Adrift in a stormy sea

We are drifting. Not by design, I suspect, but despite whatever. I do not know whether we are sailing to go somewhere or just sailing and hoping not to sink. I have yet to hear where the destined land is and what it is all about. There have been positive statements made by the political leadership these past several months but motherhood statements are difficult to interpret in the flesh, all the more if we want to measure success.

Definitely, there had been lots of talk about the golden era. Sadly, that past coincided with a bankruptcy of the Philippines. There was no golden era, not even a golden glimmer as the international financial world would not even accept any letter of credit from the Philippines. There also had been constant mention that nobody had built more roads and built more bridges, but at what cost and over 20 years?

When Marcos, Sr. took over the presidency in 1966, the total debt of the Philippines stood at US$600 million. When he left in 1986, the total debt stood at US$26 billion, or 43 times bigger. It should stand to reason that he could have built 43 times more roads and bridges because he borrowed 43 times more money than the past presidents. That is not a golden era, that is a golden failure.

That golden era is of no interest to me, except it meant a golden plunder of the wealth of the nation. Marcos, Sr. is long gone. His reputation has been so tarnished that great efforts have been made to distort history and repaint his image. Difficult for many of us, and maybe difficult for him, too, Marcos, Jr. governs as the current president. He is the captain of our national ship. He and his presidency are what interests me today.

Rice is climbing to the 50-peso level, not going down to 20 pesos per kilo. At 50 pesos per kilo, the rice farmer should be able to attain reasonable profits and steadily improve his and his family’s financial status. It is not happening for him, but the price of rice is climbing. Something is very wrong but we have no one to ask why that is so. There is no Dept. of Agriculture Secretary and we cannot expect the captain of our national ship to explain to us the anomaly of the rice situation.

Thailand and India want to curtail exports and the Philippines wants to increase its imports. That leaves us hanging by a thread on the generosity of Vietnam, our last major source of rice after the Filipino farmer. With an erratic global climate that is making things more unpredictable, accentuated by reports of an impending El Niño soon, I do not know how much rice our own farmers can produce.

Oil and gas prices are also going up faster than we can afford. That means not just fuel for transportation but also gas for cooking. It also means that the cost of electricity is rising. I have stopped monitoring food prices. Instead, I just watch the budget for food and groceries. Ours keep going up and I believe it is because prices are moving up and not because someone is making kupit from the kompra (stealing from the marketing money). Where is the additional income to offset the increases of essential items and costs of living?

What are we to do? I will not be asking if our ship were not adrift, and if the captain has been clear in his articulation of a vision we can rally around and a mission where all can find our place and our tasks in the next five years. However, like many among us, I listen to news reports on a regular basis, or read them online. I am still trying to get a working concept and program outside of motherhood statements – motherhood because we have heard them over and over again yet cannot measure their accomplishments.

It seems we are all just waiting for some good news or favorable developments although we do not know from whom. Maybe the Russian war against Ukraine will stop and the global economy can be better focused on production and distribution. Maybe the oil producers will experience a glut in supply but less demand, bringing oil prices down. Maybe the climate will go back to normal and our rice and food production will sharply increase.

Or maybe our traveling salesman can finally bring home the bacon, not just news about the bacon. Bacon is great when it is cooked and eaten, not when it is just on billboards or the internet. We are eagerly waiting for our proportionate share of the global investments to perk up our manufacturing and the jobs they will create. Eagerly waiting after 12 trips in 11 countries, waiting and still waiting.

But, please, we are not waiting for government to borrow more so it can do its job. That is not the money of the officials in power today, and it is a debt they will pay when they leave their positions. We, our children, and our grandchildren will pay an almost 15 trillion pesos national debt, 9 billion more in 7 years from the 6 trillion pesos that all past presidents before Duterte had left behind.

And I do not mind waiting for the Maharlika Fund to bring in the hundreds of millions to pay for that 15 trillion debt, even if I include this wish in my prayers. I pray, too, that the Maharlika Fund will not be swept away by ill fortune, or by greed.

Without knowing why or how, we must not give up. Because we cannot go on day after day without a dream to pursue A dream, not a fantasy, not Tallano gold, not 20 peso/kilo, not the return of a golden era that never was. A dream to wake up for, a bright future to work and fight for – we have to find it.