By Malaya Business Insight – July 22, 2024
Every SONA (State of the Nation Address) season, various sectors of Philippine society are eager to give the government, represented by the sitting President, a “grade” in the manner that a high school teacher or college instructor dispenses “failed” or “passed” decisions on students.
The underlying principle in this tradition is that the ultimate sovereign power rests on the people, and public officials like the President, members of Congress, and the rest of government are “civil servants” entrusted by the people to decide for them and rule the nation following their election to office.
In the matter of giving grades, we may defer to the professional members of the academe whose lives revolve around this highly contentious task of passing or failing the students under them. Although we respect the opinions of the highly charged leftist teachers in the mold of ACT Teachers party list who are more political activists than classroom tutors, it is necessary to also listen to academics who have remained neutral in divisive and acrimonious issues such as the West Philippine Sea.
‘This means calling a spade a spade; dishing out the information without embellishment, talking of attainable plans and programs, although not necessarily low hanging fruits.’
A case in point is a political science professor at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) who gave President Bongbong Marcos a grade of 6 out of 10 for his governance during the last two years.
In assessing the President’s accomplishments and failures, the professor said it is important to compartmentalize him: the President in relation to his economic pursuits, President Marcos on how he was able to solve some socio-political dilemmas, and how Bongbong Marcos was able to navigate the various divisive issues in his government.
While vicious critics of both Bongbong Marcos and the First Lady, Mrs. Liza Araneta Marcos, have been vilifying the national leadership for weeks now in social media, it is also important to hear other voices. The college professor made it clear that he is not accusing the President of not working, but “maybe he needs a better laying out of platforms, policies and concrete programs for us.”
The soberer of Marcos’ critics—and not the Maisug type or those who are diehard fans of the Duterte family—said they wanted the President to discuss the issues that were laid down as his priority measures from his last SONA in 2023. For instance, the Philippine Business Groups and the Joint Foreign Chambers have asked President Marcos to push the passage of 21 vital legislations since only three of the promised priority bills last year made it as laws.
Most observers wanted a speech that would resonate better with the public. This means calling a spade a spade; dishing out the information without embellishment, talking of attainable plans and programs, although not necessarily low-hanging fruits.
The people want to hear the President talk about food security and the price of rice, the Filipinos’ staple food. Jointly with this is the topic of inflation and high prices, which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the President’s economic team are still trying to tame, a couple of years after Russia invaded Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic hammered the economies of the world.
We have noted that the Makati businessmen have pushed the Apprenticeship Program Reform (Senate Bill No. 2491), Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act (SB No. 2587), Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry Development Act (SB No. 2247), People’s Freedom of Information (SB No. 1006), Right-of-Way Act Amendments, and many more.
It will take more than a full regular session of Congress to process these items in the legislative mill. Still, at least the President, House of Representatives, and Senate members will have an idea of what business wants and what needs to be done to drive the economy forward.
Source: https://malaya.com.ph/news_opinion/time-to-give-pbbm-a-grade/