Tattered economy

Our economy has been tattered by the flood control scandal. That, in turn, is now threatening our political stability. BBM and the Ombudsman must deliver the promised jailing of “big fish” politicians before Christmas or the anger might boil over to mar our holiday season.

- BOO CHANCO

Former congressman Joey Salceda observed that the corruption scandal “has triggered a rapid collapse of trust in public institutions” at a scale, he says, that is staggering.

At the base of this institutional unraveling is public frustration on the state of our economy. Wages remain stagnant, food prices stubbornly high, and the perception that the government is disconnected from household realities has crystalized into political anger, the former congressman observed.

Salceda warns that “When governance credibility and economic confidence collapse simultaneously, the result is a system that is both unstable and stagnant, volatile in its politics yet paralyzed in its capacity to act.”

Complicating BBM’s political problems is the detachment of some of his cabinet members to reality.

It was simply callous of the DTI Secretary to claim that P500 was sufficient for a family’s Noche Buena dinner. It is tone-deaf and exposes an elitist perspective, rubbing salt on the wounds caused by social inequality.

The issue was not merely the arithmetic, Salceda pointed out.

“Official messaging had become detached from the lived experience of ordinary Filipinos. For many families, the statement confirmed a larger fear; that economic policy signals are no longer grounded in actual market conditions. This is why the political moment feels stalled.”

Worse, mali na nga, pinipilit pa! The DTI Secretary, a lady, has obviously not been to the market lately.

This is par for the course in official government figures that need updating to reflect reality.

For instance, the official figure from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for a family of five to live on was P13,873 per month as of 2023. That's less than P500 a day to cover basic necessities.