Delivering campaign promises a ‘work in progress’ – PBBM

A LOT OF GROWTH. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the launching of the ‘Kanegosyo Center’ at the Palacio de Memoria in Parañaque on Thursday (June 29, 2023). In a media interview, Marcos admitted that the delivery of his campaign promises remains a “work in progress” despite “a lot of growth” his administration has achieved after one year in office. (PNA Photo by Rey Baniquet)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday admitted that the delivery of his campaign promises remains a “work in progress” despite “a lot of growth” his administration has accomplished after one year in office.

“We have done a lot of growth. We are beginning to see the systemic changes that are going to be part of the new bureaucracy,” Marcos said on the sidelines of the launching of the Kanegosyo Center, in Parañaque City, when asked to assess his administration’s performance during the past year.

Marcos agreed with an economist who gave him an “incomplete” grade in his first year in office, saying he and his Cabinet have “many, many things that we still need to do.”

He said it would take some time to realize his goals for the country, as there is still a “great deal” of work that he needs to fulfill.

“So, it’s never enough. Whatever it is that we have managed to do, there is still a great deal more to do. We have to work smart, and we have to work well, and we have to be very conscious. We should not be insular and think that it is only the Philippines that exists,” Marcos said.

“It is an ongoing process. Again, we have to bear in mind that the international situation has changed, in terms of trade, in terms of geopolitics. So, we are having to adjust to that. And now it is very clear that the most successful economies are those that are agile and resilient. And that I think we have put in place the basic elements in place to do that,” he added.

Marcos assured that he and his administration is working hard to reinvigorate the economy, noting that they are putting a premium on the agriculture sector which plays a vital role in the country’s development.

He added that the government is doubling its efforts to attract more investments.

“The job ahead of us is to make structural big changes that we have instituted, to make them work and so we can see the results, not only in terms of statistics in the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority), but also in the lives of ordinary people,” Marcos said.

Marcos will mark his first year in office on Friday.

He won the presidential race after garnering 31,629,783 votes or 58.77 percent of the votes cast in the May 9, 2022 national and local elections.