It’s the corruption, stupid

It’s the economy, stupid.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

That seems to be the message of Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian when he addressed the Manila Overseas Press Club last Sept. 25, 2026, at Fairmont Hotel before a sellout crowd.

“The most significant of the nation’s challenges is getting the economy back on track,” he asserted.

“Our economy is struggling. Outside of the pandemic years, we are experiencing the slowest period of economic growth since 2017. The Philippine economy grew by only 2.3 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

“This is significantly lower than the growth rate of 5.4 percent the country posted in the same period last year,” Win, a technocrat tycoon, pointed out.

Just last week, the Asian Development Bank revised its 2026 growth forecast for the Philippines to 3.3 percent, below the administration’s target range of 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent. Standard and Poor’s also downgraded its GDP 2026 growth projection for the Philippines to 2.9 percent from 4.1 percent, reported Win.

One reason for the economic slowdown is massive corruption. In the 12 months since July 2025, the Senate President estimated that P2.75 trillion (P2,750 billion) was lost to corruption. From flood control corruption alone. The P2.75 trillion represents the value of economic production lost and opportunity costs – or what good to the people the P2.75 trillion could have done had it not been stolen by our politicians.

“This is not small change; this is trillions of pesos lost in the future of our national development,” said Win.

As a group, our politicians are the biggest drag on our economy.

Which is another way of saying that if we line up all the politicians against the wall and exterminate them with extreme prejudice, ala CIA, our economy will grow more vigorously and life will be much better for millions.

At the open forum with Senate President Win, I raised that suggestion – firing-squad the politicians. He did not know whether to agree or disagree. But the jam-packed audience was smiling with delight.

God must have had so much faith in the intelligence and resilience of Filipinos. He gave us the most corrupt politicians the world has ever known. He thought Filipinos, usually congenitally smart, could handle these politicians. God was wrong.

Smart, our politicians also made sure our young, our 15-year-olds, would be among the most stupid people on earth, per PISA tests. They cannot read. Even if they can read, they cannot understand what they read. They cannot count beyond 20. They don’t know any science, the how and why of simple things.

Being stupid, Filipino voters keep voting for bad and corrupt politicians every election. The result is corrupt and rapacious dynasties. Their greed for power and money has no limit. They recite the Bible, sometimes, but they have no fear of God.

Sometimes, I think God hates us, Filipinos – the third-largest population of Catholics in the world. Why did He deliver us to the baddest and most corrupt politicians the world has ever known?

In his well-prepared MOPC speech, SP Win explained why the economy is important – and may I add – especially for stupid Filipinos:

“The economy sustains us. It is what powers our industries and keeps our schools open for the future of our children. It funds hospitals that cure the sick or care for the elderly. It makes the delivery of relief in times of natural calamities possible and it restores communities from the ravages of devastation. The economy is the beating heart of our way of life.”

Win blames two main causes for the economic slowdown: public construction has stalled while families are spending more cautiously. General government construction contracted by as much as 32.4 percent in the second quarter of 2026. “The cause behind the slide in construction can be placed squarely on the corruption found in the flood control scandal,” Win pointed out.

SP Win explained: “Dito natin nakikita na hindi lang basta salita ang korapsyon; sinasaktan nito ang pangmatagalang pag-unlad ng bansa at pilit na nilalagay sa panganib ang pangarap ng ating mga kababayan. Kapag nagkakaroon ng isyu sa korapsyon, ang unang reaksyon ng gobyerno ay maghigpit o tumigil sa paggastos. Dahil dito, tumitigil at bumabagal ang mga infrastructure projects at nababawasan ang revenue ng bansa.”

The Senate president explained:

“The slowdown is visible beyond construction sites. It has reached the homes of Filipino families. The growth of real household final consumption expenditure slowed to 2.8 percent in the second quarter of this year compared to 5.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025.

“One reason families are holding back is the higher cost of living. As of August this year, headline inflation stood at 6.1 percent, roughly four times the 1.5 percent inflation rate in August of the year before.

“The ongoing US-Iran conflict has been a major driver of the rise in inflation. In January 2026, the price of Dubai Crude Futures was at $68 per barrel. After the outbreak of the war in February, prices of Dubai Crude Futures shot up to as high as $134 per barrel.

“The effect on local fuel prices was similarly severe. Pre-war local gasoline prices were at P54.50 per liter. After the outbreak, gasoline peaked at P96.50 per liter. Diesel pump prices pre-war were at P60.79 per liter and hit a high of P153.70 per liter after the conflict began.

“This is not something we can prevent, but the lesson is clear: shifting geopolitics and changes in the global price of oil will always be realities, and we need to be prepared to mitigate their economic effects at any time.”

Win’s solution to our economic problems? More laws to help the poor cope with the high cost of living.

One solution is glaring, and even the politicians know it: exterminate the politicians.

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