We can’t do business as usual

A politically-savvy businessman told his friends after the May elections that we should give Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. six months to be able to judge whether we are going in the right direction or not.

The 100-day metric used in other countries does not apply to the Philippine situation, we both agreed. This is especially since the newly elected president, although winning by a huge majority over his rivals, needed time to select the people who would help him man the ramparts of his government.

The business community and most of us were quite assured with the choices of his economic team—Diokno, Balisacan, Medalla, and key department heads like Bautista, Ivan Uy, Garcia-Frasco, and the vice-president to oversee basic education, one of the largest and most important agencies of the Philippine government.

Some raised eyebrows over VP Inday Sara, who is not an educator, becoming education secretary, yet she brings to the department the political gravitas of her huge electoral mandate.

This is what she can use to preside over a bureaucracy which verily shapes the future of our young.

We continue to wonder why defense, health and so many critical agencies still have stand-ins for whoever. That these posts are “reserved” for election losers does not augur well for good governance.

We have reserved judgment on controversial intelligence and confidential funds lodged in several departments and agencies other than the Office of the President.

In a country like ours besieged with so many problems, quick action must at times include some “escape” from burdensome bureaucratic and auditing procedures.

Will they use these funds properly? The proof of the pudding should be in the eating. And so we wait for results on how these funds will be spent.

We understand why the president has gone abroad several times within the first six months, with one to China on the first week of the coming new year.

Most of the important international summit meetings are scheduled in the second half of the year—ASEAN, APEC, for instance.

And we quite understand the personal perspective of our peripatetic new leader, as one who seeks to redeem the imagery which rightly or wrongly many in the world, particularly the West, has of his family.

Indeed, if this president does right by our people, especially as it comes to resolving the deep inequalities of our society, reforming a corrupt political system, reinforcing the rule of law, and saving the majority from the clutches of poverty, not only will he redeem that image, but will be remembered as being a transformative leader.

We also know, from the experience of many of our past leaders, that investment pledges shall remain pledges for now, awaiting the direction of our economic policies, and weighing these against the externalities which currently bedevil the globe, on top of domestic problems in the home countries of would-be investors and debtors.

The president also inherits a close to P14 billion debt, and counting.

Inflation is quite high, and despite some relief from petrol prices, the prices of practically all food commodities are up, and seemingly up and away.

We are so food insecure. We face an energy crisis. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Which is why it isn’t easy to be president at this point in time.

Which is also why government, in all three branches cannot and should not, do business as usual.

The unfortunate experience of a hastily conceived sovereign wealth or investment fund, and its apparent railroading in the House of Representatives by what appears to be a gaggle of yes-men beating a deadline, is not a very encouraging sign.

We now look forward to the ladies and gentlemen of the other chamber, the “august” Senate, some of them call it, to review what the HoR seems bent on passing by the first week of February next year.

Opposition leader Edcel Lagman is asking his colleagues to defer passing the Fund and its companion new GOCC bill, and make use of the recess to consult their constituencies and ponder on both wisdom and timeliness of the measure.

Congress adjourns today for a Christmas recess. Will his colleagues listen to this veteran legislator?

And will the president take heed of his legal counsel’s advice, coming as it does from one who has been in government and politics for three generations running, to go slow on this measure?

Vamos a ver.

Congress has passed a P5.268 trillion budget for 2023, which Speaker Romualdez said the president will sign into law when he gets back from Brussels.

After all the noises coming from the few, Congress passed the appropriations bill almost without touching the President’s budget as sent to it.

The noise mostly zeroed in on the confidential and intelligence funds and the NTF-Elcac, but hardly did anyone raise any noise about the built-in earmarks in the budgets of line agencies which are nothing else but pork barrel for our legislators to share.

Congress merely circumvents the Supreme Court decision on the “priority development assistance funds.”

Fact is, the congressmen who were stoutly defending the wealth fund admitted that they cannot do away with the “needs” of their constituencies, which to them is justification for the Fund.

For our politicians, it is business as usual.

For far too long, they pander only to their personal and political interests, on using public resources for political and familial gain.

Of course there are exceptions, but they are few and, oftentimes, the public they serve do not show enough appreciation.

Only the president, as head of state and of government, can show by his leadership and his direction, that we cannot do business as usual.

Much is expected of Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., and we can only hope and pray that he succeeds.