THE first 100 days of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. has arrived and the media outlets in the country as well as the various sectors of society have given their candid observations as to what he has accomplished and achieved during that first crucial period of his term.
The significance of this ‘first 100 days of the presidency’ seems to be attached to the level of aggressive and positive action that a president is seen to have taken during his early foray into leading a nation and obviously has more to do with how the public perceives his ability to lead at the onset of his presidency.
The internet tells us that the idea for the ‘100 days of presidency’ actually, and not surprisingly, originated from the good old US of A during the term of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933, Roosevelt, as the 32nd president of the US, was able to pass “15 major pieces of legislation and 76 laws during his first 100 days in office. The first 100 days of the presidency has also become a benchmark of sorts for the efficiency of a president while in office as viewed by the public, and an encouragement for the leader to make a good first impression. (https://www.popsugar.com/news/why-are-first-100-days-important-for-president-48070657)
Now going back to what President Marcos has accomplished during his first 100 days in office, it is important to focus more on the policies that he has set down as reflected in the executive orders he has issued. Again from the internet we know that from June 30, 2022 to September 12, 2022 President Marcos has so far issued five executive orders.
These are:
Executive Order Number 1, which abolished the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary with the explanation of “streamlining official processes and procedures by re-organizing the Office of the President and the various attached agencies and offices, and abolishing duplicated and overlapping official functions”. (https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2022/07jul/20220630-EO-1-FRM.pdf);
Executive Order Number 2, which re-organized and renamed the Presidentical Communications Operations Office and its attached agencies into the Office of the Press Secretary and abolished the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson again with the explanation for the need to “rationalize and consolidate the communications arm of the Administration for a more efficient delivery of public policy to the general public”. (https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2022/07jul/20220630-EO-2-FRM.pdf);
Executive Order Number 3, which allowed the voluntary wearing of facemasks in outdoor settings;
Executive Order Number 4, which directed the implementation of a moratorium on the payment of the principal obligation and interest of the amortization due and payable by agrarian reform beneficiaries with the justification that there is a need to provide continuing economic relief to the agrarian reform beneficiaries due to the disruptive effects of the pandemic and the challenges posed on the production of crops due to the crisis in Ukraine;
Executive Order Number 5, which transferred the attachment of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) with the explanation that “it is the policy of the National Government to rationalize the functional structures of agencies with complementary mandates and promote coordination, efficiency and organizational coherence in the bureaucracy”. (https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2022/09sep/20220916-EO-05-FRM.pdf)
From all the executive orders issued so far, with the exception of EO 3 and EO 5, President Marcos has taken steps to transform the bureaucracy in his administration into a leaner and more responsive structure.
Executive Order Number 5 in particular shows a keen understanding by this administration that the DOLE has more to do and actually complements what the TESDA does in the area of providing job opportunities and skills development training. Previously, the TESDA was attached and under the overall supervision of the DTI which, when a comparison is made of their functions and responsibilities, seems to show a bit of disconnect on how they can actually complement each other. This is what the executive order wanted to correct.
Now, browsing the TESDA website will show you that the agency has so many courses to offer, from digital animation courses to advanced eskrima language courses. In fact TESDA even has its own online program called TOP which is a web based platform offering “free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for the technical education and skills development of Filipino workers.” (https://e-tesda.gov.ph/)
So for those wanting to gain more and better employment opportunities by improving their technical education and skills development, then the free online courses provided by TESDA is a step in the right direction.
On a lighter note, when you browse over the multitude of courses offered by TESDA you might notice that in their business and management courses category there are courses such as “Developing Designs for a Print Media Leading to Visual Graphic Design NC III” and “Developing Designs for an Electronic Media Leading to Visual Graphic Design NC III” which seems to properly belong to their Digital and Animation courses category. Again, in their caregiver courses category you will find a course on “Catfish Induced Spawning” which should properly belong to their Agriculture and Fisheries courses category. (https://car.tesda.gov.ph/tesdacar/list-of-tesda-courses/)
Finally, for those inclined to visit casinos and other legitimate gambling operations of the government, and who might be interested to work in such places, the TESDA even has courses for dealing in Baccarat (Lucky 9), Blackjack, Craps, and roulette.
