First word
AFTER an absence for a fortnight, I am troubled to discover that there is little news to share that could lift the nation’s spirit from the morass of confusion and dismay over the multibillion-peso plunder of public funds for flood control to mitigate the nearly yearlong devastation wrought on the economy by countless typhoons and monsoon rains last year.
The first quarter of the 21st century must be reckoned as a regressive and disappointing period in national history from a period of high and sustained growth during the presidencies of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III, we retreated into the nightmarish and populist regime of President Rodrigo Duterte, and his cruel and brutal drug war, which took at least 8,000 lives, and perpetrated countless human rights crimes and violations, and for which he is now standing trial before the International Criminal Court.
Now, we are under the regime of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which bids to become as historic as his father’s 20-year watch.
From an unprecedented election victory in the 2022 election and grand promises during the first half of his term, Marcos has descended into a welter of expectations. He led the people to believe that the Philippines would become a trillion-dollar economy during his term. Now the country is facing the prospect of slow growth; Marcos has steered the country toward full defense and military modernization. And is leading the way to China’s claims over the South China Sea and all its resources.
Crisis of governance
But now, the Filipino nation is facing a massive period of institutional decline and failure of political leadership, wherein no one seems to be in charge at the helm of government. Marcos is president of what political scientists call a “chronic crisis of governance, the pervasive incapacity of organizations to cope with the expectations of their constituencies.” The country has been stricken by the worst political corruption scandal in its history. Political institutions have been shaken to the core to their foundations by the multibillion-peso plunder of public funds for flood control. Filipino politics has been unmasked as the leading perpetrator of plunder and corruption.
Congress has become an inutile institution for the necessary reform and renewal of governance.
The Philippines seems to be muddling through its current crisis of governance. Marcos’ bid to resolve the flood control scandal by creating the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has met with disappointment after multiple resignations. The existence of two fact-finding probes by ICI and the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has not produced more information, only delay in the indictment of culprits in the flood control scandal.
The second half of Marcos’ term is marked by declining popular confidence in his leadership. Soon there will be a new presidential election in 2028. It’s later than you think. There are even moves in the House of Representatives today to impeach the president for his lack of leadership in lifting the nation out of the crisis. This is cruel irony because President Marcos was the one who exposed the reality of the flood control fund corruption scandal. He did it during his fourth State of the Nation Address on July 28, 2025.
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