“Manhid, walang pakiramdam!” (“Insensitive, no empathy”).
Political analyst Dennis Coronacion delivered this blunt indictment of the Marcos government over its insistence that the Philippines is not in crisis, even as oil shocks from the Middle East conflict ripple across the globe.
The chair of the University of Santo Tomas Political Science Department told DAILY TRIBUNE’S digital program Usapang OFW that the government denies clashes with the harsh realities faced by Filipinos.
He said the war of the United States and Israel against Iran, and its economic, social, and geopolitical fallout, is putting all Filipinos, including 2.4 million overseas workers in the Middle East, at risk amid the air strikes and possible job losses.
“The problem is we are not prepared,” Coronacion, also a DAILY TRIBUNE columnist, said, citing reports that OFWs sent $6.5 billion in remittances last year. If hostilities persist, jobs will vanish, remittances will shrink and millions of families will feel the squeeze, he said.
At home, the damage is just beginning, he lamented. He said rising oil prices is not only at the pump, it cascades through transport, food, and basic services. Likewise, he said, inflation worsens, wages lag, and households absorb the blow.
Coronacion said the country’s exposure is alarming, with fuel reserves down to 45 days from 60 days when the conflict erupted, far below the 90-day international standard.
He pointed to structural flaws, including deregulation that limits state control over supply and pricing. He said it is time to repeal or amend the Oil Deregulation Law, which allows oil firms to set prices largely unchecked.
Coronacion urged Filipinos to shift to “crisis mode” by tightening their spending, while rejecting the tired script of “resilience” used to excuse weak governance.
For OFWs, the choice is cruel: stay and risk death, or return home to uncertainty, he said.