I just received from a nephew of mine a communication he received from a mutual friend, Rafael “Raffy” Moreno Alunan III, about the state of the Philippine economy and, especially, about the horrible actions of some of our politicians. I would like to comment extensively on this missive to the public because the brief document is a perfect example of what criticisms of our public officials should be: constructive.

But first, a public disclosure. Raffy is not only a personal friend; he was one of my brilliant students at De La Salle University during the late 1960s. I was always impressed with his civic-mindedness and concern for the common good. It is no wonder that he eventually became Secretary of Tourism under the late President Corazon Aquino, and later Secretary of the Interior and Local Government under the late President Fidel V. Ramos. As an entrepreneur himself, he has seen both sides of Philippine society—namely, the private sector and the government.

I want to cite him as an example of a leader who not only criticizes what is wrong with our public officials but also comes forward with very practical solutions to the numerous problems of Philippine society. Criticisms today are a dime a dozen because those “clowns” in the Senate make it very easy to find fault in what they are doing or not doing. We entertain ourselves with all sorts of jokes about the crying lady (kamusta ka), the comforting lady (nakaiiyak), and the “Yuck.” I am sure there will be more “dramas” as the impeachment process against Vice President Sara Duterte proceeds. There is a dearth, though, of actual practical suggestions on how to solve the myriad of especially economic challenges facing the nation as a result of the ongoing economic crisis called “stagflation”—slow economic growth coupled with high inflation, particularly food inflation that can be expected to hit double digits this year.

Raffy minces no words in lambasting public officials:

“Despite the converging threats to our survival as a nation, we’re captives to the most shameful behavior of our elected and appointed officials in the Executive and Legislative Branches, and despicably shallow mentality of partisans who support and enable their brand of criminals in government, who place blind loyalty above national interests and the common good.”

He also realistically assesses the serious threat to the material well-being of the Filipino public:

“We’re now experiencing rotating brownouts; increasing fuel, food, and electricity costs; hyperinflationary pressures; supply chain stresses; depreciating peso; the drawdown of commercial oil and LNG stocks has forced the NGCP to issue rolling Red and Yellow alerts across the Luzon and Visayas grids.”

From his profound analysis of the causes of the ongoing stagflation, he offers some very valuable recommendations to our government officials and the private sector on how to minimize the harm done, especially to the poorest of the poor. Raffy was always taught at De La Salle to exercise the “preferential option for the poor.” It is very predictable that his first recommendation has to do precisely with how to exercise this option: “The government must resist broad-based subsidies and strictly preserve fiscal space for direct, targeted wealth transfers to the bottom 40% of households and critical transport sectors.” Especially during the current year, there will be a good number of households who were already above the poverty line and belonged to the lower-middle-income categories who will once again fall below the poverty line because of the loss of employment coupled with very high food and transport prices.

In fact, when the Marcos Jr. (BBM) Administration took over in July 2022, those households below the poverty line constituted 16 percent of the total population. In the first two years of the current administration, that percentage declined to 13 percent as food security was given the highest priority and agriculture was better managed under an effective Secretary. Unfortunately, as a result of the multi-billion-peso scandal in public works in 2026, the poverty line has returned to 16 percent or even more. There is a high probability that even if the United States (US)–Iran war ends soon, the price of oil will continue to be high because it will take time for all the destroyed petroleum-related facilities to be reconstructed.

Raffy makes the reasonable recommendation to temporarily lift environmental restrictions on older coal-fired and heavy fuel oil plants. Especially since the Philippines contributes less than one percent to global pollution due to coal and petroleum, it is only fair that our country be allowed to do so. As Raffy reasonably argues: “Survival dictates treating these carbon-intensive domestic assets as the temporary baseline for national stability until maritime chokepoints reopen.”

Because of my present focus on issues related to food security, I am especially interested in Raffy’s very practical suggestions concerning agriculture. He realistically assesses the global outlook for fertilizer supply as critical. I support his very practical suggestion that food security must be addressed as much as possible at the Local Government Unit (LGU) level. Local communities must develop their food security infrastructure, such as urban greenhouses utilizing drip irrigation (for efficient water usage and conservation), fertigation (injecting fertilizers directly into the irrigation system), and the organization of nutrient alternatives.

Since food shortage problems are expected to get worse for the rest of 2026—as the extremely hot weather of the expected El Niño may constrain food supply even more, especially for the poor—Raffy recommends that local communities must adapt to energy rationing, communal cooking, and a disciplined reduction in discretionary energy consumption to prevent systemic grid collapse. Regarding food security, I fully support his recommendation that barangays must be legally enabled to use vacant lands to establish localized urban farms and communal greenhouses for high-yield, short-cycle crops using drip irrigation. By having high-value crops grown directly in urban centers, we solve two problems simultaneously: increasing the supply of food and minimizing transport costs.

The very pragmatic and realistic executive he has always been has made Raffy accept the inevitable: that we will be dependent on coal for electricity for some time to come. I support his recommendation because I know for a fact that the Philippines contributes less than 1% to the carbon footprint in the global environment. It is unfair for us to be forced to sacrifice the welfare of the poor, who are the worst victims of high energy prices, just to provide a cleaner environment for the worst polluters, who are the highly industrialized nations.

My personal opinion is that the long-term solution to bringing down electricity costs in the Philippines is nuclear energy, which both the US and South Korea have offered to help us provide to our large population, which may reach 150 million by 2050. This solution, however, can be realized only within a five- to 10-year period. Meanwhile, we have to endure still depending on fossil fuels.

Whether he remains in the private sector or decides to go back to public service, Raffy Alunan will always be an asset to the Philippine economy with his down-to-earth advice and profound insights into the present and future economic challenges that our nation faces. I am proud to have been one of his mentors during his college days.