PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ran on a campaign about unity and making the Philippines better by helping Juan dela Cruz get up after stumbling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He promised to steer the country’s economy to a better future and to create more jobs.
So far, in just over a year, the President has made a lot of foreign trips to ”sell” the Philippines as an investment hub.
Let’s turn back the pages as RepublicAsia takes a peek at the first year of the Marcos presidency.
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
JULY 2022
On July 1, 2022, a day after formally assuming office, President Marcos graced the anniversary of the Philippine Air Force, making it his first official duty as Chief Executive.
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
He also issued his first two executive orders. Executive Order No. 1 abolished the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary. E.O. 2, on the other hand, renamed the Presidential Communications Operations Office back to the Office of the Press Secretary. It likewise abolished the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson.
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
On July 25, President Marcos delivered his first State of the Nation Address, which highlighted the economy, his plans to revive it, and how he will make things easier for Filipinos. He ended his speech saying “the state of the nation is sound.”
AUGUST 2022
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
The month started with President Marcos attending the wake of his distant uncle and former President Fidel V. Ramos, who died on July 31.
The President’s late father and namesake Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. was the second cousin of Ramos.
It was also on the 22nd of the month that in-person classes resumed.
However, it was also during this month that Severe Tropical Storm Florita flooded many areas in Luzon, including Metro Manila. This saw the president monitoring incidents and giving instructions to officials of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Department of National Defense and the Department of Social Welfare and Development to prioritize rescue efforts and the immediate distribution of relief packs.
SEPTEMBER 2022
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
This month saw the first overseas trip of Marcos as President. On September 5, President Marcos visited Indonesia and met with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo. They discussed the improvement of defense, trade and other ties between the two neighbors.
On September 6–7, President Marcos went to Singapore where he met with President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
The month also saw President Marcos return to the United States.
The working visit took place on September 18–24. He met with the Filipino community at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, rang the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange and then spoke and and met with American senior executives and US President Joe Biden.
On September 20, he addressed the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
Typhoon Karding also struck the Northern Philippines this month. President Marcos oversaw the distribution of relief goods and the rescue efforts.
OCTOBER 2022
On October 1-3, President Marcos made an “unannounced” return to Singapore, where he attended the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
His attendance was criticized harshly.
The President broke his silence on his much-criticized trip by saying that it was intended to drum up business opportunities in the Philippines.
He also signed the SIM Card Registration Act, which mandates all mobile phone users to sign up or risk having their subscriber identification modules deactivated.
NOVEMBER 2022
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
On November 9-13, President Marcos went to Cambodia to attend the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and the related summits. He also met with the local Filipino community in Phnom Penh.
A few days later, on November 16–19, the President had a working visit and attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Thailand. He held bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Arabia Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salma, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
DECEMBER 2022
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
To cap his first six months in office, President Marcos went on a working visit on December 12-14 to Brussels, where he attended the ASEAN–European Union Commemorative Summit.
He had an audience with King Philippe at the Royal Palace. He also met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
On the local front, Marcos proclaimed the importance of the Maharlika Investment Fund and said he was hesitant to extend the COVID-19 state of calamity.
JANUARY 2023
The year started with a problem with the country’s main gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, due to power outages.
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
Nevertheless, President Marcos went to Beijing, China for a state visit.
He and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed various issues, from investment, to economic cooperation and of course, the West Philippine Sea dispute.
On January 15-20, President Marcos went to Zurich, Switzerland and participated in the World Economic Forum with many economic and business leaders.
It was also during this month that President Marcos signed the Philippine Development Plan for 2023-2028.
FEBRUARY 2023
President Marcos continued his state and working visits. He went to Japan from February 8-12 and addressed Japanese executives at the Philippine Business Opportunities Forum at the Palace Hotel in a bid to lure more investors to the Philippines.
He also declared February 24 a special non-working day to commemorate the anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, the mass uprising that ousted his father from office.
MARCH 2023
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
Wrapping up the first quarter, President Marcos launched the “Kadiwa Store” in a bid to give Filipinos, both farmers and buyers, an alternative to cheaper food. By this time, the price of onions had skyrocketed.
The Kadiwa program was conceived by the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1973 as the government’s stop-gap measure to contain runaway inflation at that time resulting from the global oil crisis.
It was also during this time that President Marcos declared that the four new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites with would be scattered across the Philippines.
APRIL 2023
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
President Marcos resumed his working and state visits during this month.
On April 30–May 4, President Marcos was in the US again and met with top officials led by US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
They discussed economic and investment issues, as well as the problem in the West Philippine Sea.
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
Before departing the U.S., the President laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
MAY 2023
Following his U.S. visit, President Marcos immediately proceeded to the United Kingdom to attend the coronation of King Charles III.
He met briefly with officials and talked about possible investments in the Philippines.
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
On May 9-11, Marcos went back to Indonesia to participate in the ASEAN Summit.
The President also held separate bilateral meetings with Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Timorese Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính.
JUNE 2023
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
This month, the President declared that he plans to remain in the position of Agriculture Secretary. But critics slammed his decision, saying this is not beneficial and he should delegate the task to somebody who could give full attention to the department.
The Palace also listed the President’s accomplishments to mark his first year in office on June 30.
JULY 2023
Photo: Bongbong Marcos Facebook page
This month, President Marcos signed the Maharlika Investment Fund Law. In his speech, he said he expects the MIF to help generate more projects and work for the public.
On July 24, 2023, President Marcos will deliver his second State of the Nation Address at the Batasang Pambansa.
Are you satisfied with his performance during his first year in office? Or do you think there is something missing?
