The Philippines used to be described as the sick man of Asia. This was back in the day when it was left behind by the ASEAN 5 in terms of economic growth. We enjoyed stellar billing being the only US colony in the region. Much of the groundwork was laid down by the Spaniards who were our original colonizers for three hundred years. We were a part of history of one of the major European powers from the Middle Ages up to the point when the New World emerged and its founder became our colonizer as well but World War II destroyed much of the infrastructure built by the Spaniards and Americans and we had the misfortune of having leaders who were more concerned with recouping the wealth they lost without any vision for the country. Upholding the status quo was the norm.
The elite have always disdained leaders who don’t come from its ranks. We have seen that with Magsaysay, Garcia, Macapagal and Marcos. It was Apo Lakay who kept his hold on power the longest because of his intellect and the pursuit of his vision but he fell prey to hubris as well, which caused his downfall. The blame isn’t entirely on him because the Americans played a role in it since they never really left despite the grant of independence. In their minds, the Philippines was still a possession of theirs to be used to their advantage. This is where the Stockholm syndrome of the opposition liberals more convincing than Robredo likening the country to a battered wife under Rodrigo Duterte.
The infrastructure lost in World War II was only rebuilt during the Marcos Presidency. It couldn’t have come at a better time because the population was growing. While the Philippines was the Pearl of the Orient before the war, its luster was lost during the war and was never regained. After thirty years of rule by the old establishment, it was only in 2016 that the will of the people was in force again after it was thwarted in 2001 and 2004 with the ouster of Erap and the loss of FPJ at the polls.
If we want to become truly progressive, we have to stop being our own worst enemy and being constantly at war with ourselves. This is why I liken the opposition to narcissists who have a constant need for chaos and conflict. There is no peace with them unless they have their way.
We face the specter of the continuing pandemic with the discovery of the new variant, Omicron, which is more contagious than Delta. It is presently the dominant variant in the US and Europe now and is present in eighty-nine countries. This means that there will continuing economic uncertainty in 2022.
As if this wasn’t enough, Supertyphoon Odette leveled parts the Visayas and Mindanao flat. The death count continues to go up while thousands of families have been left homeless and without their livelihoods. They are also coping the shortage of basic necessities – food, water, clothing and shelter. Relief, rehabilitation and recovery are going to take some time but there should be a sense of urgency on the part of the government given the need to continuously enforce minimum health protocols.
We need a President who knows what needs to be done from Day One, who can hit the ground running and has the gravitas to get the government bureaucracy to move with the appointment of officials who are as competent, qualified and dedicated as him to make good on what has been committed to the Filipinos.
Pulse Asia released the results of its latest survey and it shows Marcos with a commanding lead over Robredo. But what is interesting is, it asks the question about the second choice of voters if the preferred candidate is sidelined for whatever reason.
The results are interesting because Leni Robredo is not the first choice of voters. Isko Moreno is, followed closely by Ping Lacson and Leni Robredo. What’s more interesting is the undecided goes up from 5% to 23% in the same scenario. To my mind, this means that there are still some “hard” voters who can still switch to another candidate down the road. When the official campaign period begins in February, you can expect the candidates to start changing tact; they will be more aggressive and some will resort to tricks in order to get more traction. Some will be successful but others won’t be because they have hit their ceiling.
We can’t afford to have an inexperienced President at the helm. Rodrigo Duterte may have been a Mayor only but as a street-smart lawyer, he was more than qualified in terms of governance. His management style was suited for higher office because he had a network of contemporaries who served in government past and present. He didn’t have difficulty in forming a Cabinet and he was quick to fire those who couldn’t deliver on what he wanted. Robredo is the best example. She was fired as Housing Czar in November 2016. Duterte got the job done because of his leadership skills which include knowing how to get the bureaucracy to move whenever he needs to get it to do so. Anyone who has been in government will tell you it is not for the faint of heart. If you think politicians are bad, there are career bureaucrats who are worst than the politicians in office.
Bongbong Marcos is the sentimental favorite. The opposition still doesn’t realize that casting the Marcos’ as their bogeymen has backfired on them immensely. They are the best campaigners the Marcos’ could hope for. The contradictory nature of their argument, Marcos magnanakaw while having not much to show during their tenure, as opposed to Marcos, has voters telling the opposition go take a hike. Even the youth and millennials appear to be inclined to vote for Marcos.
Alex Magno had this to say about the Pulse Asia Survey “The discussion did not even touch on the electoral prospects of the lesser candidates. It seemed these businessmen are assuming that it is all over except for the actual voting. The lead indicated by the preference surveys is simply insurmountable. These hard-nosed businessmen were more interested in speculating on the composition of the Marcos II Cabinet.
There are not likely to be early answers to the curiosities of businessmen. Having achieved a majority of voter preference, the Marcos campaign will tend to be very conservative in its strategy and tactics. It will concentrate on consolidating the voters already won to its side. Local alliances will be the principal tool for doing that.“
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez has outlined what the next administration faces as it will have to continue with what they have begun and also contend with the most serious problems facing the country as a result of the pandemic.
Dominguez: Next president must address huge debt, high inflation, bigger inequality, climate risks
The challenge the next President faces is to build upon what Duterte has accomplished by continuing with the focus on infrastructure development by maintaining the spending at 5% of the GDP, initiating bureaucratic reform through digitization, ensuring the efficient use of public funds by minimizing corruption and downloading the same to the LGUs for regional development, setting up the structure for food and energy security and making the country more attractive to foreign direct investment.
Given this, Filipinos need to be rid of deciding who to vote for on the basis of emotion and popularity and focus instead on platforms, plans of action and policy. We can’t afford to entrust our future and that of the country to a President who will not know what to do once he or she is in office. We need a President who has the vision, the foresight and the capacity to steer the country in a clear direction for the good of ALL FILIPINOS.
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