Confronted by crises, Philippine Prez Marcos delivers state of nation speech

Manila: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is delivering his state of the nation speech while confronting diverse crises midway through

his six-year term, including recent deadly storms with more than 120,000 people encamped in emergency shelters, turbulent ties with the vice president and escalating territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.

About 22,000 policemen were deployed Monday to secure the House of Representatives complex in suburban Quezon city in the capital region before Marcos’ address to both chambers of Congress, top government and military officials and diplomats.

Thousands of protesters staged rallies to highlight a wide range of demands from higher wages due to high inflation to the immediate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over a raft of alleged crimes.

Marcos’ rise to power in mid-2022, more than three decades after an

army-backed “People Power” revolt overthrew his father from office and into global infamy, was one of the most dramatic political comebacks.

But he inherited a wide range of problems, including an economy that was one of the worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which worsened poverty, unemployment, inflation and hunger.