The next president can protect you and your livelihood by preparing for these challenges in advance, setting clear policy directions and implementing strategic responses. PHVote WeDecide
The country is in a deep hole. We are living in a state of multiple crises: health, economy, climate, and food production.
“The elections are very important because [the next administration] will inherit a situation where the pandemic remains a challenge, the economy is down, and there’s a lot that needs fixing in the government’s pandemic response,” Ronald Mendoza, outgoing dean of the Ateneo School of Government, told the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism .
“If we don’t have any new variants, it is good for the world and that’s what we hope for. But we cannot base public policy on hope,” he said. If there’s one thing Mendoza wants to get rid of immediately, it’s Duterte’s harmful rhetoric during his midnight speeches. Do you remember when he downplayed the threat from COVID-19 and when he pushed for local cures and practices without scientific basis?
If the country’s COVID-19 cases continue to stay low, and there are no new variants that threaten new surges, the next president’s main task will be to expedite economic recovery. All this requires more spending, but the next president will need to overcome at least two handicaps at the start of his or her term.
The economy grew as “the rising star in the Asia Pacific” under the late President Benigno Aquino II, an economist by training. His administration managed to lower global risk perception of the Philippines, resulting in credit rating upgrades that lowered the cost of borrowings needed to finance growth.
While the pandemic was an “act of God,” Mendoza said the economic scarring would not have been as bad if government response was able to balance public health with the need to keep the economy running. Mendoza feared that “bad governance” would be worse for the countryside. He pushed for transparency and accountability in the use of government funds.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed the country’s dependence on food imports. Vietnam, the country’s top supplier of rice, has also shown a decline in production.
“This is going to really slow down economic recoveries everywhere. After two years of really slow economic growth if not contraction in several countries, energy prices are going to soar,” he said. Nomura Global Markets Research downgraded its growth forecast for the country to 6.3% from 6.8% this year. The research firm projected consumer spending to dampen due to inflation that it said could reach 4.6% in 2022.
“For Indonesia and the Philippines which have growing populations, and both rely on imports, food prices are going to go up so everything from your bread to your rice, to your pastas, all that food stuff’s gonna go up. Cooking oils, whether sunflower seed or vegetable oils, will go up,” he said.After Typhoon “Odette” rampaged through Philippine regions before Christmas 2021, 405 people were reported dead, over a thousand were injured, and over 800,000 were evacuated.
The national government is needed to coordinate relief efforts, whether it’s assessing the impact, restoring communication and power lines, clearing operations, or distributing relief goods, she said. “A lot of the populations that are in waterways and esteros are willing to move as long as [they are given] in-city relocation, which provides all of the basic services which you require to live.”
What is needed is a people-centered adaptation to climate change, which takes into consideration people’s needs, she said. The next president will need to address these problems holistically and comprehensively, said Fernandez. There is a need to review existing national policies on adaptation and mitigation as there are many good laws such as the National Climate Action Plan that are not being implemented, she said.The death of 17-year-old student Kian delos Santos in August 2017 symbolized the brutality of President Rodrigo Duterte’s “drug war.” He was shot in the head twice as he begged for his life.
The violence that Duterte unleashed in his drug war was just the beginning. The culture of impunity spread to other government institutions, leading to a collapse in the rule of law. Duterte also targeted civil society, demonizing human rights organizations and civic groups. “It’s almost like every front, there was a destruction of the institutions of democracy in the Philippines,” Conde said.
Externally, he or she should rejoin the International Criminal Court and resume engagements with the European Union, the United States Government, and the UN Human Rights Council. The education sector also needs to catch up with the ongoing “fourth industrial revolution” or the “internet of things,” said Mendoza. It’s the future of technology where everyday devices are connected to the web for convenience and will require the labor force to acquire new skills.
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