President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was able to come up with definite and clear foreign policy in his first year in office, a political analyst said. President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. and US President Joe Biden during the bilateral meeting at the Oval Office inside the White House in Washington D.C. on May 01, 2023. (KJ Rosales/PPA POOL)
University of Santo Tomas political science Professor Froilan Calilung made the assessment on Marcos' initial year in office in a media forum in Quezon City on Saturday, July 1. “Ang isa sa talagang masasabi kong strong suit ng ating Pangulo ngayon (One of the strong suits of the President that I can say now) politically speaking was the fact that he was able to come up with a very definite, very clear and specific direction when it comes to his foreign policy,” said Calilung, who is also the director of the Local Government Development Institute. “And I think, politically speaking, this is one thing that I think will really put further, you know, the President in a very good position dahil nga kung makikita natin, iba iyong naging galaw ng ating foreign policy noong panahon ni Pangulong Duterte (because we can see that it is different from our foreign policy during the time of President Duterte),” Calilung added. The political analyst stressed the Philippines was seeing a pivot as it shifts towards the United States, noting that it shows the President’s decisiveness to actually carve his own direction in line with his foreign policy. Calilung pointed out that, in terms of passing key legislative measures, Marcos should be more assertive and must aggressively work with legislators considering his supermajority in Congress. Despite some challenges, the political analyst said the public feels that, under Marcos' leadership, the rule of law as an institution is actually being upheld and proper perspective is being given due importance. He emphasized that the rule of law is important in bagging foreign investments, adding that this can never materialize if there is a perception of breakdown in peace and order situation.

Good relations with media

Aside from his good performance in other areas, Calilung said the President was able to build good relations with the press. “I think this is something that the President is also very keen on attaining – not to mention also, politically, maganda rin iyong naging landas na tinahak noong relasyon between the President and the media (the relationship between the President and the media is towards the right direction),” he said. “Unlike in the past administration na talagang ramdam natin iyong (we can really feel the) animosity. But right now, I feel that the media is a lot freer, I think…even the NUJP mentioned na medyo mas nararamdaman nila na less restricted iyong gobyerno (that they can feel that the government is less restricted)," he added. [READ MORE: Marcos' first year in office: Meeting world's superpowers](https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/30/marcos-first-year-in-office-meeting-world-s-superpowers)