President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. during his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday assured that the laptops the government promised to teachers are arriving soon.

This, he said, was part of the government’s investments to address the educational needs of Filipino students.

The government, through the Department of Education, will also provide technological support that comes along with the laptops, he said.

The President also said that the government has already opened 22,000 classrooms as he promises to provide more.

Marcos also promised to hire more school counselors to address the growing problem of bullying and depression in schools.

Likewise, Marcos Jr. said rice would soon be sold at P20 a kilo in KADIWA stores nationwide as the government has allotted P113 billion to expand the program.

Marcos noted that the P20 per kilo rice program was rolled out in provinces like Pangasinan, Cavite, Occidental Mindoro, Cebu, Bacolod, Guimaras, Siquijor, and Davao del Sur.

The government is currently selling P20/kilo rice to certain marginalized sectors, including persons with disabilities (PWDs), solo parents, 4Ps beneficiaries, and senior citizens.

Farmers, however, have been taking a hit from the program, as traders have been using the P20/kilo rice as an excuse to push palay prices lower.

Marcos told traders attempting to manipulate rice prices: “Hahabulin namin kayo, dahil ang ginagawa niyo ay economic sabotage.”

Marcos also said  that the government would seek accountability for the poor water service reported in parts of the country.

While the President did not mention any firm, the LWUA earlier this year probed complaints on the services of Villar-owned Primewater Infrastructure Corp., which  secured agreements with 74 water districts in Batangas, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Cabanatuan, Tarlac, Camarines Norte, Subic, among others.

Around 20 to 30 water districts expressed desire to rescind their contracts, the Palace had said.

Marcos this month approved LWUA’s recommendations related to the issue.

PrimeWater in May said it was committed to “cooperating fully with LWAU” and welcomed “any opportunity for an open and meaningful dialogue to resolve concerns.”

In the meantime, Marcos said big projects were in the pipeline to ensure sufficient and clean supply of water throughout the country.

He said that innovative technology would be used to filter and purify water, especially those residing on islands.