Struggling to fight negativity

The last few months have been rough. On radio and social media, we Filipinos have been inundated (and entertained) by legislative hearings that exposed the dastardly deeds of politicians and supposed spiritual leaders. Leading the pack is suspected Chinese spy and POGO operator, Guo Hua Ping (aka Alice Guo) and inculpated collaborator, Mayor Dong Calugay. Then there are the two accused scammers cum sex offenders who reportedly preyed on the ignorance of their flock – Apollo Quiboloy and Jey Rence Qilario.

Bad as it was, they were just the sideshow to our regular programming of corruption scandals. From the Pharmally scam of the Duterte government to the abuses in confidential funds of VP Sara Duterte to the alleged drug smuggling of Paolo Duterte and Mans Carpio.

And then there were the hearings on the drug war before the quad comm where the former president displayed his violent streak anew. It reminded us of a dark era in our history when our peace-loving country became a global pariah all because of the bloodlust of one man. There seems to be no end to the damage wrought by the Duterte dynasty.

A few public servants give us reason to be optimistic; Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is one of them. But the incident involving his Cadillac Escalade gave me the idea that even the “good senators” are just as entitled as the worst of them. Although Gatchalian’s office denies his involvement, there is no denying the video that showed a Cadillac with a plate number associated to Gatchalian using the EDSA busway. The driver tried to run over the law enforcer and the passenger even gave the poor cop the middle finger. Talk about the height of disrespect for our civil servants. This is exactly the entitlement we resent among politicians. We should call them out whenever they get exposed from behind their heavily tinted windows.

Exacerbating matters is the cast of clowns and family members who filed their candidacies for elected positions. Most are intellectually of low quality. See, in this country, politics is a family business and the career path for ageing entertainers who can’t succeed in any other career.

With so much corruption and entitlement perpetuated by our own leaders, one can’t help but feel pessimistic about the future.

I must admit, I’ve been struggling not to be overcome by negativity. I want to remain hopeful. But how?

A reason to be optimistic

Last week, I moderated a segment of the Pilipinas Conference organized by the Stratbase Institute. The second day was dedicated to economic affairs for which seven Cabinet secretaries of the economic team presented their programs.

Sometimes, we need to zoom-out our lens to see where bright spots lie. I found reasons to be optimistic in the economy. It is doing very well.

Many may not realize that the economy has doubled in size since 2013. It will double in size again by 2030 to reach nearly a trillion dollars. Barring self-inflicted muck-ups, our economy will continue to be among the best performing in Asia, clocking in growth between 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent.

For perspective, in the year 2000, the Philippines was only the 45th largest global economy. We were at 34th place in 2023 and will progress to 28th position in 2029. If we manage to sustain our trends, we will become the 14th largest economy by 2075.

Our impressive growth is thanks to our demographic advantage and to the economic reforms undertaken in the last 15 years. We have the youngest population in ASEAN (25.3 years old) which has allowed our workforce to grow to 49.9 million people. We will reap the full benefits of our demographic advantage in 2035, which means there is a long ramp-up to go.

Unemployment is down to 3.7 percent and underemployment to 11.9 percent. As an upper middle income economy, the country is forecast to be the 13th largest consumer market by 2030.

The economy is built on solid ground. Debt is manageable at only 60.6 percent of GDP for which only 28.9 percent are foreign loans. Our debt-to-GDP ratio will decrease to 56.3 percent by 2028. Our cash reserves are at $112.71 billion, sufficient for 8.1 months of imports. Year-to-date inflation decreased to 3.3 percent and will continue to decline. The banking system is strong with 16.6 percent liquidity (international standards is 8 percent). Our good fundamentals have caused five major credit rating agencies to categorize Philippine debt as “investment grade.”

But investment-led growth still eludes us. To this, the CREATE MORE Act was recently passed to improve our competitiveness as an investment destination. The law clarifies VAT rules and enhances tax incentives. Let’s hope it works.

Other reforms in the pipeline include the amendments to the Economic Liberalization Law, accelerated digital connectivity and amendments to the Renewable Energy Act, among others.

To support our growing economy, 186 big ticket infrastructure projects are underway worth $176 billion. Of these, 135 relate to physical connectivity and 29 to water security.

The favorable outlook of the economy is only a consolation to me. I can’t help but think how much better our country would have been if our political leaders had more shame, were less corrupt and more competent.

Let’s be honest, we have been left behind in all development indices by our neighbors and that falls squarely on the shoulders of our political leaders. The greater majority are simply not as intelligent, competent or honest as their equivalents in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Yet, they are infinitely more entitled.

So despite the good prospects of the economy, the poor quality of our political leaders remains a demoralizing factor. I am holding on to positivity by my fingertips.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan