Three BBM gains in 30 months

After 30 months as president, Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. has scored three remarkable achievements:

One, he consolidated power and strengthened his political base by cutting down to size the biggest challenge to his presidency, the Dutertes; demolishing the biggest source of graft and organized crime, the Philippine online gaming operation or POGO and setting the stage for the largest winner-take-all mid-year election ever, which his Ang Bagong Pilipinas coalition is expected to dominate.

Preparing for this electoral Armageddon, BBM has harnessed the best resource a president has at his command – the budget, which is the largest ever, in total amount, P6.352 trillion; in allocation to public works, P1.033 trillion, and in money to be dispensed by politicians to the poor (AKAP, Ayuda sa Kapos Ang Kita Program, from zero as legislated by the bicam to suddenly, P26 billion under the DSWD; and P44.74 billion for Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation).

Two, putting the economy on an even keel (5.9 percent growth in 2024, second best in ASEAN), with a focus on ensuring adequate food supply, deft management of inflation and creating an environment where Big Business has become a strong partner of government to achieve inclusive growth and bring poverty down to single digit by the end of his presidency.

Three, fortifying the needed regional political and security alliances in the Indo-Pacific amid intensifying geopolitical tension and a more assertive China determined to challenge the world’s only superpower today.

During an election, so many voters feel an economic crisis. They go to the politicians who give them money and who the voters embrace warmly. “Bait mo, sir.” A moving experience.

In governance, our politicians have discovered, the best way to help the poor and the near poor is give them cash. After all, the poor have no need for fancy roads, fancy bridges and fancy computers. They don’t use such infra in their daily lives. But cash? It’s king – both for the poor and for the politicians.

The 2025 budget is a classic in its creativity. Items that normally should be the responsibility of departments like Education (P14.7 billion), Defense (P6.25 billion), Health (P8.337 billion), Agriculture (P2.707 billion) and Transportation (P33.07 billion) are under the Public Works and Highways. “Public” here is sarcasm. Most transactions are done privately, with little transparency.

The US parked missiles and its soldiers (thanks to nine EDCA sites) in the Philippines. Japan agreed to help patrol the West Philippine Sea, as the navies of the US, Japan and the Philippines become interoperable. Australia agreed that in case of war in the West Philippine Sea, it will join the fray. Only Canberra and Washington DC have bilateral Status of Forces Agreements with Manila, which allow the two countries to undertake joint exercises, high-level visits, dialogues and exchanges. Australia will conduct joint naval patrols in the resource-rich strategic waters.

The massive fall of the Dutertes from political grace was partly self-inflicted, thanks to hubris, and partly the machination of BBM cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, who set up the quad committee to look into extrajudicial killings, corruption and other abuses during the six-year Rodrigo Duterte presidency and during the Davao mayorship of Sara Duterte. The quad is the biggest anti-criminality investigation ever by Congress in its 117 years.

After five months of hearings, the quad concluded Duterte used his war on drugs or extrajudicial killings (with up to 30,000 murdered) merely as a cover to manage a huge illegal drugs business which became a family enterprise. A separate House committee exposed how Sara Duterte, as vice president and as secretary of education, misused P615 million in confidential and intelligence funds, much of it given to hundreds of fictitious persons with names of fancy restaurants and junk food. Sara faces no less than three impeachment complaints. The mere filing of the complaints indicates she is dead meat, politically.

BBM’s biggest electoral promise in 2022 was rice at P20 per kilo. He should have clarified that promise. Yes, rice price reached P20 per kilo (P17.35 average in mid-2022), if you bought directly from the farmers, the farmgate. But poor logistics, rice cartels and sudden tightening in the world’s rice export market tripled local retail rice prices to P64 per kilo in 2024.

Half of BBM’s inflation problems is rice. Food is half of the poor’s consumer expenditure basket called Consumer Price Index. Apparently, he will lick the food price spiral problem.

Inflation cooled in the whole of 2024, to 3.2 percent, from 6 percent in 2023 and 5.8 percent in 2022 after coming from a low of 0.7 percent in 2015. “Efforts to temper inflation have largely been successful,” gushed Economic Planning Secretary Arsi Balisacan.

Chimed in House ways and means chair Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda: “The rice price situation is showing signs of improvement.”

He notes that “month-on-month, prices declined by 0.7 percent, a modest but nonetheless real reduction in price. More importantly, year-on-year rice prices are at 0.9 percent, significantly below the overall inflation rate of 2.9 percent. That means rice is no longer a drag up for consumer prices. I credit this partly to the actions initiated by the Speaker in response to the Murang Pagkain Supercommittee’s proceedings. By December, the Speaker compelled major rice industry players in Central Luzon to reduce rice prices. We expect more reductions in January and February.”

In Canada, the once popular and charismatic Justin Trudeau has resigned as prime minister, after a ten-year reign. His undoing: high prices and scandals.

In Manila, high prices and scandals (money scandals spelled budget) are de rigueur daily coverage on prime time TV.

So Mr. President, please focus on the basics. Contain the high food prices. Your candidates can win hands down in May 2025.

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