One year into office, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is yet to deliver “substantial” progress on his promises to improve the Philippine economic situation. But the administration’s economic managers stay optimistic that the country “remains firmly on track” toward post-pandemic recovery.
Of the 19 bills Marcos enumerated in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2022, Congress has not passed the bills on budget modernization, passive income and financial intermediary taxation, valuation reform, and government financial institutions unified initiatives to distressed enterprises for economic recovery, which had been identified as priority measures by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
Marcos also struggled to meet the medium-term targets for inflation, foreign exchange rate and national government debt.
Inflation hit 8.7% in January, the highest recorded since November 2008, and slowed down to 5.4% in June. The average peso-dollar exchange rate in 2022 was P54.47, depreciating by 9.59%, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. As of May, government debt has climbed to P14.10 trillion, which is about 62.1% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Some of Marcos’ most controversial economic decisions, however, were absent from his inaugural SONA.
For example, the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill was heavily criticized particularly on the initial provisions that included pension funds–Social Security System (SSS) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)–as primary funding sources. (Read VERA FILES FACT SHEET: The Maharlika Investment Fund explained)
While the government’s economic team deemed the MIF as a “vehicle for economic growth,” economists from the University of the Philippines Diliman described it as “still beyond repair” for having unclear goals and “vague” financial and economic returns. As of July 6, the measure was submitted to the president for signature.
(Read VERA FILES FACT SHEET: Unpacking Maharlika Investment Fund’s urgent legislation)
Meanwhile, Marcos’ recent designation of Larry Gadon as anti-poverty czar drew flak from advocacy groups. One day after his appointment, the Supreme Court unanimously disbarred Gadon for his repeated profane and misogynistic remarks against journalist Raissa Robles.
Find out more about how the president fared in his 15 promises on the economy here:
Find out how Marcos Jr. fared in other sectors
Have you seen any dubious claims, photos, memes, or online posts that you want us to verify? Fill out this reader request form or send it to VERA, the truth bot on Viber.
Sources
ANC 24/7 YouTube channel, Cuunjieng on Marcos’ first year: He hasn’t done anything bad, but also done nothing substantial, July 3, 2023
RTVMalacañang YouTube channel, Media Interview, June 29, 2023
National Economic and Development Authority, Official Statement of NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan on Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s First Year in Office, June 30, 2023
Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, LEDAC Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) for the 19th Congress, June 2, 2023
Department of Budget and Management, Macroeconomic Parameters Assumptions, FYs 2022-2028, July 8, 2022
Philippines Statistics Authority official YouTube channel, Press Conference on January 2023 Inflation, Feb. 7, 2023
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Philippine Peso per US Dollar exchange rate, June 2023
Bureau of the Treasury, National government debt recorded at P14.10 trillion as of end-May 2023, July 4, 2023
National Economic and Development Authority, Joint Statement by the Economic Managers on the Maharlika Investment Fund, June 13, 2023
UP School of Economics, Maharlika Investment Fund: Still Beyond Repair, June 2023
Inquirer.net, Maharlika bill up for Marcos signature; 19 bills on Sona ‘wish list’ pending, July 6, 2023
ABS-CBN News, Maharlika already sent to Marcos for approval: Zubiri, July 4, 2023
The Philippine Star, Congress sends Maharlika bill to Malacañang, July 6, 2023
Kadamay Facebook page, KADAMAY demands immediate removal of Gadon as antipoverty czar, June 29, 2023
ANC 24/7 YouTube channel, Headstart: Ibon Foundation’s Sonny Africa on Gadon’s appointment as poverty alleviation adviser, June 17, 2023
