Where’s the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ we were promised?
The President has only two years left in his term. Two years to turn promises into reality. Two years to rebuild the trust that has all but evaporated.
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The President has only two years left in his term. Two years to turn promises into reality. Two years to rebuild the trust that has all but evaporated.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has delivered his fifth State of the Nation Address (SoNA). Like last year, the perennial problem of flooding and the massive flood control scandal continue to cast a dark shadow over his administration.
In the past weeks leading up to the SoNA, thousands “flooded” the streets of Metro Manila in protest against the Marcos administration and its perceived persecution of the opposition.
Lost in the equation, ordinary people are still asking how the government can ease hunger, poverty, rising fuel and electricity costs. Yet, in the halls of the Batasang Pambansa, the President spoke proudly of how his administration has ushered in progress for the nation.
Marcos opened by touting the gains of the crackdown on flood control corruption he exposed last year with his “Mahiya naman kayo!” speech. He reported that arrests have been made and cases have been filed. That nearly P25 billion has been recovered or frozen and over P800 million has been returned to the National Treasury, albeit without disclosing how the recovered funds would translate to benefits for the people.
But for the millions of Filipinos who continue to wade through floodwaters every rainy season, they ask: when will the flood control projects be completed? When will they sleep soundly knowing their homes and lives will not be swept away in the blink of an eye? The sad reality is that flash floods continue, just recently in Sarangani, Cotabato and Davao, and so soon after the devastating Mindanao earthquakes.
The President’s numbers tell a damning story. His trust rating has plummeted again. A pre-SoNA poll showed majority of Filipinos believe the government does not understand their problems, that it does not listen, and that it cannot solve pressing issues. Many no longer trust that the Marcos Jr. presidency can deliver on any of its promises.
And yet, the President has come before us to make new promises. Tax relief — raising the personal income tax exemption from P250,000 to P350,000. Removing system loss charges from electricity bills. Expanding the P20-per-kilo rice program. Completing land title distributions and canceling agrarian reform debts.
While welcome (and much overdue), these proposals were met with much cynicism. To date, only one (the resetting of BARMM elections) of 52 priority bills endorsed by the President has been enacted by the 20th Congress. Many of the bills that have hurdled the House have remained pending in the Senate due to the chaos in the chamber.
The President has only two years left in his term. Two years to turn promises into reality. Two years to rebuild the trust that has all but evaporated. Two years left to vindicate the Marcos name and leave a lasting positive legacy. The public has grown increasingly cynical of this administration and its empty promises.
The SoNA is but once a year, but every single day our government is expected to make good on its mandate and its promises — on every flooded street, for every empty stomach, in every bill that cannot be paid.
The President spoke of accountability. But what about his own accountability? He said so himself, he is not the president of his family or his friends, he is the president of all Filipinos — and he should act like it.
The people deserve to reap results — a palpable improvement in their quality of life.
