Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. delivered his 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday, July 22, 2024, before a joint session of Congress and a nation that is hopeful but seriously threatened by bitter political divide.
Highlighting the President’s one hour and twenty-two minutes of speech was his order to ban all types of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) in the Philippines.
The POGO policy statement earned a standing ovation from members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, cabinet and judicial officials, constitutional officers, the diplomatic corps, and other guests of the annual red carpet occasion characterized by a dazzling show of designer outfits resembling a flashy Hollywood event.
“Effectively today, all Pogos are banned,” thundered Mr. Marcos Jr. towards the tail-end of his constitutionally mandated address.
“Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder,” he added.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) said last month that as much as 300 POGO entities in the country operate clandestinely as compared to only 46 operators that have been given state license.
President Marcos made it clear that all POGOs, licensed or not, must go by the end of the year. He tasked labor officials to find employment for POGO workers who will be displaced.
Philippine government data at the end of last year placed the number of Filipino POGO workers at around 25,000. Expatriates in the trade count to nearly 23,000.
Other highlights of President Marcos’ SONA:
- Unrelenting assertion of Philippine rights and interests in the West Philippine Sea;
- Sustained programs to ensure food security;
- More irrigation, farm-to-market road projects to boost agricultural production;
- Anti-corruption program that is at par with global practices;
- Infrastructure projects featuring 12,000 kilometers (7,456 miles) of new roads and 1,200 bridges;
- A “railway renaissance” for the Philippines;
- A drug war strategy that is “bloodless;”
- Green-lane certified investments worth Php 3-trillion;
- Medical allowance for all government workers in 2025 amounting to Php 9.5-billion;
- Improved healthcare services for cancer patients; and,
- Free wi-fi for 10 million user devices.
Notably missing during the most important state function of the year was Vice President Sara Duterte whose political family members have been locked in a bitter word war with the President since January.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte, the Vice President’s father, has accused President Marcos of illegal substance use. Hours before the SONA, supporters of the elder Duterte circulated a video supposedly showing President Marcos taking illegal drugs. The Palace routinely discredited the video, describing it as a “deep-fake,” but Mr. Duterte dared the President to submit himself to a hair follicle drug test.
Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and Rep. Paolo Duterte, both sons of the former leader, have also been critical of the Marcos administration. They would repeatedly call the President “lazy” and “has no genuine love for the country” in the series of political rallies spearheaded by the Dutertes over the last six months.
Vice President Sara Duterte said two weeks ago that her father and two brothers were all preparing to run for Senate seats in 2025. While former president Duterte denied the scenario of having three family members in the next Philippine Congress, Mayor Sebastian said he was entertaining the prospects of joining the Upper House.
Four days before the SONA, Vice President Duterte finalized her departure from the Department of Education where she was appointed as secretary by President Marcos at the beginning of their terms in June 2022.
Ahead of Monday’s SONA, the Vice President came up with a bombshell announcement that she would skip the President’s SONA. She told the local press that she appointed herself as “designated survivor,” an apparent spin from a popular Netflix series about an official chosen to lead government in the event of a catastrophic incident at the Capitol.
