There it was—the face of the President was staring before us and other passengers while we were waiting for our flight in Laguindingan airport.     His profile was plastered with numbers on the legacy he is leaving behind.   

                22,093 drug- cleared barangays

                229,289 hectares of land distributed

1,623,628 students given free tuition, among the many others.

We were literally drowned in the number of accomplishments that were enumerated.  We were perhaps asking ourselves what will we remember when he is gone?  Did he make our lives any better?  Will the memory of his Presidency evoke nostalgia and a smile?

There are milestones we would remember -  the decline in poverty incidence to 16.7% before the pandemic. His continuation of the 4Ps lifted some 6 million people from poverty.  The Build Build Build program of the administration resulted to major infrastructure projects such as the Skyway from Buendia to Balintawak.  The country obtained a higher score in the Human Development Index—up by 4 places from 0.711 in 2019 to 0.718 in 2020. (The rating scale has 1 as the top score.) We are happy to note the improvements in our life expectancy.  On the average, Filipinos are expected to live for 71.2 years.  And our children go to school for an average of 13.1 years. 

But the President would also be leaving behind decisions and events from which the country has yet to recover. The drug war resulted in several deaths—6,000 from official sources.  It is believed, however, that this estimate is only a fraction of the true number of persons who were killed.  The estimates are between 12,000 to 30,000 deaths, some of which were unjust, uncalled for, and in violation of human rights.  He would be remembered as the President whose violations of human rights have been brought to the International Court of Justice.

There are other benchmarks to measure how the government which he led performed in the last 6 years.

• The Philippines continues to slide down in the 2021 Rule of Law Index.  Out of 139 countries, we are now in the 102^nd spot and 13^th out of 15 countries in East Asia.  We are nearly at the bottom on a scorecard that measures how justice is administered and how rights of ordinary citizens are protected.
• We slipped 7 spots in the 2021 World Competitiveness Index.  Our country holds the record of having the steepest decline in competitiveness in Asia.  Out of 64 countries, we are 52^nd.  Compare this to being 45th in 2020.  The country stands out for having the longest and strictest lockdown which contributed to the highest decline in GDP in the region (17.0% in the 2^nd quarter of 2020), high unemployment and underemployment rates, and again, a rise in our poverty rate of 23.7%.
• The Philippines was a “significant decliner,” having gone down 5 points since 2014 in the Corruption Index of Transparency International.  Alongside with Algeria, Egypt, Zambia, and Nepal, the Philippines scored  33 out of 100 score in the index that measures  bribery, diversion of public funds, the use of public office for private gain and excessive red tape. 

 An increase in corruption, a decline in competitiveness, a worsening score in the rule of law---these do not speak of King Arthur’s “happily-ever-aftering Camelot.” The next President will have more than enough on her/his plate.

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