IBON Birdtalk: Marcos Jr. Administration Big on Optics, Short on Pro-People Responses
Despite the Marcos Jr. administration’s claims of economic growth, poverty remains at an all-time high, according to political and economic analysts from IBON Foundation during the IBON Birdtalk Yearstarter on January 23 at the UP Institute of Biology Auditorium. The Birdtalk was co-sponsored by the UP Office of the Faculty Regent and the All UP Academic Employees Union. IBON Foundation Executive Director Sonny Africa and IBON Research Head Rosario Guzman pointed out that the steady increase in the prices of basic commodities, coupled with the government’s admission of a food emergency, underscores the worsening economic crisis experienced by the majority of working Filipinos. “What we see is that Marcos is big on optics but short on results,” Africa said. Both experts emphasized the need for the Philippine government to adopt a policy of national industrialization to establish a material basis for an inclusive and progressive economy. In a global context where many countries, including highly industrialized and imperialist ones like the United States, are adopting protectionist economic policies, the Philippine government continues to follow the neoliberal path of privatizing social services and public assets while relying heavily on foreign investments. According to Guzman, the political rivalry between the Marcos and Duterte families, two of today’s most powerful political dynasties, serves only to distract from the continuation of failed policies that benefit oligarchs and foreign monopoly capitalists. Meanwhile, UP Faculty Regent Early Sol Gadong highlighted the importance of platforms like Birdtalk, which provide opportunities to discuss political and economic issues from the perspective of marginalized sectors in Philippine society. Faculty Regent Gadong also underscored the critical role of defending academic freedom to ensure that social issues are openly discussed and policies such as neoliberalism are subjected to thorough critique. “As a math teacher, I find it despicable that data and statistics, such as unemployment and poverty rates, are manipulated to project the illusion that everything is fine in the country. I always remind my students that numbers may not lie, but data can be tortured to say whatever we want it to say. We must be critical enough to know when we are being played for fools,” she explained. Gadong also recognized the current situation as an opportunity for progressives to reach out to as many people as possible to achieve the broadest unity in pushing for progressive change. “We have a huge role, especially those of us in the academe. It is always part of our responsibility to strengthen our ranks, not only for knowledge creation but also to use this knowledge to improve society,” she added.