Grade of ‘incomplete’ in...

see the systemic changes that are going to be part of the new bureaucracy. But there’s still a long way to go,” he said.

“We continue to work on the economy to make sure that our basics, our macroeconomic basics are in place,” he added.

Marcos overwhelmingly won during the 2022 elections with 31 million votes, making him the first majority president since 1986. The president has vowed to promote unity, ensure access to affordable food and health care, and create an environment conducive to investments, among other promises.

Marcos said the international situation has changed in terms of trade and geopolitics and the Philippines has to make adjustments.

“And now, it is very clear that the most successful economies are those who are agile and resilient. And that I think we have put in place the basic elements for us to do that,” he added.

Marcos noted that the government is still addressing inflation and has undertaken measures to help the needy.

The president, nevertheless, claimed that the Philippines is now being recognized as an investment destination.

“We should not be insular and think that it is only the Philippines that exists in the world. Let us see, what is our true place in the world. It is not a small thing that’s something that we are redefining.

The world looks at the Philippines in a different way now than it did one year ago,” Marcos said.

He said government’s job is to make the structural changes work so that the results can be seen “not only in terms of statistics” but also in the lives of ordinary people.

On the right track

For Speaker Martin Romualdez, President Marcos is on the right track as he completes his first year in office.

“The president did well on Year 1. Keep up the good work, Mr. President,” Romualdez said in a statement.

The Speaker, a maternal cousin of Marcos, said the “most notable” among Marcos’ accomplishments were “in the areas of helping ordinary Filipinos, sustaining economic growth, promoting the country as an investment destination, and in foreign relations.”

The Speaker said Marcos did his best in trying to address the Filipinos’ everyday concerns like rising consumer prices and lack of housing.

“Shortly after assuming office, he was confronted with spikes in the price of certain commodities like onions, which were selling for as much as P800 a kilo, and the basic staple rice,” the Leyte congressman said. Through a combination of measures, and with the help of Congress, the administration was able to bring down and stabilize the price of onions and rice, Romualdez pointed out.

Another administration stalwart, Rep. LRay Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, credited Marcos for his “above par performance” in his first year in office during which he “made notable breakthroughs” in governance.

“President Marcos has performed above par as chief executive, with his first year in office distinguished by notable breakthroughs in his overriding promise of more jobs and better lives for our people,” he said.

Villafuerte, president of the National Unity Party, also credited Marcos for “an economy that is not only strong and resilient but also inclusive and sustainable.” He observed it “has been a short learning curve” for the president.

He added the Marcos administration, in its first year, “reported a higher employment rate, generated local and foreign direct investments, and pushed business-friendlier reforms that create even more jobs.”

Day of protest

As Marcos marked his first year in office on Friday, June 30, militant groups were poised to assemble on the same day in protest.

Led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), the protesters organized a march from España Ave. to the Chino Roces Bridge near Malacañang.

They carried a banner with the message “Mahal in the Philippines,” an apparent swipe at the government’s new tourism slogan “Love the Philippines.”

“The protest banner alludes to the surging inflation and high cost of living in the past year amid the failure of the Marcos Jr.’s government to address the economic uncertainty and its inaction over the demand of workers to raise the minimum wage,” Bayan president Renato Reyes said in a statement.

Reyes described Marcos’ first year as a period of anti-people and anti-poor policies when most Filipinos remain poor while the president and his family indulge in lavish parties and foreign trips.

“Majority Filipinos are suffering from hunger, insecure jobs, lost livelihoods, and u PAGE A5

What Marcos has accomplished one year...

In May, however, the Department of Information and Communications Technology said that scammers have adapted to the law, saying that malicious actors have reprogrammed their approach to text scams. Their scams now range from sending messages to putting up fake SIM registration sites to capture personal information online, the DICT said.

• Postponement of Barangay / SK Elections (RA 11935) Marcos in October signed into law the bill to move the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to October 2023. This measure allowed incumbent officials to keep their posts on a holdover capacity unless they are suspended or removed from office.

However, the SC on June 27 declared the law unconstitutional, although it ordered the October elections to push as stated under RA 11935.

• Attrition Law / Amendments on the Fixed Term of Armed Forces of the Philippines Officials (RA 11939)

This law amends the rules on the fixed terms and tours of duty of the AFP chief of staff and other senior military officials. It amended five sections under RA 11709 to get rid of the “revolvingdoor policy” in the military by fixing the terms of key officers.

Under the new law, the chief of staff will be the only officer to have a maximum tour of duty of three consecutive years unless the president terminates the tour sooner. The law also states that the compulsory retirement of the chief of staff will occur upon the completion of the tour of duty or upon relief by the country’s chief executive.

