Trento vies for fifth seal of good local governance

PBBM says performance is best politics; vows to make the ‘Filipino brand’ wellknown globally

Performance is the best politics, and the government is on track to lift the economy and save jobs after years of pandemic-induced lockdowns, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said.

“Performance is the best politics. Pag maganda ang nagawa mo, kahit anong sabihin nila, nagawa mo eh,” Marcos said in an interview with TV host and actress Toni Gonzaga aired over All TV Channel on Tuesday. In Gonzaga’s vlog, Marcos lamented how “partisan interest” transformed the country in recent years and neglected the general citizenry’s interest. “We lost sight, in many ways of the national interest. And we only talked about partisan interest. Pinaglalaban lang natin ‘yung sa partido ko,’ ‘yung sa kandidato ko,’ ‘yung sa gusto ko,’ doon sa… Hindi natin iniisip ‘yung ano ‘yung para sa Pilipinas,’” said Marcos. The chief executive raised the need to focus on improving the general welfare and enhancing the country’s image, noting that critics would always be around in any administration.

“Even if it costs you, even if it’s hard, even if people don’t understand. Eh ganyan naman talaga ang politika eh,” said Marcos.

When asked about his latest State of the Nation Address, Marcos said the platform serves as “a report to the people about how we are doing,” as he bared how his administration is ramping up efforts to reboot the economy after the pandemic.

“Those potential investors that we are trying to bring into the Philippines, the financial analysts. And the most important priority of people right now, even of the government right now, is the economy,” said Marcos.

He also cited the role of the creative industry in job creation and economic development.

“If you go around Asia, and you go to the hotels, you go to the bars, ang tumutugtog laging Pilipino’ di ba? We have a somehow a special affinity to the performing arts,” said Marcos.

The President said his administration is laserfocused on bringing the “Filipino brand” to the global stage and making it well-known.

“[Si] Secretary Christina Frasco, ‘yun ang kanyang talagang thinking eh. Sabi niya, let’s make the Filipino brand important and to be well-known. And she’s absolutely right,” said Marcos. “Part of that brand is our culture. And it’s not something that’s going to be hard. The Filipino brand is attractive. The Filipino brand is singular, is unique.”

When asked about what for him is the Filipino brand, Marcos said: “If I have to describe it in one word, it’s grace.”

In his SONA last July, Marcos discussed the government’s agenda on economic recovery, pandemic response, and the resumption of faceto-face classes and cited agriculture as the major engine for growth and employment. | PND

PBBM bent on transforming economy, making food affordable to avert future crises

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said his administration is geared towards economic transformation to shield the country from future crises in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. In an interview with TV host and actress Toni Gonzaga aired on ALLTV, Marcos expressed optimism about the administration’s success in any endeavor, noting, however, that it must come up with new ideas and be creative.

“That’s why in my view, I talk about transforming our economy, not recovery. Because I don’t want to recover the economy to what it was in 2019. I want to transform the economy to be ready for the shocks, the difficulties that we will face from 2022,” he told Gonzaga. The President particularly mentioned making food affordable for everybody. It is the administration’s priority to ensure food security, he said, adding that the government has to reorganize the entire agricultural production value chain system over the years. Asked about his aspiration to reduce the price of rice to P20 per kilo, the President said it would take time to achieve it.

“There’s a way to do it but it will take a while. We have to return NFA to its old function, not so much importation but really the buying,” he said. “And then even — even actually now we can already do it but it’s a little short-term. We sell the buffer stock that they have in NFA. We can sell it at 20 pesos. But that’s not really realistic. We have to bring the actual price down.” With the right government interventions, such as improving the value chain and securing some savings, as well as a favorable world market condition, attaining a P20 per kilo of rice would be possible, he said.

Speaking of the economy, the President acknowledged the country’s high inflation rate, which affected everything. “We’ve actually done, in terms of monetary policy, we’ve done all right in the Philippines. Ang problema is something that’s called imported — imported inflation,” Marcos said.

“Because the inflation that was suffered by whatever project — sabihin bibili tayo fertilizer, doon sa pinanggalingan niya, tumaas ang presyo ng natural gas, tumaas ang presyo ng ammonia, all of the elements that go into it.”

This is the current reality given the interconnection among countries, he said, adding that one nation cannot deal or trade anymore without talking to other countries. | PND Caraga Infocus • September 10-16, 2022

Briefer on the visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will attend as guest of honor of the INAUGURATION OF THE BANGSAMORO TRANSITION AUTHORITY (BTA) PARLIAMENT 2022-2025 at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Center inside the Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City, Thursday, September 15. THE BTA

The BTA is the interim government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), pending the election of the region’s government officials, originally set in 2022. In itself a parliament, it has both executive and legislative powers over the autonomous region. On October 28, 2021, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed Republic Act 11593 extending the transition period of the BARMM from 2022 to 2025, thereby postponing the first regular parliamentary elections, which will be synchronized with the 2025 national elections. Section 2 of RA 11593, states that the current President will appoint another set of 80 BTA members.

This paved the way for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to appoint the new BTA members. The newly and re-appointed BTA members -- 41 from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and 39 from the national government -- took their oath before the President on August 12. UNITED BTA

Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, Carlito Galvez described the appointment of the new BTA as symbolic of unity among the Moro fronts, as he noted that the body is now comprised of representatives from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Misuari and Sema Groups as well as the sons of top Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leaders. Caraga Infocus • September 10-16, 2022

“This is a united BTA because most of the new members came from the younger generations of Moro leaders which include the sons and daughters of both MNLF and MILF leaders [Nur] Misuari, [Muslim] Sema, [Yusoph] Jikiri, [Datu Udtog ‘Datu Jun’ Jr.] Matalam, [Gadzali Jaafar, Mimbantas] and Hashim Salamat, among others,” Galvez said. Galvez noted further that the appointment the new BTA is not just historic but also symbolic because, “the peace process started during the term of Former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and hopefully, it will succeed in the next six years of the term of current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.”

THE PRESIDENT’S CALL FOR THE BTA

President Marcos reminded the BTA members during the oath-taking ceremony to fast track the the implementation of their deliverables, Bangsamoro Local Government Code, Electoral Code, Revenue Code and Indigenous Peoples’ Code. #ExplainExplainExplain