"Mr. President, we do not have the luxury of time."
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday, October 7, made the statement as the country marks the first 100 days of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in power, as she laments the lack of management skills and direction of the leader.
“The first 100 days was conceptualized by President Franklin Roosevelt, who acted swiftly during the Great Depression. It is meant to set the tone of bold leadership and management in the midst of crises, just as we are facing now,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“To this day, that tone has not been assumed,” she pointed out.
When he should have taken on the reins of governance, the opposition lawmaker said the President seems to have taken only a slack hold: “Is the President really at the helm? Or does he expect the ship to sail itself?”
What is disturbing, she said, is the obvious internal strife happening in Malacañang.
“The President’s lack of management skills and a topsy-turvy bureaucracy are blockages in government functions, as shown by the non-handling of the sugar import fiasco in the middle of the recession,” she said.
She also pointed out that this early in his career as Chief Executive, two Cabinet officials and the Commission on Audit (COA) chairperson have already resigned.
“At hanggang ngayon, wala pa ring Health Secretary o Agriculture Secretary na silang dapat tutugon sa pandemya at food shortage (And until now, we still have no Health Secretary or Agriculture secretary who should respond to our problems on the pandemic and food security),” she lamented.
She also note that the most recent Pulse Asia survey revealed that 42 percent of Filipinos disapprove of the President’s lack of urgency when it comes to controlling inflation, which most Filipinos believe is the most pressing issue today.
“Because inflation soared to 6.9 percent, araw-araw dumadami ang mga nagugutom na pamilya sa bansa (Everyday, the number of families going hungry are increasing). The peso has plummeted to historic lows. Marami ang nawalan ng trabaho. Nagkukulang na tayo sa gulay at asukal, habang tumataas rin ang presyo ng gasolina at kuryente (Many people lost jobs. we had a vegetable and sugar shortage while the price of gas and electricity sky-rocketed),” added Hontiveros.
Despite an impressive economic team, Hontiveros said there is nothing to mark President Marcos’ first 100 days,
“Bagama’t nakapag-appoint siya ng mala-Avengers na economic team, hindi pa rin malinaw ang direksyon ng pagbawi ng ating bansa mula sa recession. Kung yan ang basehan, masasabing walang bakas sa First 100 days ng pagbangon ng ekonomiya ang itatampok ng administrasyong ito (Even though he was able to appoint an impressive economic team, there is no clear direction on the country’s recovery roadmap from recession. If that is the basis, there is nothing to mark the Marcos’ administration’s first 100 days on economic recovery,” she said.
“We do not expect the administration to solve all the problems of the nation in 100 days, but Mr. President, we do not have the luxury of time,” Hontiveros stressed.
“Ang daming kailangang ayusin. Ang daming nangangailangan ng tulong (There’s so many things to do. There are so many people who need help). The President should have taken control of the wheel 100 days ago. But since no one can turn back time, he needs to put his back into the real work now,” she emphasized.