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. Screenshot above from RTVM.)
The Marcos government is gloating because it the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the Philippine economy grew by 7.6% in 2022. That’s the fastest growth since 1976, as reported by the PSA and reiterated by state media and some private media outlets.
There’s a lot of context missing here. For instance, that growth rate still includes significant “base effects” because we’re coming from such a low base during the pandemic.
Upon closer inspection, growth is actually slowing down. They don’t like to mention this.
I wrote a Rappler piece on this.
Back in 2021, I feared the government would boast about base effects years later. True enough…
Are high growth and “revenge spending” actually debt-driven?
Even with high growth, Vietnam has already surpassed the Philippines in terms of income per person.
MORE ON MAHARLIKA
Until now there’s no full disclosure of the total costs of the presidential junket to Davos, as well as the complete list of persons who joined.
This, despite the president’s claim that attendees at Davos don’t see lack of accountability and transparency in the PH when they make investments.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Babes Romualdez, a nephew of Imelda Marcos, says we should “not count penny” when it comes to the president’s trips. We absolutely should.
At Davos, South Korea’s president boasted the actual investments they secured earlier that week from UAE. Meanwhile, what does Marcos Jr. have to show for? Imaginary investments?
Here’s a report of an Indian news network on Marcos Jr.’s Davos trip. Interesting photo.
Sen. Mark Villar (who also went to Davos) has already filed a counterpart Maharlika bill in the Senate. It’s the same thing as the one railroaded by the Lower House last December.
Contrary to the statement of Rep. Joey Salceda that Maharlika is being “reengineered,” the Villar bill still involves funding from state-owned banks and the BSP. Do they have a Viber group?
The economic managers of Marcos Jr. briefed senators about Maharlika, and Senate President Miguel Zubiri is completely on board despite the bad economics of the proposal (and the bad advice of the economic advisers, most of whom have PhDs).
Then the economic managers defended Marhalika in a Senate hearing. By and large the worrisome governance issues with Maharlika are still embedded in the bill.
BSP Governor Philip Medalla says he’s okay if the BSP delays its capitalization effort once the BSP’s net profits will be diverted to Marhalika. I wonder what BSP economists think.
Former BSP deputy governor Diwa Guinigundo says there’s a great deal of so-called “strategic misrepresentation” in the Marhalika discussions.
The Milken Institute came up with a report about the feasibility of a Philippine sovereign wealth fund. Some recommendations are questionable.
Meanwhile, some of the most notable sovereign wealth funds have lost billions of dollars recently due to the global recession. It’s a bad time for sovereign wealth funds in general. Yet Marcos Jr. and his associates are pushing for it.
Groups of economists and analysts have issued another statement against Maharlika.
HONORARY DEGREE?
The University of the Philippines conferred an honorary doctorate of law degree to Sen. Mark Villar.
Many people are bemoaning this ugly political move.
Many people are asking: is UP still upholding honor and excellence?
RARE SIT-DOWN INTERVIEW
The president granted a rare interview with (mostly) legit journalists after his return from Davos. One of these people is not like the others.
When asked about his trip to Davos and 7 other trips, the president said all of the expenses will be recovered if the billions of prospective investments will be realized.
He’s neglecting to say that his family still owes the government P203 billion in unpaid estate taxes.
Marcos Jr. claimed they’ll reduce the number of junkets this year. But note that the president is set to go to Japan and France in the coming months.
Why does he need to go to France in the first place?
When asked about relinquishing his hold on the Secretary of Agriculture post, Marcos Jr. said there are things he can do more quickly if he kept the post. But it’s been 7 months already, and food inflation keeps rising, and some vegetables are in short supply.
He said he loses sleep over PH inflation. Really?
Meanwhile, farmers are actually taking their lives owing to inflation.
Economist and Inquirer columnist Ciel Habito has recently dissected agriculture issues—like the fast rise of onion and egg prices—in his column.
Onions are so expensive that they’ve been used as a motif in a recent Iloilo wedding.
Japan Home Centre also accepted onions as payment for a limited time:
Is the supply of garlic also under threat?
Cold storage facilities are in short supply.
The president instructed the National Economic and Development Authority to look into onion prices, which shot up by 200% over the past year. What’s NEDA got to do with this, though?
Meanwhile, in the interview, the president denies that son Sandro is being groomed for higher office. Really?
Vinny Marcos, another son of Bongbong, has been made a special assistant/intern to House Speaker Martin Romualdez. Is this what the Gen-Z kids call a “nepo baby”?
LEARNING POVERTY
The learning losses from the pandemic are enormous. How to deal with that?
To be fair, learning problems are not unique to the PH.
But we’re arguably the region’s basket case. A stark example of Filipinos’ learning poverty from TikTok:
Education stakeholders recently met to try to imagine solutions. This is going to be a long struggle…
…especially if the Education Secretary, VP Sara Duterte, would rather prioritize mandatory ROTC as well as mandatory brushing of teeth (to instill children’s obedience, allegedly).
Meanwhile, teachers are also lamenting the fact that in Sara Duterte’s recent education report, she failed to mention the role of malnutrition.
ICC IS COMING
The International Criminal Court said that they will continue investigations in Duterte’s war on drugs. Justice is coming.
A fitting cartoon:
Forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun is willing to testify in ICC’s investigations. Kudos!