This law also changed the compulsory retirement of those in the grades of second lieutenant/ensign to lieutenant general/vice admiral to the age of 57. In the previous RA 11709, officers in the grade of brigadier general/commodore to lieutenant general/vice admiral had a compulsory retirement at the age of 59.

What does this tell about Congress?

Aries Arugay, political analyst and head of the University of the Philippines Department of Political Science, told Philstar. com that Congress is “not really cooperating" with the administration.

He noted that given that Marcos’ allies make up the supermajority bloc in both the lower and upper houses, there should be no reason why there is a “poor record” of realizing his legislative agenda, an instance that Arugay described as something that “confounds many.”

“Unfortunately, that [Marcos’] political capital is not being perceived as something that is worthy for Congress to act and do its job in legislation,” Arugay said.

Only six laws were enacted in his first year

While Arugay emphasized that Congress can always say that it is an independent branch of the government and cannot always agree with the president, the bills proposed by the Marcos administration are supposed to realize the campaign promises, if not the vision of the president.

According to the political analyst, Congress does not seem to share the same vision as the president, which is a problem when one has no strong party system. If the president had a strong party system, his bills would have already been approved at the party level alone.

With only six laws enacted in his first year, Arugay said that this could also mean that Congress has other ideas on how to address some of the important problems that the administration is trying to solve. The analyst said that the House and the Senate evidently have other priorities aside from those of the president’s, including charter change.

“This is the problem if your congress has a lot of distractions,” he said.

Why did the president prioritize the three measures?

The three measures – SIM Registration Act, postponement of barangay and SK elections, AFP officials’ fixed term – have economic implications, Arugay said.

He explained that the SIM Registration Act was a priority as it was a continuation of the efforts of the previous administration. Regarding the postponement of the barangay and SK elections was also a priority due to economic implications, the fact that the high court declared it unconstitutional, Arugay said that the government wasted a lot of time and resources. Meanwhile, the amendment to the Attrition Law was important so that Marcos could have control over the armed forces, Arugay said.

What about the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund Bill?

This bill, according to Arugay, was “off the cuff,” because it was never mentioned even before Marcos’ campaign. He also said that had this bill been floated during the campaign, it would have come off as a “red flag” for Marcos “because things like this rely on trust and confidence with the government.”

“Even though Congress can pass this bill and even with Marcos’ political capital, there will still be a segment of the population that will be highly distrustful because of the baggage that Marcos brings into the presidential office given the history of their political dynasty,” he said.

Looking at Marcos’ priorities

Arugay said that there are certain aspects that really needed focus on. However, some of

Marcos’ presidential trips were unnecessary and excessive. The political analyst said that some of the trips were important, such as his trips to the Philippines’ allies and partners like China, Japan, and the United States. But there are some that are questionable, including attending the coronation of King Charles III.

To be fair, Arugay said that Marcos is only in his first year as president, which is a time for direction setting. On that front, the political analyst said that Marcos has “efficaciously done his duties.” However, he somehow failed to focus on the economy.

“This [economy] is very important because these are the things experienced by the ordinary Filipino on a daily basis,” Arugay said.

But Arugay emphasized that Marcos is still in the honeymoon period and has just finished his first year. Arugay also thinks that some Filipinos do not have enough information to make the judgment that the economic problems faced by the country these days are the government’s fault.

In the first year, it is acceptable for people not to blame economic problems on the government. However, the political analyst said that if such problems are not solved in the succeeding years, people must be able to attribute blame on something or someone.

“It is not sustainable for people not to blame their government for their hardships, especially economic hardships,” he said.

What else should Marcos prioritize?

The economy should be prioritized, which Arugay believes Marcos and his administration know. However, the analyst said that Marcos’ approach is very much focused on macroeconomics and big business, noting that the economy is not all about big businesses. The administration should also engage all other sectors.

Marcos should also prioritize bureaucratic control.

“I think as president, he needs to further control his bureaucracy, the executive agency. He needs to make sure that everyone is doing their job, and that under him, those who are poorly performing and even engaged in anomalies or corrupt practices will be made accountable," Arugay said.

More needs to be done in imposing some form of compliance, command, and control in the government, according to the analyst.

Another thing that Marcos should prioritize is his legislative agenda. It would not send a good signal if Marcos needs to repeat what he previously said as his legislative agenda during his first year.

According to Arugay, Marcos, as president, must be able to use the tools that he has for Congress to cooperate with him. ■