Economic reforms seen to continue

Economic reforms are expected to proceed, even as the political noise amplified by the midterm election results that "weakened" the Marcos administration's hold on power may hamper efforts to enhance public-sector effectiveness, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

- BY BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

"Partial and unofficial results from the midterm election in the Philippines on May 12 indicate a decrease in the political capital of the President, Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., in the 24-member Senate," noted EIU Asia analyst Kalyani Honrao and Asia-Pacific regional director Alex Holmes in a May 13 report titled "Philippine midterm election weakens President's position," obtained by Manila Bulletin.

EIU cited that more candidates allied with former President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte—plus a couple who are affiliated with neither the Marcos nor Duterte administrations—joining the Senate in July "will effectively erode the influence Mr. Marcos exerts" on the upper chamber of Congress.

"Even so, the President's allies will maintain their majority in the Senate, and EIU does not expect a significant deterioration in political stability or policy effectiveness as a result of the outcome," it said.

While this would allow President Marcos to finish his six-year term in 2028, EIU said that "the failure of either camp to achieve an emphatic victory means that the political temperature will remain high in the ongoing feud between the camps of the current and former presidents."