Shockingly, she recently found out another hitherto undiscovered bullet in the corpse of drug war vicitm Kian delos Dantos.
What will Marcos Jr. do?
Is this why things are becoming testy between the president and the vice president?
Where’s the unity now?
MISCELLANY
7 months after taking office, Bongbong Marcos still no health secretary.
Meanwhile, Marcos Jr. appointed his second DSWD secretary in the person of former Valenzuela lawmaker and mayor Rex Gatchalian (a supporter of Bongbong’s campaign).
The government is going to borrow $500 million more from the World Bank to boost employment. At Davos Marcos Jr. boasted that the unemployment rate is down to a little over 4%. But he doesn’t say that many are still unpaid family workers.
Some lawmakers are reviving talks about charter change in the Philippines.
Lawmakers called upon the expertise of academics, including economists Winnie Monsod and Gerry Sicat. Interesting exchanges and presentations here:
Chika minute at the Senate. How much are they being paid again?
Meanwhile, in the US…
Manila Bay is getting uglier by the day due to massive reclamation projects.
The Marcos government is dealing with a Chinese firm that has been sanctioned by the World Bank for questionable practices.
Filipino nurses are very much in demand abroad.
An OFW, Jullebee Ranara, was killed in Kuwait. Meanwhile, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration official Arnell Ignacio, a former actor, has used the OWWA’s official page for his personal purposes. People also pointed out his expensive watch.
Meanwhile, the president contented himself with giving the grieving family of Ranara photos with Ranara’s father with a short message and signature. Really?
The Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 was recently launched at the PICC, a Marcosian project. In attendance was the president himself, flanked by NEDA head Arsenio Balisacan and Juan Ponce Enrile. What’s JPE doing there?!
4 new American (temporary) bases?
Citimall near UP Diliman and Philcoa is saying goodbye.
Willie Revillame and others lost their programs in Villar-owned AllTV. Whose fault is that?
#NEVERFORGET
In an interview with disinformation spreader SMNI, Juan Ponce Enrile said that if it weren’t for him, Cory Aquino wouldn’t be president. Such BS.
Marcos Jr. inaugurated a Batasan Development Urban Renewal Plan…
…reminiscent of Imelda’s Tondo Urban Renewal project.
Throwback:
Another throwback:
Marcos Jr. is deathly allergic to the word “privatization” because of its negative connotations with ex-president Corazon Aquino’s administration. But actually privatization started even during martial law.
The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, a Marcosian white elephant, makes it to the front page of The Washington Post.
How the Holocaust is being remembered on TikTok. Should the same thing be done to remember the horrors of martial law?
VP Duterte said something nice about the victims of the Holocaust. But has she said anything about the victims of Martial Law?
On February 5, Marcos crony and martial law-era trade secretary Roberto Ongpin died. He was outlived by another crony, Juan Ponce Enrile.
#HOLDTHELINE
Journalists are pushing to decriminalize libel once and for all.
MEANWHILE, ABROAD
The pope says being gay is not a crime but is still a sin. What?
Eggflation hits the US as well.
Great report on how COVID has hit rural China.
CHATGPT
ChatGPT is passing more and more exams, like a Wharton MBA exam…
…and a US Medical Licensing Exam.
Teachers need to adapt to ChatGPT and like technologies.
Scientists and researchers as well.
Other useful AI tools apart from ChatGPT:
Here’s a text rephrasing tool:
Here’s a text-to-music tool from Google:
Here’s the most promising tool yet: a chatbot that can be integrated with datasets.
ChatGPT can also be trained on books and other long texts.
Homo silicus?
What career should ChatGPT take?
What should people study in college now?
How will ChatGPT and similar technologies affect job hunters in the future?
GRAPHS, MAPS OF NOTE
What do Filipinos spend on online?
The Philippines is a happy country for its level of development.
Who was hit the most by US inflation?
American exceptionalism?
The mass shooting epidemic continues…
Slavery and growth in the UK.
World population density.
The great decline of child mortality worldwide:
Health spending vs life expectancy worldwide.
The distribution of poverty in Mexico over time:
Inbreeding in US academia.
Paper sizes worldwide.
MEMEWORTHY
Life is normalizing in the Philippines, and scenes like this are back.
Throwback:
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommended book: False Nostalgia: The Marcos ‘Golden Age’ Myths and How to Debunk Them. My first book. Now available for pre-order here: bit.ly/FalseNostalgia-preorder. Enjoy a 15% discount!
Meanwhile, the book launch details are here:
Recommended interview: My chat with the hosts of ‘Wag Po! on TV5. Topic: the president’s Davos trip.
Recommended article: A compilation of 10 memorable pieces in my Rappler writing career, which recently hit the 10 year mark.
Recommended personal finance tips: On credit card payments, c/o my economist friend Rico Villanueva.
Recommended interview: Featuring the founder of Booksale, Manny Sison, 81.
Recommended docu: 11,103 by Storytellers International, Inc., and the same people who produced the landmark documentary Batas Militar. A harrowing look at the human rights abuses during Martial Law, especially in the regions. A must-see.
Recommended series: Cunk on Earth on Netflix. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Deadpan British humor at its finest. Lots of memeworthy moments.
Recommended series: Dirty Linen by ABS-CBN Entertainment and Dreamscape. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fast-paced and courageous. Throws lots of shade on the Marcoses.
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