Optimistic outlook

It's December, and many are reeling not from the increased number of Covid-19 cases, but the fact that 2022 is almost over.

The coronavirus has been around through a campaign period, national elections, super typhoons, and minor storms within a new administration's Cabinet.

After all these, and an economy on the brink, the coronavirus has been relegated to the back of our minds. Eased restrictions and an eagerness to return to normal made people more receptive to the policies and programs laid out by the Marcos Jr. administration.

Looking back at the past 11 months, most Filipinos believe that life is better or, as the results of a recent survey imply, going in the right direction.

The fourth quarter of the 2022 Tugon ng Masa survey of OCTA, as reported in news sites, says "85 percent of Filipino adults said the Philippines is headed in the right direction, with only six percent expressing disagreement."

A report details the following from the survey conducted from 23 to 27 October 2022 with 1,200 adult respondents.: "In the major areas, 91 percent of Filipino adults in the Visayas believe the Chief Executive is steering the country well, while 87 percent in Balance Luzon and 84 percent in Mindanao affirmed this.

"Meanwhile, 70 percent of Filipino adults in the National Capital Region also believe the country is headed in the right direction under the Marcos administration.

"By socio-economic classes, Class D or the lower middle class registered the highest agreement that the country is headed in the right direction, registering 86 percent.

"On the other hand, 81 percent of those under Class E, or the 'poorest of the poor,' and 79 percent of Classes ABC, composed mostly of the upper middle class, believe the country is on the right track under the current administration."

A 7.6-percent growth in the Philippine gross domestic product in the third quarter of 2022 props up this mindset, but does this mean people are experiencing an improvement in their lives?

Prices of basic commodities, while jumping by 2 to 13 percent in the holiday season, according to the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association, Inc., are "normalizing," the government says.

Pump prices, meanwhile, are seen to roll back in the coming days.

Economists are optimistic about 2023, projecting stable growth despite factors affecting the world.