Supreme Court of the Philippines, Court Unanimously Disbars Atty. Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon for Misogynistic, Sexist, Abusive and Repeated Intemperate Language, June 28, 2023
On implementing sound fiscal management
- House of Representatives, House Bill No. 4122, Nov. 14, 2022
- Senate of the Philippines, Senate Bill No. 250, July 11, 2022
- Official Gazette of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 29, June 1, 2023
- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Philippine Economic Updates, May 2023
- Department of Budget and Management, Integrated Public Financial Management System, 2016
- Department of Budget and Management, PFM Committee Thanks PBBM For Approving the Full Adoption of Integrated Financial Management Info System in Gov’t, June 2, 2023
On maintaining disbursements at above 20% of GDP
- Department of Budget and Management, National Government Disbursement Performance as of December 2022, March 20, 2023
- Department of Budget and Management, Republic of the Philippines Toward a More Inclusive, Resilient and Prosperous Economy, June 2023
- Department of Budget and Management, National Government Disbursement Performance as of April 2023, June 2023
On growing real GDP by 6.5% – 8% every year
- Philippine Statistics Authority, GDP Expands by 6.4 Percent in the First Quarter of 2023, May 11, 2023
- Asian Development Bank, GDP Growth in Asia and the Pacific, Asian Development Outlook (ADO), April 2023
On having single-digit poverty rate
- Philippine Statistics Authority, Official poverty statistics of the Philippines preliminary 2021 full year, Aug. 13, 2022
- World Bank, Ralph van Doorn
- World Bank Philippines official Facebook page, Philippines Economic Update June 2023: Securing a Clean Energy Future, June 8, 2023
- Presidential Communications Office, PBBM appoints Atty. Larry Gadon as Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation, June 26, 2023
- Department of Budget and Management, Salary Grades of Positions of Constitutional and Other Officials and Their Equivalents, June 7, 2017
On having 3% national government deficit to GDP ratio by 2028
- World Bank, Philippines Monthly Economic Developments, May 2023
On having less than 60% national government debt-to-GDP ratio by 2025
- Bureau of the Treasury, Debt Indicators for May 2023, May 2023
- International Monetary Fund, IMF-World Bank debt sustainability framework for low-income countries, accessed July 6, 2023
On having gross national income per capita of at least US$4,256
- World Bank, Gross national income per capita 2022, Atlas method and PPP, July 1, 2023
- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Gross National Income (GNI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by industry, 2023
- Philippine Statistics Authority, Gross National Income (GNI) improves for the eighth consecutive quarters, 2023
- World Bank, World Bank Group country classifications by income level for FY24 (July 1, 2023- June 30, 2024), June 30, 2023
- Philippine Embassy in Washington DC, USA Official Facebook page, Philippine Economic Briefing, April 12, 2023
- Inquirer.net, PH moves target to become upper-middle-income status to 2025, Dec. 18, 2022
- GMA News Online, Balisacan: PH on track to becoming upper-middle income economy by 2025, July 4, 2023
- Business World, PHL ‘on track’ to become an upper middle-income country, says WB, May 10, 2023
On keeping inflation at between 2.5% and 4.5% in 2023
- Philippine Statistics Authority, Summary Inflation Report Consumer Price Index (2018=100): June 2023, July 5, 2023
- Department of Budget and Management, Review of the Medium-Term Macroeconomic Assumptions and Fiscal Program for FY 2023 to 2028, June 9, 2023
- The Official Gazette, Executive Order No. 28, May 26, 2023
On attaining Philippine peso exchange to average at between P51 and P53 per $US1 in 2022
- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Philippine Peso per US Dollar Rate, accessed July 6, 2023
- Department of Budget and Management, Macroeconomic Parameters Assumptions, FYs 2023-2028, June 9, 2023
- Department of Budget and Management, Macroeconomic Parameters Assumptions, FYs 2023-2028, April 24, 2023
- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Businesses are More Upbeat for Q2 2023, but Less Optimistic for Q3 2023 and the Next 12 Months, June 23, 2023
- Bankers Association of the Philippines, 2023 BAP FX Historical Data Summary, July 5, 2023
- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Personal communication (email), July 11, 2023
On achieving 7% growth in exports in 2022, 6% in 2023 to 2028
- Philippine Statistics Authority, Highlights of the 2022 Annual International Merchandise Trade Statistics of the Philippines, April 1, 2023
- Philippine Statistics Authority, Highlights of the 2021 Annual Final International Merchandise Trade Statistics of the Philippines, April 20, 2022
- Philippine Statistics Authority, Highlights of the Philippine Export and Import Statistics April 2023 (Preliminary), June 9, 2023
- Presidential Communications Office, PBBM okays export development plan to transform PH into global export player, June 6, 2023
- Philippine Information Agency, Pres Marcos launches PH Export Development Plan, June 15, 2023
- Presidential Communications Office, Press Briefing of Ms. Daphne Oseña-Paez with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual, June 6, 2023
On passing Budget Modernization Bill
- Department of Budget and Management, Message of Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman during the Flag Raising Ceremony of the Department of Budget and Management on 04 January 2023, Jan. 4, 2023
- Senate of the Philippines, Senate Bill No. 2045, March 23, 2023
- The Official Gazette, Executive Order No. 91, Sept. 9, 2019
- Department of Budget and Management, Duterte orders adoption of Cash Budgeting System, Sept. 13, 2019
- Department of Budget and Management, Reforming the Philippine Budgeting System towards economic growth and poverty reduction, accessed July 6, 2023
- Senate of the Philippines, Senate Bill No. 1020, Aug. 4, 2022
- House of Representatives, House Bill Nos. 5809, 5266, 4650, 4260, 4114, 3419, 418, 19, 8087, 7749, and 6384
On passing Tax Package 3: Valuation Reform Bill
- Department of Finance, Package 3: Real Property Valuation Reform, accessed July 6, 2023
- Senate of the Philippines YouTube channel, Committee on Ways and Means, March 9, 2023
- Senate of the Philippines, Senate Bill Nos. 314, 693, 897, 1018, and 1473
- House of Representatives, House Bill No. 6558, Dec. 12, 2022
- Philippine News Agency, Property valuation reform bill hurdles House, Dec. 13, 2022
On passing Pass Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act
- House of Representatives, House Bill No. 4339, Nov. 14, 2022
- Senate of the Philippines, Senate Bill Nos. 900, 1347, 1364, and 1848
- Department of Finance, Package 4: Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA), accessed July 6, 2023
- The Philippine Star, Tax reform package 4 may yield P25 billion more revenues, Dec. 8, 2022
- Manila Bulletin, Diokno expects P145-B revenues from Marcos’ initial tax measures, May 29, 2023
- Department of Finance, House approves bill to enhance tax system for passive income and financial intermediaries, July 12, 2022
On passing Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery
- House of Representatives, House Bill No. 1, Dec. 15, 2022
- Senate of the Philippines, Senate Bill Nos. 411, 506, 674, 1129, 1182, and 1640
On passing amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law
- Public-Private Partnership Center, The Revised 2022 IRR of the BOT Law is Out Now, Nov. 25, 2022
- Department of Finance, Revised BOT Law IRR allowing PPP-driven economic transformation now in effect, Dec. 10, 2022
- Public-Private Partnership Center, A PPP Manual for LGUs, 2012
- Public-Private Partnership Center, Primer on the Revised 2022 IRR of the BOT Law, Nov. 25, 2022
- House of Representatives, House Bill No. 6527, Dec. 6, 2022
- Senate of the Philippines, Senate Bill No. 2233, May 23, 2023
- Philstar.com, Marcos certifies Public-Private Partnership bill as urgent, June 14, 2023
- CNN Philippines, Marcos certifies as urgent Public-Private Partnership bill, June 14, 2023
- Panay News, New PPP bill certified as urgent, June 15, 2023
- Senate of the Philippines official YouTube channel, Senate Session No. 74, May 24, 2023
- Senate of the Philippines official YouTube channel, Senate Committee on Public Works, April 18, 2023
(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)