Turning point

Based on independent surveys, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. continues to hold the nation’s trust with the majority of Filipinos giving him their vote of approval, but rising concerns about basic issues were shown moving in parallel to the slight decline in his ratings.

The two years after he assumed the Presidency were focused mainly on the problem of prices and availability of basic commodities plus regaining the country’s territorial integrity. The polls showed that the President should do more to tame inflation.

A Pulse Asia survey showed that PBBM received the lowest support when it comes to controlling inflation, with only five percent of respondents in favor of his administration’s efforts thus far. This is reflective of the assessment that the unmet vow of a P20-per-kilo rice remains a pain point for his administration.

The other top issues that should be addressed, based on the survey that was taken in June, were reducing graft and corruption, increasing workers’ pay, eliminating hunger, and creating jobs. All other problems, including reducing criminality were secondary to those who responded to the survey.

Respondents, when asked about the issues they wanted the President to address in the State of the Nation Address (SoNA), nonetheless, included the actions to stop the incursion of other countries into Philippine territory.

A pleasant surprise in the poll was that the perception of peace and order was not as bad as painted by his critics, particularly on addressing the drug problem.

It is not the time for complacency, nonetheless, as another survey showed 58 percent of Filipinos consider themselves poor.

According to the Social Weather Stations, the figure was the highest since June 2008.

With a growing population and one of the youngest average age of its citizens, the Philippines is at a make-or-break point since the demographic sweet spot can either be a pivotal advantage or a curse depending largely on the policies to address it.

The huge number of young working-age Filipinos becomes a liability if the generation of jobs does not match the growth in the labor market.

While other Asian nations grapple with the shrinking labor force as their population ages, the Philippines has the advantage of a surplus of skilled labor, which is the reason for Filipinos taking jobs that are way below their qualifications in exchange for good pay.

Thus, the Marcos administration must craft the right policies to attract decent investors who are willing to stay for the long haul instead of the likes of the online gaming and scam operations that indeed bring in money but at a huge cost to society as what has been revealed in the various Congress investigations.

While waiting for the proposals to relax restrictive provisions in the Constitution to hurdle the scrutiny of Congress, the President can take steps to address the investment bottlenecks and for the government to directly get involved in job generation.

The basic poverty alleviation program, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) should be reoriented towards job generation to create sustainable work instead of handing out monthly doleouts.

While many beneficiaries will oppose such a move since receiving money from the government periodically is preferable than toiling for it, the hard decision should be made since it involves the strong future of many families.

The huge amount of about P105 billion that went into the anti-poverty program would be enough to finance small businesses that, in turn, can generate jobs for each poor community.

The Small Business Corp. under the Department of Trade Industry, for instance, has been active in promoting lending to business startups and micro industries but it does not have enough funds to go around with.

The road ahead remains filled with uncertainties as the geopolitical climate remains turbulent that will be made more challenging with the expected radical change in US leadership after the November polls.

The insistence of the government to stand on its own, by declining the assistance of the United States in the territorial conflict, has been commendable, as it reflects the firm resolve to stand on the country’s own.

PBBM, in sum, has strong achievements that he can use to build on, in terms of more gains for the country during the rest of his term.