This is the #NeverForget Diary, a weekly summary of what’s happening in the Philippines under Marcos II. In a time of mangled histories and fragile memories, it’s crucial never to forget. (Note: this post may be clipped in your email inbox. Photo above from RTVM.)
Sincerest apologies for the late posting; I was overrun by academic work as well as the preparations for my upcoming book to be published soon by Ateneo University Press: False Nostalgia: The Marcos Golden Age Myths and How to Debunk Them. More on this later.
President Bongbong Marcos Jr. did a lot of huffing and puffing in this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Switzerland.
He boasted that the Philippines is enjoying robust growth. Indeed, unlike most western economies headed for a recession, we—and many other ASEAN countries—won’t have such a downturn this year.
Note, however, that many small and heavily indebted countries are in trouble. For instance, Sri Lanka has already run out of dollars because of a full-fledged balance of payments crisis last year.
At Davos, Marcos also “soft-launched” his pet Maharlika Investment Fund, a pretend sovereign wealth fund. I figured (before he went to Davos) that he might be embarrassing himself in doing so. Here’s my Rappler piece on that:
Unfortunately, some economists in the administration (and in Congress) are defending the Davos trip like apologists. For instance, former UP professor and current Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo said:
Another proponent of Maharlika, presidential son Sandro himself, justified the junket he attended.
The president brought with him a HUGE delegation of about 70 people, comprising members of his family, cabinet secretaries, and top business people. (The Palace has yet to release the final number of participants and the total cost.)
Some of the top business people at Davos belong to the country’s top 9 billionaires said to be wealthier than 55 million Pinoys.
Quick digression: Robinsons Land CEO Frederick Go is now one of Marcos Jr.’s economic and investment advisers.
Even actress Dawn Zulueta, wife of Antonio Lagdameo Jr. (a special assistant to Marcos Jr.), was spotted at Davos. Was her attendance crucial?
Finance Secretary Diokno defended the hugeness of the delegation by denying it’s huge.
Raf Ignacio, former aide to the late ex-president Noynoy Aquino, compared this expensive junket to the one and only attendance of Aquino in Davos.
Members of the economic team (Finance Secretary Ben Diokno, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual) accompanied Marcos Jr. and took turns appraising the attendees at WEF about the PH economic situation, and pitching the Maharlika Investment Fund.
The economic managers (including the president himself) proclaimed that the PH is the fastest growing country in ASEAN. That’s false. Many other instances of economic falsehoods and cherry-picking happened at Davos.
In one of the small side meetings where Marcos Jr. himself pitched Maharlika, his delegation was facing about 15 people in the other side of the room, with some of them actually part of the PH delegation (including one of his sons).
The expensive Davos trip could’ve been an email, really. Economist Winnie Monsod said, “It’s like Ferdinand Marcos [Sr.] all over again.”
Marcos Jr. also flexed that the PH supposedly belongs now to the “V.I.P club “ (Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines) of most promising Asian countries. They’re really making this up as they go.
Propagandists also said in their reports of Davos that the PH is leading the whole world’s recovery. What?!
I wrote about such silly economic claims in my Rappler piece this week.
Meanwhile, Rep. Joey Salceda said he and 3 others have been working to reengineer Maharlika. What, then, was Marcos presenting at Davos?
Specifically, Maharlika will supposedly be more private-led moving forward. What does that even mean? So confusing…
Davos is Marcos Jr.’s 8th trip in his first 7 months in power.
Marcos Jr. justified his trip to Davos by saying he’s brought back tons of investments. Has he? They haven’t even listed down the total investment pledges, who made them and what amounts.
Critics are also saying that he ought to focus instead on real issues that turn off prospective investors.
At least we got something honest from Marcos Jr. at Davos. He said that the People Power Revolution of 1986 represented “dark times” for their family, and “even for the country.” Such BS. He also admitted that they reentered politics for survival and to protect the contested legacy of his father.
