THE big three “NO”s in the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand R. Marcos probably got the most applause at the Batansan Pambansa last July 22.

I have discussed the first “NO” – No to POGOs — in my previous column. Now, this corner will deal with the second “NO”– No to Extermination – before it tackles the third “NO” – No to Intruders.

In one of the most applauded segments of his SONA, President Marcos remarked that “extermination” was never part of his drug war strategy.

His drug war strategy will remain “bloodless.”

“Our bloodless war on dangerous drugs adheres, and will continue to adhere, to the established ‘8 Es’ of an effective anti-illegal drugs strategy,” President Marcos said.

“Extermination was never one of them,” he added.

Yet under President Marcos’ term, more than 71,500 operations resulted in the seizure of more than PhP44 billion worth of illegal drugs.

It also led to the arrest of more than 97,000 drug personalities. More than 6,000 of those arrested were high-value targets.

Some 440 of them were government employees, of whom 42 were uniformed personnel. Seventy-seven were elected officials.

To further paralyze their operations, dirty money and assets worth more than five hundred million pesos have been frozen and preserved.

With strong case build-up and efficient prosecution, the drug conviction rate is at a high of seventy-nine percent.

More importantly, the number of drug-affected barangays in the Philippines has been reduced by thirty-two percent.

All of these were accomplished under the administration of President Marcos without shedding blood.

The President knows the significance of life preservation.

Meanwhile, government workers celebrated upon the announcement of President Marcos in his SONA about a new medical allowance for state employees.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reaffirmed such provision, saying it has set aside some P9.5 billion for the new medical allowance of government employees.

In a statement, the DBM said the appropriation was allocated under the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund for 2025 and is set to benefit over a million state workers.

Government workers will each receive a medical allowance as a subsidy to avail Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) benefits or HMO-type benefits, the DBM said.

The medical allowance can be used for various medical services, helping public employees be prepared for any health-related emergencies, it added.

This covers employees under national government agencies, State Universities and Colleges, and Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations of the Executive department.

The President also reported on the the four-tranche increase in the salaries of government workers.

According to the DBM, the President will issue an Executive Order detailing the salary hike.

A total of P70 billion has been allotted in the 2025 National Expenditure Program to ensure the implementation of the 1st and 2nd tranches of the salary increase.

The last time salaries of government workers were increased was in 2023, the fourth and last tranche of the Salary Standardization Law of 2019, which started in 2020.

Mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas!

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AUTHOR PROFILE

Mario Fetalino Jr.