It is good that President Bongbong Marcos is still in civilian attire while in office, and in a nice colored shirt while attending parties. He is in control and does not look like one under “siege.”

There is still the overwhelming optimism that the Commission on Audit (CoA) through its annual audit report for the calendar year ended 31 December 2023 can remove or at least minimize points of conflict and misunderstanding between Sara Duterte and the House of Representatives.

From today until 31 December 2024, the decisions of CoA, contained in its 2023 annual audit reports governing notices of suspensions, disallowances, charges, and settlements thereof, including the implementations of said audit findings and recommendations, will help our head of state, our lawmakers, constitutional officials, Supreme Court justices, judges and learned men in the academe.

As of today, there are still some CoA 2023 annual audit reports that have not been posted on the CoA website, like the reports of local governments in the National Capital Region.

Bongbong Marcos began his presidency at noon on 30 June 2022 following his inauguration as the 17th president of the Philippines succeeding President Rodrigo Duterte. His term is expected to expire on 30 June 2028.

Shortly after taking his oath on Thursday, 30 June 2022, he made the following key points in his inaugural speech:

On unity: “When my call for unity started to resonate with you, it did so because it echoed your yearning, mirrored your sentiments, and expressed your hopes for family, for country, and for a better future. That is why it reverberated and amplified as it did, to deliver the biggest electoral mandate in the history of Philippine democracy.

“I believe that if we focus on the work at hand, and the work will come to hand, we will go very far under my watch. You believe that too. And I listened to your voices that are calling for unity, unity and unity.”

On solving together our country’s problems:

“We are here to repair a house divided, to make it whole and to stand strong again in the bayanihan way, expressive of our nature as Filipinos. We shall seek, not scorn, dialogue, listen respectfully to contrary views, be open to suggestions coming from hard thinking and unsparing judgment but always from us, Filipinos.”

“Let us all be part of the solution that we choose. In that lies the power to get it done, always be open to differing views but ever united in our chosen goal. Never hesitating to change it should it prove one thing.”

On the country’s educational system:

“What we teach in our schools, the materials used must be retaught. I am not talking about history, I am talking about the basics, the sciences, sharpening theoretical aptitude and imparting vocational skills such as in the German example. Alongside the national language, with equal emphasis and facility in a global language, which we had lost.”

On food security:

“Food is not just a trade commodity. Without it, people weaken and die, societies come apart. It is more than a livelihood, it is an existential imperative, and a moral one. Agriculture damage diminished by unfair competition will have a harder time or will have no prospects at all of recovering. Food sufficiency must get the preferential treatment.”

On his faith in the Filipino people:

“You have other responsibilities to carry but I will not spare myself from shedding the last bead of sweat or giving the last ounce of courage and sacrifice. And if you ask me why I am so confident of the future, I will answer you simply that I have 110 million reasons to start with. Such is my faith in the Filipino.” (To be continued)