MANILA, Philippines – Months ahead of the official campaign period, Senator Grace Poe announced her 20-point agenda when she declared her presidential bid on September 16, 2015, at the Bahay ng Alumni at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City. (READ: Grace Poe: I offer myself as your president)

In her speech, the neophyte senator said it was the marginalized people who inspired her to seek the presidency. With this in mind, she said she is pushing for inclusive growth, global competitiveness, and a transparent government.

“I draw inspiration from everyone of you. You give me strength to pursue a higher post in this country. I believe that growth should be simultaneous. If there’s someone who should be prioritized, it should be the poor and needy,” Poe said in her declaration speech.

She then enumerated her 20 plans of action if elected president. In the next 90 days of the campaign, the challenge for Poe, her running mate Senator Francis Escudero, and her senatorial bets is to discuss their specific plans of actions to achieve these 20 promises.

1. EDUCATION

• Maximize digital technology for education
• Eliminate classroom backlogs
• Expansion of scholarship programs, strengthen the “Study Now, Pay Later” system
• Paid internships for college students (READ: Grace Poe tells Cebuano youth: ‘I will fight for your needs’)

2. AGRICULTURE

• Work on boosting the agricultural sector 
• Irrigation for half a million hectares of land that need it
• Push for mechanization
• Push for an effective program to make fishing, farming, and livestock propagation profitable for farmers and the youth

3. INFRASTRUCTURE

• Priority of her administration
• Strive to increase the annual infrastructure budget to 7% of the gross domestic product 
• Support the private sector in formulating an industrialization and IT plan
• Target to have more products that are made in the Philippines to generate more jobs
• Environment will be considered in plans and projects

4. CORRUPTION

• Continue President Benigno Aquino III’s fight against corruption
• Hold the corrupt accountable, whether they be friend or foe
• Push for the passage of the Freedom of Information bill “at the soonest possible time” to strengthen transparency in government

5. TAXES

• Lower taxes 
• “But if government lowers taxes, we should reciprocate by paying the right taxes. And this I guarantee: Every peso you pay will be returned to you in fast and quality service.”
  

6. WAGES

• Examine fairness of wages and benefits given to workers and government employees
• “Their work and service will suffer while their own families starve. Every worker needs a decent and legal source of income.”

7. ELECTRICITY

• Lower electricity costs
• Ensure sufficient power supply, especially in Mindanao
• Push for the development of renewable energy

8. OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS

• Provide OFWs with proper legal support overseas
• Reduce fees paid by OFWs
• Cut red tape or bureaucratic processes OFWS need to undergo to process their documents

9. CRIME AND DRUGS

• Elimination of drugs and crime is her “personal crusade” as a mother of 3
• Ensure police will have required discipline and skills to catch criminals

10. PEACE PROCESS

• Pursue peace with all groups, even if she is not in favor of the present form of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law
• Provide equal opportunities and genuine assistance to “Moro brothers and sisters” in Mindanao

11. HUMAN RIGHTS

• Respect for human rights
• Promise “not to be blind to the conditions of vulnerable sectors” such as persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, urban poor, women, youth and children, the LGBT sector, and senior citizens

12. HEALTH

• Ensure each community has “a proper hospital, staffed with enough doctors, nurses, and midwives, and with all the necessary equipment and supplies”
• Ensure expanded health benefits through PhilHealth

13. NATIONAL TERRITORY

• Fight for the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) through peaceful means, according to international law (READ: Grace Poe: Let’s pursue other ties with China)
• Strengthen Coast Guard and Armed Forces

14. TRAFFIC SITUATION

• Promise to end heavy traffic
• Provide coats and boots for traffic enforcers
• Remove all colorum and illegally parked vehicles
• Implement staggered office hours
• Ensure timely completion of all roadwork and fire contractors who fail to finish on time

15. MORE TRAINS IN THE COUNTRY

• Build more roads and trains not only in Metro Manila but all over the country
• Clean drainage
• Ensure train projects will be awarded to worthy contractors. (Poe called for the resignation of Transporatation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya over incessant problems with the Metro Rail Transit-3 [MRT3].)

16. INTERNET

• Establish fast Internet connection to ensure productivity of workers and students, and to enable families to connect with relatives abroad

17. ARTS, CULTURE, AND SPORTS

• Support artists, athletes, writers, and performers, among others
• “We should never give up on our dream to win an Olympic gold medal”

18. CLIMATE CHANGE

• Establish a separate Emergency Management Department that will focus on national preparedness, climate change, and geo-mapping.

19. TOURISM

• Strengthen the tourism sector by providing sufficient infrastructure and building more airports

20. CHILDREN

• Push for the institutionalization of a Standard Lunch Program in all public schools nationwide, something that she pushed for as a senator. Poe filed Senate Bill 79 or the Sustansya sa Batang Pilipino Act of 2013. – Rappler.com