address on Monday.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said he looks forward to Marcos laying down the progress and accomplishments of the country under his watch regarding foreign policy on the longstanding dispute in the West Philippine Sea.

"Remember, the President was successful in making this issue not just limited between China and the Philippines, but he was able to make it a top priority agenda in the security and peace in the Indo-Pacific Region," he told reporters in an interview.

"He was able to engage with the United States of America and Japan and finally sat down, which resulted in the signing of the trilateral agreement," he added.

He continued that, "This is the good thing that we want to hear from the President about the progress that has been achieved since the agreement took place among these three nations."

ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Erwin Tulfo, meanwhile, wanted Marcos to lay down solutions to alleviate the high cost of commodities due to inflation and increase the pay of minimum wage workers.

"The Congress, the government admitted that we have problems with inflation, increases in the price of goods, and employee wages that were left behind," Tulfo told the media in a separate interview.

"The salary increased, yet the increase was meager [plus] only in NCR... I believe [the SoNA] will be centered on these issues because that's what we are expecting," he concluded.

The National Capital Region-Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board granted a P15 increase in the daily minimum wage of private sector workers on 27 June, nearly one year after its last salary hike of P40.

The salary adjustments, which took effect on Wednesday, 17 July, raised the minimum wage for non-agriculture workers in the NCR from P610 to P645 and for agriculture workers to P608.

Labor groups, however, lamented that the slight increase is far beyond their clamor of P150 across-the-board wage hike nationwide.

'The promised P20 per kilo rice'

Adiong also has high hopes that Marcos would address the initial target of his administration of P20 per kilo of rice.

"We want to hear the progress of our President when it comes to his policy that he wants before the end of his term, make sure that no Filipino family will go hungry. The drop in [the price of] basic commodities, especially rice," Adiong said.

A recent report from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the kilograms of regular milled rice ranged from P51.01 in early July. The price is much lower than the P60 per kilo recorded over the past months.

Nonetheless, the current price of the staple grain is still significantly distant from Marcos' target of lowering it to P20 per kilogram.

The Batasang Pambansa, the seat of the House of Representatives where Marcos would deliver his SoNA, has been put into lockdown starting on Thursday as part of the safety and preparations for the event.

Over 2,000 guests are expected to attend the SoNA, marking the biggest attendance in history.