“The challenge for the administration this new year and well beyond is to achieve political stability, sustained economic growth and social harmony”
In 2023, the Marcos Jr. administration focused on economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic that brought the Philippine economy to its knees starting in early March 2020 and extending well into 2022.
The figures for the entire 2023 have yet to be released, but the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas predicted a “relatively strong” outlook for the economy in the fourth quarter of last year with growth expected to hover near the third-quarter figure of 5.9 percent.
For the better part of the year, the high inflation rate kept many Filipinos having difficulty coping with high prices of consumer goods, such as rice and sugar, as well as fuel.
Cash assistance to the low-income and disadvantaged sections of the population, however, helped keep them cope with high prices.
President Marcos Jr. remained as Agriculture Secretary until November, when he named Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. as head of the Department of Agriculture.
Towards the end of the year, Laurel had begun to familiarize himself with its operations to increase farm productivity and ensure food security.
This bodes well for the bigger contribution of the agriculture sector to the national economy in 2024.
Last year, the administration also rolled out the Maharlika
Investment Fund as a sovereign wealth fund that will be used for key infrastructure projects.
The Maharlika Investment Corporation is already in operation with its key officials already appointed by Malacañang. The MIF should be managed well so it can really enhance economic growth in the years ahead.
The administration’s economic team, including the heads of the Finance Department, National Economic and Development Authority, and the Department of Trade and Industry have been working closely to attract foreign investments, accelerate digitalization and facilitate the ease of doing business.
The team faces the awesome challenge of creating more job and livelihood opportunities and implementing infrastructure programs at a faster pace this year and beyond.
The recent creation of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs should lead to better coordination in moving the economy forward.
The political scene has witnessed realignments in the country’s political structure, with smaller political parties gravitating toward the administration party, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas.
The UniTeam of Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte in the 2022 general elections has unraveled over the issue of secret funds in the national budget, with the Office of the Vice President said to have spent P125 million in confidential funds in only 11 days last year.
Marcos has vowed to continue the war on drugs, but with focus on getting the big-time drug lords, not only the street dealers, and on the rehabilitation and treatment of drug dependents.
Law enforcement and rehabilitation and treatment should address both the supply and the demand aspect of the problem of illegal drugs.
The resumption of face-to-face classes with the much-improved COVID-19 situation and accompanying reforms in the K-12 curriculum tell us that the education sector needs all the support it can get from government.
Congress is doing the right thing in improving the country’s health situation with proposed laws to establish specialty hospitals in the various regions.
Since the start of its term in mid-2022, the Marcos administration has emphasized that it pursues an independent foreign policy.
That has meant forging closer relations with the United States, in contrast to the previous administration that pivoted to China for investments.
While China remains the country’s leading trading partner, our bilateral ties have been further strained by Beijing’s insistence on claiming ownership over practically the whole of the South China Sea on the basis of what it now calls the “ten-dash line.”
While relations with China have soured over territorial and maritime claims, the Marcos administration has gravitated toward Washington for enhanced defense cooperation.
The Biden administration has given reassurances that its commitment to the Philippines under the terms of the 1951 Mutual Defense Agreement remains “ironclad.”
The treaty binds both sides to come to each other’s defense if attacked by a third party. But we should also build a credible defense posture and beef up our military capability while enhancing security ties with friendly countries.
The challenge for the administration this new year and well beyond is to achieve political stability, sustained economic growth and social harmony.
That will require high statesmanship and a clear vision for the future that succeeding administrations can build upon.
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