Tomorrow will mark the first month in office of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in office. How’s he doing so far?
Considering the circumstances, well enough. Marcos is fresh from delivering his first SONA, which was generally well-received as a departure from the bombast which accompanied his predecessor’s address to the nation.
Naysayers have said that he didn’t address other key issues such as human rights and the insurgency. Others have said that he underestimates the gravity of the crises the nation is facing in agriculture and education. It just goes to show you can’t please everyone.
But one wonders how the DepEd will be able to implement face-to-face classes in light of an increase in the number of Covid cases again. This is due to BA.5, which is the latest variant sweeping across the globe. It is now the dominant variant in the US and Europe and is believed to be the cause of the same uptick in the number of cases in countries in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China and Japan.
Cost-push inflation is driving up prices of basic commodities. The economic managers are behind the curve as real inflation is actually higher than forecasts. The average Pinoy feels it everytime he goes to the talipapa or the neighborhood supermarket. More money is spent for less number of items which is basic. Unfortunately, external factors are beyond the control of the Marcos administration.
The culprits are the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict which is why we have higher commodities and oil prices. No country is spared from the predicament. Adapting and coping are the operative words in the present environment.
The opposition is blaming Marcos for everything which is nothing new. Three consecutive election cycles have seen them suffering defeat after defeat but they’re a sucker for punishment. They never learn. The very definition of stupid is their strategy. It doesn’t look like they will become relevant any time soon.
This early, there are reports that all is not well in Marcos’ inner circle. It would appear that there will be an early revamp at the Palace and the team of economic managers.
Benhur Abalos will supposedly replace Victor Rodriguez as Executive Secretary. Rodriguez will supposedly replace Anton Lagdameo as Special Assistant to the President. Arsenio Balisacan will be replaced as NEDA chief. The same is true with the Press Secretary.
The earthquake which hit Abra on Wednesday was the first test of Marcos’ mettle. During the briefing he presided over at the Palace, Marcos said he will not be visiting the quake-hit province yet but he was on a plane early in the morning yesterday bound for Abra.
The meeting with local officials and representatives of national government departments and agencies in Bangued revealed that seven isolated barangays in the province were not yet reached because there were no helicopters deployed to the province. They were still at the various camps of AFP’s Northern Luzon Command. The commanding officer of NOLCOM had the temerity to tell the officials present that everything had to be coordinated with NOLCOM with regard to their availabe aircraft and personnel.
This had Sen. Imee Marcos almost blowing her top. She went straight for the jugular in advising her brother that perhaps, the NDRRMC could be converted into an authority of some sort in order to get things done, seeing as how again the national government agencies were still arguing about the four Ws of disaster response.
The feistiest Marcos even took a dig at her own cousin, the Speaker of the House, when she commented that there is a difference mindset when it comes to Ilokanos and Warays, referring to the proposal to create a department of disaster response which Imee said would only be a waste of a money with a minimum of five Undersecretary’s and more Assistant Secretary’s on the payroll.
You have to admire the patience of the President and the Speaker. They didn’t bother to put the Senator in her proper place. The Manang of the President has always been outspoken even during the time of her father. Some would say that this behavior is arsenic, er, acerbic rather. It’s best not to go into that topic that is urban legend to us boomers.
At any rate, PFRMJ acquitted himself well-enough in his first outing. There will always be the comparison made with the benchmark that is Tatay, now the legend retired in Davao. Marcos isn’t exactly Tatay material to begin with so there is no basis of comparison.
After almost a month, the power blocs in the Marcos administration are being defined. Imee is a force unto herself. The Malacanan inner circle is subject to revamp. Sandro is working closely with Uncle Martin. This is the fusion of the Executive and Legislative which hopefully will result in the House of Representatives working their asses off to pass Marcos’ 19 priority bills passed into law.
As far as the Senate goes, not all of them have even issue the customary press release of prayers and support. This is another reason why the Senate should be abolished. We are better off with a unicameral legislature.
August is the start of the budget season and the ghost month. We should expect a P6T proposed national expenditure program for 2023 to focus on agriculture, education and infrastructure. Let’s see if the budget can be passed before the Christmas break.
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