Statement of Senator JV Ejercito on President Bongbong Marcos’ first State of the Nation Address (SONA) was music to my ears
September 11, 2023
True to his words when we met before his inauguration, he made an important commitment to fully implement the provisions of the Universal Healthcare Law, which I principally authored during my first term in the Senate: from the protection of healthcare workers and their welfare to the expansion of community-level medical services in remote areas. Moreover, the President highlighted the need to establish specialty healthcare centers in different parts of the country in an effort to “bring medical services closer to people,” the very purpose of the Specialty Center Bill that I filed before the start of the 19th Congress.
I am elated that with these affirmations from the President, the country’s healthcare system will finally get the attention it deserves.
Equally important was the President’s promise to strengthen the Build, Build, Build program, the Duterte administration’s flagship infrastructure initiative; continue all unfinished infrastructure and transport modernization projects from the previous administration; implement the modernization of the country’s airports and seaports; establish a network of farm-to-market roads; modernize our agricultural sector; and expand the country’s railway and mass transit system, especially in Mindanao, Panay, and Cebu.
These efforts will definitely spread out development throughout the country, create growth development areas beyond our urban centers, and generate new jobs and opportunities in an economy that is currently struggling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I am also happy that the President and I share the same advocacy for the modernization of our agricultural sector and the expansion of our energy sources, especially with regards to renewable energy and nuclear power. Along with infrastructure development and transportation modernization, these initiatives will be important in making our country more attractive to foreign investors.
I look forward to working with President Marcos in achieving our common goals and in relieving our country from its present burdens.