Recall that on the campaign trail, the presidential wife claimed that Bongbong ran for the presidency after being inspired by watching Ant-Man.
In an Indian report on Marcos’s Davos trip, it was mentioned that some critics say he Marcos seems to be going back to the scene of the crime—referring to the ill-gotten wealth the Marcoses stashed in Swiss bank accounts. Shade.
ONIONGATE
Skyrocketing onion prices continue to dominate headlines. Here’s a report with an especially sad opening.
International media is even paying attention to our embarrassing onion situation.
The Department of Agriculture—headed by Marcos Jr. himself—admitted that onion prices are “out of control.”
Long lines formed in select Kadiwa outlets, and people are literally fighting over onions. The long lines are reminiscent of the Kadiwa stores of Marcos Sr. and Imelda during martial law. When will we learn?
Filipino seamen, as well as flight attendants, are smuggling onions in their luggages as presents for their family/friends back home.
In a meeting with his Private Sector Advisory Council, Marcos Jr. admitted that smuggling is “absolutely rampant.” But he neglects to say that smuggling is a symptom of a huge shortage, and they need to focus on long-term solutions.
He is taking too long to take action re onions, smuggled onions are starting to grow in their container vans.
Here’s an explainer on onion prices c/o Rappler:
The Senate has held hearings on onion inflation.
Some politicians think just expanding the number of Kadiwa stores will do the trick. That is a Band-Aid solution.
Other senators are criticizing importation. But importation is actually okay in the short run, so long as it’s well-timed.
In more agri news, eggs are also getting a lot pricier.
Incidentally, some chicken farms are closing down because of the inflation of feeds.
Rice prices are also rising, as predicted by analysts.
The Department of Trade and Industry also approved price adjustments for other basic commodities like sardines and coffee and meat loaf.
Interestingly, in the US eggflation is also a problem. One tweet I saw (from the US) said wittily, “The eggconomy is in scrambles.”
Milk prices are also rising in the US.
Lastly, Senator Cynthia Villar lambasted an official of the Bureau of Animal Industry in a hearing. So on brand.
Marcos Jr. seemed to be relinquishing the post of agriculture secretary. Took him 7 months to admit that DA needs to be led by an expert (which he’s not).
MISCELLANY
On the heels of Marcos Jr.’s first China visit earlier this month, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling regarding joint marine exploration in the West Philippine Sea.
Sandra Cam confessed she was used as a tool for the imprisonment of ex-senator Leila de Lima.
People flocked again to the DSWD after some information spread that there will be livelihood assistance handed out. Hasn’t the DSWD learned about good comms, following the earlier crowding of people at their offices nationwide?
New income tax rate are prevailing in 2023, and the middle class is projected to spend more of their disposable income. However, at this could stoke prices in the short run (and prove inflationary).
Marcos Jr. is apparently snubbing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. What if Putin rings, will Marcos snub him as well?
Meanwhile, Clarita Carlos, a retired professor from UP, resigned from her post as National Security Adviser. Marcos Jr. appointed instead Eduardo Año, formerly the local gov’t and interior secretary of ex-president Duterte.
Lisa Grace Bersales, former National Statistician, is the new executive director of the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom).
New research shows that giving money to people to get vaccinated doesn’t have bad consequences compared to what people used to think. Maybe we can learn from this, what with so many Filipinos yet to receive their first booster shot.
Japan is declared as having the “most powerful passport” in the world, with visa-free entry to 193 destinations. Meanwhile, the PH has one of the weakest, with just about 38 visa-free destinations. Welp.
A landmark Supreme Court decision on the Philippines’ gig economy.
Alex Gonzaga, sister of Toni Gonzaga (who’s one of the celebrity apologists of Marcos Jr. these days) smeared cake on the face of one of the servers during her birthday party. This was widely condemned. Alex went on the defensive after this, invoking God: “On my birthday, God taught me a hard and important lesson. Humility, kindness and better judgment. I will rise from this a wiser and better person.” How self-centered.
