Prospects for the maritime industry under the SONA

BEFORE President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s delivery of his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 15, there was anxious expectation marked by optimism among the maritime stakeholders that this time, the maritime industry will be included in the Philippine President's platform of government. The expectation is not without basis, after all, President Marcos Jr. must have acquired that strong affinity to the sea with his ancestral roots founded in the coastal province of Ilocos Norte and the island of Leyte. As governor of Ilocos Norte, he is not oblivious of the beauty of the waters that line the coast of his home province. It is therefore easy to assume he shares the Filipino's pride in being a citizen of the Philippine archipelago.

Another good reason for the high expectation of the maritime stakeholders is grounded on the fact that it was his father, the late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr. who issued Presidential Decree (PD) 474 in 1974 to accelerate the development of the Philippine maritime industry.