President Sona will focus on people's desire to change

Departing from his previous speeches on the state of the nation, President Rodrigo Duterte will not insist on his accomplishments but on his plans for the Philippines in the coming months, when & # 39; He will speak at a joint meeting on Monday afternoon. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the president could also highlight his legislative priorities, including the proposed change to federalism.

In a statement issued Saturday, Roque said that the speech of the State of the Nation (Sona) continued the two previous speeches of the President and that he would articulate the "desire of the people for a genuine change. and significant "as" father of the nation ".

He said that, traditionally, the Sona highlighted the achievements of the government last year

The next 12 months

Sona this year, however, "is all about it. What [the President] intends to do over the next 12 months In a message to reporters Sunday, Special Assistant President Christopher "Bong" Go said the president would talk about his achievements in the fight against drugs, crime and corruption

. "He will also talk about the programs that he has put in place, especially those that require a leader with political will, as these are for the greater good of the majority, "said Go.

Among the major achievements of this year include the signing and implementation of the Tax Reform Act for Acceleration and Taxation. 39, inclusion (TRAIN), which raised the ceiling on exo incomes taxes, but imposed higher taxes on useless products and imposed excise duties on petroleum products, which amplified the effects of soaring world oil prices in recent move inflation to 5.2% in June. 659002] Income from the TRAIN Act will be used to fund free college education at state universities and colleges, universal health care and the government's infrastructure program.

The largest collection of taxes

Malacañang congratulated the Ministry of Finance for collecting $ 251 billion P2 in 2017, the largest in 10 years, representing 14, 25% of the gross domestic product.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported $ 2.2 billion. the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 43.5 percent from $ 1.5 billion in the same period last year.

BSP also reported a 12.9 percent year-over-year increase to reach $ 2.6 billion in Filipino expatriate shipments in April.

In addition, the Palace cited the report of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) according to which 90.6% of the budget of 3,767 billion P3 for this year, or 3,414 billion P3, had already been unlocked in

The President also signed the Business Convenience Act, which reduces the number of days for the processing of permits and licenses for all commercial transactions and a policy of two strikes for public servants who do not issue business. permit

The DBM report also mentioned the remarkable improvement of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), which, according to the palace, was no longer considered one of the worst airports of the world.

Skytrax placed Naia 10th in the world's most improved airports in 2018. The report indicated the completion of several public infrastructure projects now publicly available, such as the expansion of a 4.75-kilometer section of radial road 10 in Manila.

War on Drugs

Earlier, the Department of Public Works and Highways said that this project would reduce travel time between Manila and the city of Navotas by one hour at 30 minutes

. According to Malacañang, 102,630 operations were carried out on 30 June 2018, with 147,802 suspects arrested, 6,562 barangays declared free of drugs and 21.29 billion illicit drugs seized.

However, they did not mention the number of suspects killed during law enforcement operations.

Researchers at Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University have counted 5,021 murders since the President launched his war on drugs in 2016. The National Police, however, recognizes only more than 4,000 deaths in police operations.

But thousands of others were killed by gunmen in cases registered by the PNP as "dead under investigation."

In the report, Malacañang commended the Department of National Defense, the army, and the police for defeating the Islamic-inspired Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists, who launched a siege in the city of Marawi for five months

The report also notes the publication by the President in June 2017 of Legislative Decree No. 28 on the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices

citing the Article 26 of the May decree-law With regard to foreign affairs and policies, the report included the signing of the agreement between the Philippines and Kuwait on the protection of Filipino domestic workers

also mentions the signing of the Law on Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education, which removes the tuition and miscellaneous fees of 112 public universities and colleges as of this year.

The island of Boracay to make way for its rehabilitation after decades of uncontrolled development pressure.

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