Marcos fumbles legacy — Ibon

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has squandered the economic legacy he pledged to leave to Filipinos at the start of his term in 2022, with indicators pointing to a downturn that could persist until he steps down in 2028, the socioeconomic think tank Ibon Foundation said yesterday.

Sonny Africa, Ibon executive director and an economist, cited a string of indicators showing what amounted to an economic retrogression under Marcos.

These include the slowest economic growth in 17 years outside the Covid-19 pandemic; the weakest peso in the country’s history; the highest inflation in 18 years; the worst self-rated poverty in 23 years; and the worst hunger in 14 years outside the pandemic.

Africa also cited the smallest manufacturing sector in 80 years; agriculture’s lowest share of the gross domestic product (GDP) in history; rising unemployment and underemployment over the past three years; record-high borrowing and debt payments; and the highest national government debt-to-GDP ratio in 22 years.

He chided President Marcos for “making it easy for the Dutertes — the economic legacy he’s building is an economy in decline.”

When he assumed office, Marcos said his ultimate legacy would be defined by meaningful structural reforms that will eradicate hunger and firmly integrate the Philippines into the global market.

He cited his administration’s primary benchmark for economic success as tangible improvements in ordinary citizens’ daily lives.

Marcos then indicated the national government would be a direct partner of the public and the business sector, aiming to steer the country toward comprehensive development.

He underscored that his “dream legacy” is to achieve a nation with “wala nang gutom na Filipino” (no more hungry Filipinos), calling the eradication of hunger the most noble cause his administration could pursue.

“Marcos is also not making it easy for whomever he anoints as a successor or supports, even discreetly, among the pinklawan or others,” Africa continued.

Optics over solutions

Ibon also scored the Marcos administration for putting political optics over factual policymaking, and focusing on the appearance of government action rather than substantially addressing the problems of millions of farmers and fisherfolk.

“Malacañang’s hyped-up programs benefit too few, provide too little, and allow President Marcos to wield substantial public funds at his discretion,” according to Ibon.

The group noted that the discretionary P10-billion Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk, distributed in April 2026, targeted only about 40 percent, or 4.17 million, of the 10.44-million farmers, fisherfolk, and farm workers registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture.

The one-time P2,325 dole-out per beneficiary was hardly enough to cover soaring production costs and living expenses.

For instance, a 50-kg bag of Urea fertilizer now costs P2,269, leaving a rice farmer barely enough for one bag when six to 10 bags are needed per hectare.

The assistance also amounted to less than two days of the P1,277 daily national family living wage average for a family of five to meet their basic needs.

Fertilizer discount vouchers were similarly inadequate at only around P3,400 per hectare, according to Ibon estimates using Department of Agriculture data.

The average prices of commonly used fertilizer have surged. From 23 to 27 February, before the US attack on Iran, to 19 to 23 October, the average price of urea rose by 33 percent, from P1,712 to P2,269, while di-ammonium phosphate increased by 21 percent, from P2,660 to P3,213, according to the research firm.

This has raised average fertilizer costs per hectare to P13,614 and P19,278 for a minimum of six bags, far outpacing the fertilizer discounts.

Fuel assistance is just as meager. Only 300,000 farmers, fisherfolk, and truck drivers delivering agricultural produce will receive one-time fuel subsidies of P5,000 for farmers and fisherfolk and P2,000 for drivers. Yet since the US attacks in the Middle East began, fuel expenses have risen by 40 percent to at least P3,693 for palay production, by 40 percent to over P4,718 for the 30 liters of diesel needed for one fishing trip, and by 50 percent to P8,000 for a two-ton truck transporting vegetables from Benguet to Manila.