If things work out as planned, Filipinos should be the envy of the world for the second time. The first time was in 1986, when they peacefully unseated a dictator after nearly two decades in power in a decisive, non-violent civic action. The second was this year, when they put his son back to power and the presidency in overwhelming fashion via an unbelievably quick election.
From here on in, expect the Philippines to rise faster than her neighbors in the region from the debilitating impact of the pandemic and overcome the twin adversities of rising fuel prices and inflation with BBM and his Cabinet looking like ballet dancers doing a flawless pas de deux. Cross your fingers: faux pas is always possible.
How will it happen? The new – second, in fact – Marcos president, the son of the dictator, has a master plan – a roadmap for the future as his congressman son, Sandro, described it–. The so-called roadmap was spelled out by the new president in his first State of the Nation Address or SONA last Monday. In an imperfect world, the skeptics may kindly regard it as SANA; the cynics may dismiss it as SAWANA. Par for the course.
To be honest, many,critics and cheerers alike who listened to how BBM masterfully delivered his six-year vision in a little more than hour before the nation , pointed out that some of the new ideas were old motherhoods repackaged. Can’t blame them; after all, continuity is seldom a virtue in Philippine governance.
“Governing is not campaigning”, Robert Reich, former Cabinet member of former United States President Bill Clinton, wrote in his book “ Locked in the Cabinet”. Mistaking one for the other is a big mistake for any public official, especially for the president. “ He holds the public trust and he must get things done, “ Reich stressed. Screw up, in other words, is the alternative.
BBM’s visionary details are tantalizingly audacious, especially against the backdrop of a global economy in decline: 6.5 to 8.5 percent growth rate until the end of his term, 9 percent poverty rate, 3 percent government deficit versus GDP, 60 percent debt—to- GDP ratio, at least no less than 4,000 US dollars per capita income leading to upper middle income status when, not if, he leaves office– unless the Dong Gonzales bill becomes a law.
– Some say the wealthy must be happy about his macroeconomics, especially those concerning debt, deficit and inflation and, most particularly, his non-mention of a possible higher taxation of the rich, famous and notorious. Happy days are (were?) here again. The pollyannic SONA had the technocrats fingerprints, at least the first part, it wasn’t surprising not so many in the refurbished Batasang Pambansa could appreciate it. No standing ovation, for one. John Mills, you’re a genius about the intellectual downside of democracy.
He and his economic crew mean business. They know the drill: if you can’t measure it, you can’t achieve it. Control is another thing. The legendary King Canute is said to have commanded the tide to stop. A former Philippine senator wanted to abolish the law of supply and demand. Good luck. The second SONA is hugely something to look forward to.
Clinton defeated George W. Bush in the 1992 US presidential election with his political mantra” it’s the economy, stupid”, coined by Clinton’s strategist, James Carville. BBM wants to win the future for the country in six years like Cinderella losing her shoe while looking for her prince. For BBM, that eventually may mean he has to yield to the Supreme Court decision asking the Marcoses to pay no less than P23 billion in estate tax.
After all, tax reform is part of his trenchant vision. A leader’s greatness, defined a political sage, should be measured not by his speech or his thoughts but by his willingness to be held accountable by the law. BBM’s greatness would have been settled there and then had he announced two things: 1) he would order pronto his lawyer to coordinate with the Bureau of Internal Revenue on his family’s estate tax obligation and 2) he would follow his BIR’s chief advice to be a model citizen in tax payment, apparently.
BBM’s masterpiece was obviously crafted by his technocrats and policy wonks, notably his
economic team headed by the politically colorless Benjamin Diokno. A bullish economic growth between now and 2028 is his immovable forecast, swallowed hook, line and sinker by BBM, who earlier doubted an official inflation rate of 6 percent arrived at by another government technocrat. Warning: economics is believed to be NOT BBMs’ strongest suit.
Given that the country’s economic situation was his opening salvo in his SONA tells us that we are in a difficult hole, indeed– may not be between a rock and a hard place, but close to it. Economics is not called the dismal science for nothing. In case of fire, break the glass or call the experts. To his credit, BBM is widely lauded for choosing the best and the brightest in the field to give him a hand. They’d been there, done that. One of them even wrote a book that showed how bad poverty was during the time of the president’s father.
His SONA has raised the bar( no more meandering ad libs, less,if any,rhetorical flourish and shorter,too) and public expectation. So far, so good. “ When you’re people are good, “ Rufo Colayco, who once lorded it over Clark as the state-agency head, “ you also look good.” But he was also quietly resented by local politicians for his ability to say no or does something equivalent. In Marcos father’s legendary watch, his Cabinet was also composed of the best and the brightest in the land.
We’re living in a difficult time. Hard may be a better and more honest adjective. No worry, the economy is sound. Some 3.5 families were suddenly stricken off the four P’ s list before the SONA. Poor no more? Corruption appears to be a non-issue, as well as human rights even as a senator continues to languish in jail while her accusers are skedaddling one by one.
Winning has its collateral baggage, too.
