The Tomorrow of My Country:

The results of the election last May 9, 2022 will undoubtedly have an impact on the
Philippine economy. It caused national disunity by dividing the Filipino people into numerous
groups with disparate ideologies. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who won the 17th election
and is now the current president of the Philippines, was the only candidate to call for "unity."
However, did our country really become united after his victory? Or was it all a lie to allow him
and his family to regain power and control our country?
After winning the 2022 Philippine presidential election, the economy of our country
instantly decreased, after foreign investors withdrew since President Marcos had no concrete
plans about his economic policies. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the
unemployment rate in the Philippines was 5% as of September 2022. President Marcos stated
that "We are not that high" in response to the June 2022 inflation rate reading of 6.1%. I will
disagree with his statement, since 6 percent inflation is extremely high and it will be very
difficult for the Filipino citizens to keep up with cost of goods and commodities since the
Philippines have high unemployment rate and jobs offers less salaries. Beginning in August
2022, there was a sugar crisis in the Philippines. This would eventually result in the closure of
some local businesses, including farmers and food manufacturers. I remembered his speech
before the Manila Overseas Press Club on October 5 in which he said, "I think what we have
managed to do in the first 100 days is put together a government which is functional and which
has a very, very good idea of what we are targeting in terms of strict economic targets." This is
the exact opposite of what is truly happening in the Philippines. All he did before the election
was to tell sweet promises, he always yearned for unity, and his tagline "Sabay-sabay tayong
babangon muli" which also contradicts what is happening right now, since the Philippines'
economy is plummeting down. I hate to admit it, but in my opinion, he only liked the title of
President because he is respected. He did not want the job as President. He is clearing his
family's name of the mud by using his position.
Admitting that our nation's economy and civil war are failing is very difficult. However, I
still believe that we can make our nation great and that this is not the end for our country. But if
we do nothing, it will never happen; we need to start taking steps to boost our economy. Change
will always start with ourselves; refusing to do so would be the same as bidding our good future
farewell. His idea of unity is admirable, but if he cannot demonstrate that he is a capable leader,
it is highly unlikely that this "unity" will ever be achieved. It's possible that future crises will be
mitigated if our government develops comprehensive and trustworthy plans for the nation.
However, if our government continues to lack any sort of clear strategy or action plan, all I can
see in my opinion, is how badly his administration is doing, and I can say that the future of my
country will be dark and catastrophic.