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.)
On October 29, Typhoon Paeng made landfall several times and wrought damage to practically the entire country.
First came images of great floods in Mindanao, specifically Maguindanao province…
…and in Western Visayas.
In Antique, a man was spotted trying to save his cows in the floodwater:
Paeng first made landfall in Camarines Sur in Bicol Region:
and it hit hard in Metro Manila…
…as well as in Southern Luzon.
Here’s a summary by journalist Barnaby Lo for Al Jazeera:
Here’s relevant data on Paeng’s aftermath. As of writing, 48 have died because of Paeng. That’s a rather high death toll.
In a conference with disaster officials—that happened around 2 PM of October 29, already in the middle of the typhoon, and coming from what appears to be a kitchen somewhere—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.expressed alarm over the scores of people killed in the BARMM region alone.
He said, “We should’ve done better in Maguindanao.” But how exactly did he lead preparations for Paeng? Why was he surprised at all? Why didn’t he convene disaster officials earlier?
Some people speculated that the massive floods and landslides in BARMM may have been the result of relaxed mining regulations since last year by the Duterte administration:
Ex-PCGG commissioner Ruben Carranza also reminded people of the massive deforestation that happened during the Marcos dictatorship:
The heavy floods in urban areas necessitate adaptations in urban spaces. Vienna’s “sponge city” offers a way forward:
“It’s not about preventing flooding,” says Scott Hawken, director of the Landscape Architecture and Urban Design programs at the University of Adelaide in Australia. “It’s about working with water intelligently—letting it infiltrate—so flooding is less dangerous.”
Here’s an excellent thread on the stronger typhoons visiting the country:
Where is Marcos Jr. anyway? Why is his Zoom background a kitchen (it was blurred later in the meeting)?
The Type G socket behind him suggests he’s not in the country during the meeting.
Some people speculated that Marcos Jr. might be abroad. “Nasa Japan” trended on Twitter, as well as #NasaanAngPangulo.
Some people noticed the presidential convoy going south of Manila right before Paeng hit.
Others noted that Seoul’s mayor cut his Europe trip short to head back home to address the massive stampede that happened there—and suggested that Marcos should show up soon as well:
Cheloy Garafil, the OIC for the Office of the Press Secretary, denied that Marcos Jr. was in Japan. So where is he? Why couldn’t they answer immediately?
Ex-vice president Leni Robredo’s quote about Marcos remains relevant: “In the difficult moments, he’s nowhere to be seen.”
A stark contrast to, say, the leadership style of the late ex-president Benigno Aquino III:
Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio issued a statement offering “thoughts and prayers” to the typhoon’s victims. That’s all?
People expected more from the president and vice president:
POLICE GENERAL FOR A HEALTH USEC?
It’s day 122, and President Marcos Jr. still hasn’t appointed a health secretary.
Instead, he appointed a health undersecretary in the person of Camilo Cascolan, who happens to be an ex-police general and one of the “brains” behind ex-president Duterte’s “Oplan Tokhang.”
What expertise does Cascolan bring to the table, exactly?
Cascolan defended himself by saying that “Managing health is not just about medical knowledge.” What?
The president also defended his appointment by saying Cascolan doesn’t have to be a doctor, and his appointee will be looking at rightsizing/structural issues in the Department of Health. Really?
This meme from 2020 is suddenly relevant again:
Is this part of the “best and brightest” brag?
Former health secretary Janette Garin tried to downplay the appointment:
Trolls on socmed, as expected, also minimized the issue:
Interestingly, DOH OIC Maria Rosario Vergeire—a career official—revealed that the post of health secretary was not offered to her by the president.
Bad appointments spell disaster for the country’s health sector.
For one thing, Marcos Jr. signed this week an executive order—bereft of science—making mask-wearing optional indoors and outdoors except at health/medical facilities and public transportation.
The decision was made considering the concerns of different sectors. Are we back to the old health-economy trade-off debate?
The relaxation of the mask mandate indoors has worried many people.
The DOH itself said that new daily COVID cases may rise to 18,000 by end-2022 because of this new policy:
Meanwhile, a new report shows that the Philippines is the top 5 country globally in terms of children failing to get any vaccines—a legacy of the vaccine hesitancy/scare wrought by some officials of the previous administration.
ECONOMIC GASLIGHTING
At Negros Occidental, President Marcos Jr. tried to reassure the country that despite everything the economy is doing well. He said, “Ang Pilipinas, ‘yung ekonomiya naman ng Pilipinas maayos naman.”
That’s totally at odds with the situation on the ground, and as evidenced by data.
