The Philippine Star

Our uncanny politics

This time of the year between Christmas and New Year is a Dead Week of sorts, when homes are a bit quiet compared to the frantic schedule the whole year round; cities are less crowded and some families are out on vacation.

Society is on a pause of sorts and people don’t really want to do much or accomplish anything, resigned to the fact that what’s done is done.

It’s also a good time to take stock of the year that would soon be over.

Now how can we talk about 2023 without discussing politics and how it took centerstag­e for the most part of the year?

While both camps are denying it to the high heavens, it’s obvious that the much touted UniTeam Alliance, the electoral alliance between the Marcos and Duterte camps, is now a thing of the past.

And we’re of course treated to a ringside view of the conflict, as gripping and as tense as a Manny Pacquiao boxing fight.

I say treated because, admit or not, here in our Republic of Marites, we love being spectators in our dirty political arena. If, as Marx said, religion is the opium of the masses, politics, no doubt, is the opiate of the rest of the population.

And as I said, what a gripping boxing match it has been or still is.

There’s the House of Representa­tives’ successful move to strip Vice President Sara Duterte’s offices of confidenti­al funds.

Rody Duterte came to the rescue of his daughter Sara, saying with all certainty that the realignmen­t was politicall­y motivated and related to the 2028 presidenti­al polls where President Marcos’ cousin and House Speaker Martin Romualdez and the Vice President are perceived as frontrunne­rs.

And then there’s Sara Duterte recently criticizin­g President Marcos for reopening peace talks with communist rebels in what marks as her first major public rebuttal of the President and his administra­tion’s policies.

And then there’s the move of the House against Sonshine Media Network Internatio­nal whose program hosts have used their platform to red-tag activists and some media organizati­ons. I don’t agree with the revocation of the franchise but I agree that the network should be investigat­ed for all the fake news and red-tagging it has unleashed. Changes must be implemente­d.

Silver lining

There is a silver lining in all these moves. At last, past actions of the Duterte administra­tion are now being rectified.

Clearly, the Dutertes’ unparallel­ed arrogance was no match for the stars that aligned at the House. Suddenly progressiv­e lawmakers and the powers-that-be have become strange bedfellows. Ah, welcome to our land of the bizarre.

Bad news is that this is happening largely because of politics and as I said earlier, policy changes that are motivated by politics may not really be sustainabl­e.

It would have been better if accountabi­lity and justice were the primary motivation­s to correct misdeeds of past administra­tions.

My fearless forecast is this politickin­g will continue throughout the new year.

Social concerns

We can only hope our policymake­rs and lawmakers won’t be so distracted that they forget there are a lot of pressing social concerns – from the worsening crisis in education to low economic productivi­ty to food security, not to mention a possible resurgence of COVID-19.

As the recent GlobalSour­ce report by former central bank deputy governor Diwa Guinigundo and Wilhelmina Mañalac noted, the latest Business Expectatio­ns Survey showed that Philippine businesses remained modestly positive in their outlook for the current quarter compared to the previous quarter as measured through the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Confidence Index. The index was up by only 0.1 percentage point in Q4 2023 (35.9) compared to Q3 (35.8).

There is tempered optimism, no thanks to the negative effect of the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, inflation and higher interest rates.

Thus, next year could be an even more difficult year if the downside risks to the economy such as higher inflation and lack of jobs materializ­e.

GlobalSour­ce has likewise warned: “We doubt whether the government has a solution to the prolonged El Niño dry spell next year using better rice production technology.”

“This is one of the tasks cut out for the new economic czar Frederick Go – to orchestrat­e the deployment of public policy to mitigate pressing social concerns, not the least of which is attaining food security within the context of sustained economic growth,” it also said.

There is so much to do indeed and I hope our uncanny politics does not get in the way.

There’s only the whole of 2024 to get as many critical reforms as possible done because by 2025, our politicos will be busy preparing for the midterm elections.

What I fervently hope to see are more actions, not early campaign photo-ops; more reforms and less politickin­g; more policy changes for the better and less graft and corruption; more jobs for Filipinos, not just investment pledges.

As it is now, this country’s institutio­ns have been bastardize­d and co-opted by selfish and self-serving politician­s and corrupted to the core. But all is not lost. Hope springs eternal, as I always say. This is etched in my heart like a tattoo because I believe in it as much as I believe in our country and our people’s full potential.

But we all need to believe in it and demand for the changes that we deserve so that someday soon, our beloved home country will finally be the great nation that it should be.