Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Wednesday said government was encouraged by the country’s positive economic numbers and the record-high satisfaction ratings of President Rodrigo Duterte, developments that show that the lives of Filipinos have improved in the President’s first three years in office.
Speaking at the second Pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) forum in Cebu City, Nograles said that “at the midpoint of the President’s term, the numbers are positive and encouraging.”
“The lives of our people have improved in the first three years under President Duterte.”
“Our economy has grown at least 6% annually; poverty in the first half of 2018 was reduced to 21% from 27% in 2015; self- rated poverty, according to the SWS fell from 50% in the last quarter of 2018 to 38% in the first quarter of this year––an all- time low,” said the Cabinet official.
According to Nograles, the President also received a record-high net satisfaction rating of +68 for the second quarter of 2019, with 80% of adult Filipinos satisfied with the performance of the Chief Executive.
“The numbers support this unassailable truth: the lives of our people have improved in the first three years under President Duterte,” stressed Nograles.
Nograles, a native of Davao, added that all workers in government should continue to contribute to the gains achieved during the first half of the President’s term, as the President is committed to work for real change in keeping with his promise of “malasakit” and “tunay na pagbabago.”
“The President could not have done this alone. All of you––our co-workers in government, our partners in change––have helped make this possible. Still, while much has been accomplished, much more remains to be done. Di pa po tapos ang trabaho natin; friends, we still have work to do,” he added.
“President Rodrigo Duterte is committed to sustain and build on the successes of the past, and to continue the sound reforms and social programs that truly change the quality of life for all Filipinos towards genuine self-empowerment,” Nograles said.
“The President could not have done this alone. All of you have helped make this possible.”
“Asahan ninyo na mula ngayon hanggang sa dulo ng panunungkulan ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Duterte, bibigyan ng lubos na atensyon, pondo, at panahon ang mga programang kakalinga at magmamalasakit sa napag-iiwanan nating mga kababayan at magtataguyod sa pagkakaisa ng bawat Pilipino.”
The Pre-SONA activity in Cebu, with the theme “Tatak ng Pagbabago: Patuloy na Malasakit at Pagkakaisa,” is the second installment of a series of forums organized by members of the Cabinet in cooperation with the member agencies of the six cabinet clusters and their secretariats aim to provide the public with a clearer picture of where our country is today and where we are headed.
Nograles said the Pre-SONA activities have three major thrusts.
“One, to provide the data, figures, and the minutiae too numerous to include in the President’s SONA––details that will contribute to a better understanding of the President’s overarching messages; Two, to extensively report on what the President has accomplished via the government’s departments, as well as set the goals for the years to come; And three, to provide you, our nation’s stakeholders, with the opportunity to raise your concerns directly to the President, through his able alter-egos.”
In the forum held in Cebu, the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster and the Participatory Governance Cluster reported on the specifics regarding where the government is in terms of poverty reduction, human capital development, public participation, good governance and social services reform.
The next forum, the last of the series, will be held in Davao City next week.