Incoming Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said he will listen how President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will address inflation, a COVID-19 recovery program and the economy, particularly agriculture.

Marcos will deliver his address on Monday at 4 pm at the Batasang Pambansa.

Zubiri said that he expects Marcos to say how the cost of goods can be lowered.

“How do we arrest inflation? And how do we bring down the cost of goods all across the board whether it’s food, fuel, energy. Because the cost of electricity is rising. Gasoline is expensive. Food is expensive. How do we lower their cost?” he told dzBB.

“The whole world, not just us, but even our ASEAN neighbors and first world countries are also having this problem,” he added.

Zubiri also expects Marcos to discuss his COVID-19 vaccination program against the new variants, how to revive economic growth and boost the agricultural sector, and if he will continue former President Rodrigo Duterte's Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.

He said once Marcos mentions his priority measures , the Upper Chamber can pass these immediately.

“As the Senate President, hopefully I will become Senate President tomorrow. We will wait for the legislative roadmap of our beloved president. What are his priority measures so that we can pass these bills, ” Zubiri said.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the President is mandated to deliver a SONA message yearly where he reports about the state of the country, reveals his administration’s agenda for the coming year and recommends legislative measures to the Congress. Jaspearl Tan/DMS