Rightsizing the national government and promoting e-governance and digital connectivity across the country were among President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s promises in his 2022 SONA. This is still work in progress as the Congress has yet to pass these measures into law.
The Marcos administration failed to reach the target of issuing 92 million national IDs by June 30. As of June 16, the Philippine Statistics Authority said it has issued only 70.23 million physical and electronic national IDs.
In his 2022 SONA, Marcos did not talk about specific means to curb corruption. He has not made comments on corruption issues hounding his administration up until now.
In a July 3 speech, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin “Benjie” Magalong said government officials profit from infrastructure projects as contractors, suppliers, or both. Around 45% of a government project’s budget goes to kickbacks, Magalong elaborated in a July 6 interview on ONE News’ The Chiefs.
Marcos was also mum about the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which was established in 1986 to recover the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth. The PCGG still has 87 pending cases to be resolved in seven years, but there are threats to its existing operation.
The PCGG “disposed” of its office building in 2022 for P800 million, according to the Commission on Audit’s 2022 Annual Report. Manila Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. filed a House bill on Sept. 1, 2022, seeking to abolish the PCGG for “outliving its usefulness.”
VERA Files Fact Check tracks the promises the president made on corruption and good governance in his first SONA last 2022. See how the Marcos administration fared:
