The government will promote investment-led growth to sustain the country’s economic gains, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Monday in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“In spite of the headwinds that we have faced, we stayed the course. The country exhibits healthy signs of post-pandemic resilience comparable to strong economies in our region,” he stressed.

Marcos said the country’s partnerships with like-minded states led to attracting investments from foreign sources.

Last month, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported USD19 billion worth of actualized projects from the foreign trips of President Marcos.

DTI-attached agencies such as the Board of Investments and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority logged PHP950 billion and PHP45.48 billion in pledges, respectively, in the first half of 2024.

Marcos also reported that the country’s poverty rate dropped to 15.5 percent in 2023 from 18 percent in 2021. The latest poverty rate data was lower than the pre-pandemic level of 16.7 percent in 2018.

“Halos dalawa’t kalahating milyong Pilipino ang naiangat natin mula sa kahirapan. Kasabay nito, nabawasan nang lagpas isang milyon at pitong daang libo ang bilang ng mga Pilipinong walang sapat na pambili ng pagkain. Patuloy nating pagsisikapan na marami pa tayong ma-i-aahon mula sa kahirapan (Almost 2.5 million Filipinos were lifted from poverty. At the same time, there was a 1.7 million reduction in the number of Filipinos who do not have enough to buy food. We will do our best so that a lot more will be lifted out of poverty),” Marcos said.

To sustain the economic gains, Marcos said the government has put in place policies and programs to create an environment conducive for businesses to thrive, like reforms in the capital markets and implementation of “green lanes”.

“As a result, we have “green-lane certified” around a hundred projects with a total investment of about three trillion pesos across the sectors of renewable energy, digital infrastructure, food security, and manufacturing,” he said.

Marcos said the country’s financial system also remains robust and resilient.

“Tax and non-tax revenue collection was also efficient, in pace with our rejuvenated economy,” he added.

Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed that for the first five months of the year, the government’s revenues reached PHP1.9 trillion, up by PHP260.2 billion from last year.

Tax collection during the period amounted to PHP1.6 trillion while non-tax collection reached PHP267 billion.

The latest poverty data show that the government is on track to achieve its poverty reduction target under the Philippine Development Plan, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.

“The most important number that he gave earlier is that poverty is down to 10.9 percent for families and about 15 percent for individuals. We are on track to meet our Philippine Development Plan target that by 2028, we reduce poverty rate to single-digit,” he said on the sidelines of the SONA.

The country is also on track to achieving upper-middle income country status by 2025, he added.

The Philippines is also set to post at least 6 percent growth for this year as projected by the International Monetary Fund.

“Now by 2033, the Philippines will be the 13th largest consumer market in the world that’s why, we are very significant,” Recto added. (PNA)