Back to business please

With the national election done and over with and most of our newly elected lawmakers and local government officials proclaimed and sworn into office, can we please all get back to business?

- MARIANNE GO

And when I say get back to business, I mean the economy...not political "business" or monkey business (of course with a lot of prayers for good luck to that).

We all know that part of the fascination with the election result, especially in the Senate, is the next phase of the Duterte saga, with analysts now trying to discern how an impeachment attempt against Vice President Sara Duterte will play out in the chamber and if the Duterte camp will be able to muster enough votes to block any move to unseat the VP who is widely believed to be a strong contender for the 2028 presidential election.

Perhaps, while most of us were temporarily fascinated by the outcome of the just passed elections and the unexpected inclusion of what could possibly be a glimmer of opposition – and an interesting rejection of another "entertaining" lineup of lawmakers... news about lower investment inflows, a dip in remittances and tourists arrivals came out, but seemingly had no impact on the general public.

The Department of Tourism or DOT reported that 1,167,908 foreign travelers visited the Philippines in the first two months of 2025, a 0.6 percent drop compared to the first quarter of 2024. Over a quarter or 25.31 percent of the total figure came from South Korea with 295,611 tourists, based on DOT data as of March 1, 2025. South Korea has been the Philippines' top source of tourists since 2023.

Following South Korea was the United States with 229,836 travelers, Japan with 83,208 tourists, Canada with 65,145 visitors and Australia with 61,564 guests. The Philippines also welcomed 53,545 tourists from China, 41,388 from Taiwan, 34,451 from the United Kingdom, 29,352 from Singapore and 21,252 from France.