By the way, Marcos Jr. also misspoke in the same speech by claiming we’re an agricultural country. We’re not.
Meanwhile, at Davao City, the president spewed more word salad about the economy:
Back in October 6, the president claimed that the government provided P1.54 billion worth of aid for the country’s 17 million farmers and fisherfolk. The real number as of August was just 10.8 million. Where is he getting his numbers? (Radio station DZRH misquoted the president and reported that Marcos Jr. said “70 million.”)
Inflation continues to rattle the country. Some people couldn’t help but notice the exorbitant rise of Jollibee prices.
I visited the famous MerNel’s bakery at Los Baños, and they, too, are raising prices due to high costs of inputs:
Food prices might go up even more in Q4 this year:
Where is the P20/kg of rice promised by Marcos Jr. on the campaign trail?
In a bid to quell sugar prices, the Sugar Regulatory Administration began selling “BBM Sugar” at the lobby of the Department of Agriculture. A veritable Band-Aid solution.
Inflation will eat away at growth, and the country may very well miss its growth targets next year:
Interestingly, some trolls even defend high inflation:
Intriguingly, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan claimed that the government’s actions against inflation have helped to abate poverty in September. What’s his basis, though?
The latest Social Weather Stations survey showed that self-rated poverty actually inched up of late:
What exactly has the government done to abate inflation? There’s no game plan, actually. I wrote about that on Rappler recently.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno recklessly said that the government will defend the peso at no worse than P60/USD, and suggested that the government can spend about $10 billion therefor.
This statement impinges on the independence of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and also invites speculation among traders that could lead to a further drawing down of our international reserves.
Defending the peso is a tricky business. I wrote about this for Rappler this week.
Someone joked where we might get much-needed reserves:
Amid the global rise of interest rates, more economists are wondering if inducing a recession is really the best way to tame inflation.
The eurozone is already headed toward a recession:
In the US, some economists see that a recession is a certainty.
Sure, the US economy grew by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter of 2022. But all other data are pointing south.
US manufacturing and services have dipped of late:
The US yield curve is also inverting—a traditional indicator of recessions past.
Interest rates on mortgages have also reached their highest level since 2002—one of the fallouts of the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes.
In the US, demand-driven inflation has figured more prominently in recent months:
#NEVERFORGET
The Department of Education—headed by Vice President Sara Duterte—continues to draw flak for publishing modules that seem to whitewash the Marcos dictatorship.
Opposition senator Risa Hontiveros said, “DepEd shouldn’t be an enabler of Martial Law Rebranding.”
Sara Duterte-Carpio issued a statement:
Historian Kristoffer Pasion had this to say:
Speaking of the DepEd, laptops it procured are being resold in surplus stores in Cebu—and at ridiculously cheap prices.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said that the SC could still reopen the Marcos estate tax case. But why?
MISCELLANEOUS
More details have surfaced on the case of Percy Lapid’s killing. For one, his family continues to receive threats, as disclosed by Senator Hontiveros:
And then, on October 29, it was revealed that the alleged “middleman” in the killing was killed by suffocating him with a plastic bag. This was indicated by respected forensic pathologist and UP Manila professor Dr. Raquel Fortun in a press conference with Justice Secretary Boying Remulla:
The paper cutouts for the National IDs are quite embarrassing for the Philippine government.
Statistics professor Peter Cayton said “This will be a thorn on the side of the PSA [Philippine Statistics Authority].”
Lawmakers are probing what happened to the country’s salt industry. Apparently we’re importing around 92% of our salt:
Disheartening images of China’s occupation of islands in the West Philippine Sea:
A Korean Air flight overshot at the Mactan Cebu International Airport:
We’re a “global case study of media repression”:
A looming crisis for Filipino seafarers:
A case of legislative plagiarism?
UP Los Baños bid farewell to its famous and iconic kapok tree.
In South Korea, tragedy struck as 151 people were killed in a stampede in Itaewon.
Mass CPRs were done in the streets:
GRAPHS OF NOTE
Update on the global distribution of income:
Past and present world population:
Per-capita incomes in rich countries, PPP (purchasing power parity)-adjusted:
The long-term benefits of education:
The long-term effects of slavery:
Globalization is in retreat (yet again):
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommended movie: Deadstream. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Horror-comedy flick. More of a satire of the rise of vloggers and livestreamers.
Recommended movie: Bros. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ At times a little too focused on gay stereotypes, but highly entertaining.
Recommended series: Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Just excellent. Star-studded, too! My favorite episodes are The Murmuring (unexpectedly a tear-jerker!), Graveyard Rats, The Autopsy, and Lot 36.
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