Signals of a dismal future

The Department of Agriculture’s decision to remove labels on imported rice to address rising rice prices is a superficial attempt to curb price manipulation, and offers little more than a façade to deceive consumers. This, according to citizen advocacy groups Bantay Bigas and the farmer’s organization Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas. This debate feels almost trivial when placed in the larger context of the Philippines’ deepening rice crisis.

This crisis is marked by farming families opting out of agriculture, a decrease in the number of rice mills across the archipelago, recurring food shortages and high prices, and the staggering reality of involuntary hunger, which affects one in four Filipino families, according to the September 2024 Social Weather Stations survey. These indicators forecast 2025 to be a year likely to be defined by the twin specters of expensive rice and expansive hunger.

This misplaced emphasis reflects a glaring shortfall in responding to urgent socioeconomic challenges. The recently approved 2025 national budget callously starves critical institutions such as the Department of Education, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. These are the very agencies equipped to address hunger, poverty, and public health crises, yet they’ve been sidelined in favor of misplaced spending in aid of political electability. Philippine governance appears seriously out of sync with the needs of the people.

The deepening hunger and food crisis is ironic when one considers the Philippines’ symbolic and tangible contributions to global agricultural preservation. Dr. Joel Cuello of the University of Arizona reports that in October 2024, the International Rice Research Institute deposited 7,000 rice samples in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault—often dubbed the “Doomsday Vault”—in Norway’s Arctic permafrost. Alongside IRRI, the National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory in University of the Philippines Los Baños deposited seeds from 14 crops, including sorghum and okra.

While these contributions are laudable, they sharply contrast with the domestic reality of underfunded agricultural initiatives and dwindling government support for farmers. For many deprived Filipinos, “doomsday” is already here.

Signals from the margins paint a distressing picture. While the elite are enchanted by Siargao’s portrayal as “the Filipino island that evokes 1970s Bali,” as described recently in The New York Times, the same region harbors extreme poverty and hunger.

In the islands of Suyangan and Sitio Mamon, “hunger was so deep that children tried eating sand” according to Fr. Ben Nebres, former president of Ateneo, who has co-engineered with local samaritans massive and expansive sustainable feeding programs for children in Siargao and other places across the archipelago. Father Nebres’ work sheds light on the blended realities of beauty and bounty alongside disaster and despair in the Philippines.

The outlook for the Philippines from 2025 to 2028 appears bleak. Unless decisive action is taken to restore political efficacy and rebuild public trust, the nation risks another historic reckoning akin to the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution. President Marcos’ fragmented administration, marked by a President and Vice President locked in combat like spiders on a stick—has squandered the promise of unity and good governance that won them the May 2022 elections.

Doubling down on its rudderless freefall, the administration’s proposed Senate slate for 2025 reeks of political decay, a roster emblematic of patronage politics and devoid of vision for national renewal.

Filipino voters can be impressed not only by celebrities but by exceptional public service performers as well. The pathway forward lies in fielding candidates like the late senator Juan Flavier, who engineered grassroots health programs, and the late Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, who implemented reforms as postmaster general.

More impressive is the case of Sen. Joel Villanueva, who rose to prominence through his transformative leadership at Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. Their careers illustrate how genuine public service can translate into political success. These examples demonstrate that Filipinos reward leaders who deliver traceable benefits to their welfare.

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