High stakes

EYES WIDE OPEN

- IRIS GONZALES

Now we wait with bated breath, anxiety levels are through the roof. It's a high-stakes midterm poll, after all, which will no doubt be a referendum on the administration of President Marcos.

Halfway into Marcos 2.0, there is nothing much to applaud in terms of economic or fiscal progress or any new big infrastructure project. There are no new and big state-owned hospitals like what Marcos Sr. built during his term, except for specialty centers, nor life-changing policies that Filipinos could truly be thankful for.

His campaign promise of P20-per-kilo rice is still a soon-to-happen dream, while that of a united Philippines did not materialize. Ooops. Not only did it fail to materialize, it made our country more deeply divided than ever.

As a result, the administration has become too preoccupied with the ongoing Marcos-Duterte family feud that not much attention has been given to the everyday problems of Filipinos.

Inflation has slowed to 1.4 percent in April from 1.8 percent in March, but it is taking time for ordinary Filipinos to feel this. Prices of basic goods and commodities are still high. One just needs to go to the grocery or wet market to see that there is not a lot one can buy for what should be a daily living wage of P1,222 for a family of five, especially with a prevailing wage gap of P577.