MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted economic issues and achievements in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The words “economy” and “economic” were mentioned a total of 34 times in his speech. Marcos, whose speech lasted one hour and ten minutes, discussed various aspects and issues pertaining to the economy, including post-pandemic recovery, the digital economy, trade, and growth.

Marcos, who garnered 68 applauses during the SONA, mentioned “percent” 30 times. He emphasized that gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.8% in 2022. However, he did not mention that the Philippines was among the countries that suffered the worst economic drop during the pandemic.

Marcos also highlighted that inflation rate has eased from 8.7% in January to 5.8% in June. The latest figure is still far from the target of 2% to 4%.

Marcos also mentioned that social services comprised 70% of the national budget. He also stated that the government is aiming to increase tax and revenue efforts to 16.9% and 17.3%, respectively, by 2028.

Words like “investment” and “financial,” which are related to the economy, were each mentioned seven times, while “tax” and “infrastructure” were mentioned six times. The word “growth” was used eight times.

The words “price” and “presyo,” the Filipino word for it, were mentioned a total of 16 times.

Filipinos still see “controlling inflation” as their top concern, according to a Pulse Asia survey released earlier this month. A total of 63% of Filipinos considered controlling the prices of basic commodities as an issue the Marcos administration “must address immediately.”

Excluding articles, prepositions, and pronouns, other English words that were frequently mentioned were “more” (23), “government” (22), “continue” (13), and “social” (12). – Rappler.com