CITIES & MAPS
A rare sight of carless Manila City, on the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene.
More problems at our airport, following the air traffic control chaos on New Year’s Day.
Tracing global borders using shipping data. Globalization!
Using night light data to compare official growth numbers with actual economic growth. Autocracies tend to overestimate growth.
Countries’ sentiments regarding Russia vs. Ukraine.
A view of Rotterdam, supposedly the Netherlands’ “car city.”
A nice video of Singapore’s airport:
#NEVERFORGET
Finland is actively teaching its kids how to spot online disinformation or misinformation. We need to learn from them a thing or two. Will VP Sara Duterte, the concurrent education secretary with no background in education at all, budge?
People may have moved on from the Duterte war on drugs, but the human rights situation in the PH remains deplorable under Marcos Jr.
#HOLDTHELINE
On January 18, the Court of Tax Appeals acquitted Maria Ressa and Rappler in 4 cases. A huge win for press freedom.
Definitely a cause for celebration!
This was widely celebrated as well by the international community closely watching Maria and Rappler’s cases.
To date, only 3 cases against Ressa and Rappler remain. Maria can still go to jail if the Supreme Court rules against her in the cyberlibel case.
CHATGPT
There’s a lot of talk now about the optimal response of schools to ChatGPT. To ban or not to ban?
Even in essay-writing, ChatGPT (still) has huge limitations.
UP history professor Francisco Jayme Guiang, brother of former Rappler Jules Guiang, caused a stir when he shared on social media that he suspected that one of his students this past semester already used ChatGPT in their final essay exam.
Many people are also beginning to realize that ChatGPT and similar AI tools can replace many professions in time, including lawyers, journalists, academics, research assistants, etc.
ChatGPT is also writing passable work that’s virtually non-distinguishable from humans’ work. For example, it can write decent research abstracts…
ChatGPT can invent games on the fly.
Most relevant to my profession, ChatGPT can convert code across statistical softwares. Amazing.
ChatGPT can also read abstracts and generate JEL (Journal of Economic Literature) codes.
ChatGPT will have a paid version soon.
Apart from ChatGPT, many other AI tools are already out there:
GRAPHS OF NOTE
Is science becoming less disruptive?
In economics as well, some people say economists have run out of big ideas. But mainly, econ is moving toward more empirical and experimental research, rather than theoretical.
But what does “disruptive” science mean in the first place? These threads elaborate.
Maybe because academia is broken in many ways?
Deplorable stats about publishing in academia.
Here’s a thought-provoking piece on that:
More on how academics spend their time these days:
Meanwhile, here are some distressing climate-related charts. The heat content of oceans has been skyrocketing since the 1980s.
Not a chart, but data in the Philippines showing unusually high January rainfall in certain stations of the weather forecasting agency.
The cost of solar PV modules are, on the other hand, dropping like a rock.
Cross-country data on income distributions…
…as well as the population of seniors.
China’s population is peaking this year, and the decline will have great ramifications worldwide, says this analysis.
US companies’ adaptations to working from home:
Useful Venn diagrams:
New research on social media echo chambers:
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommended book: False Nostalgia: The Marcos Golden Age Myths and How to Debunk Them (by moi, to be published by Ateneo Press). Launch details out soon.
More ML books that you ought to read.
The UP Third World Center also published recently Marcos Lies, a compilation of comprehensive online articles by their researchers.
Recommended podcast: Usapang Econ talked to budget expert Zy-za Suzara for our latest episode. Listen on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Recommended meme:
Recommended show: The Daily Show with temporary guest host Leslie Jones. What a blast!
Recommended movie: Megan. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Quite predictable, but nice twist on the demented doll horror genre.
Recommended series: The Last of Us by HBO. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Absolutely stunning adaptation of the famous video game. Great performances by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.
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