State of affairs

IKEA ROSE L. MERCADO

Global issues hamper PH economy

Over the years, the Philippines has been facing a lot of political, social, and economic distress. Many of these longstanding issues started even before the pandemic but intensified during the crisis, ranging from local to national and even worldwide in scope. Reported below are updates on key major issues affecting Filipinos now.

Ukraine-Russia War Due to the immediate impacts of war in Ukraine, prices of petroleum products in the Philippines surged. Local oil prices have begun to rise as a result of global oil price increases caused by the intensifying tension between Russia and Ukraine.

The war-related increase in global oil prices resulted in a year-to-date adjustment that brought a total net price increase of P10.85 per liter for diesel, P9.55 per liter for kerosene, and P8.75 per liter for gasoline.

The war also had an impact on worldwide supply and prices of agricultural goods such as wheat and soybeans, both of which the Philippines imports from the two countries.

Meanwhile, the UN reported that the civilian death toll in Ukraine since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war has reached 2,072, but it is expected to be considerably higher, and the number of people leaving the country has approached 5 million.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed 4,890 civilian casualties in Ukraine since February 24, including 2,072 killed and 2,818 injured.

According to the UN refugee agency, 4,934,415 individuals have fled Ukraine and that over 7 million more have been internally displaced since the beginning of the conflict. Chinese aggression in West Philippine Sea Despite tensions in the area, China failed to occupy any new territory in the West Philippine Sea during President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

According to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, the Philippines has boosted its naval presence in the West Philippine Sea, with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources assisting the Philippine Coast Guard in patrolling the area.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Marcos Jr. to maintain warm ties between the Philippines and China and “follow through on the roadmap for bilateral friendly cooperation to usher in an even better future for bilateral ties.”

Moreover, training for practical applications such as monitoring illicit fishing and search and rescue operations would be part of the maritime cooperation between the United States and ASEAN nations.

The relationship between China and the Philippines was repaired under President Rodrigo Duterte’s tenure, but the Asian superpower’s invasive operations continued.

After over 200 ships were discovered in line formation near the Julian Felipe Reef, which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, China’s maritime militia became the talk of the town in early 2021. Furthermore, the Philippine Coast Guard has placed five navigational buoys with the Philippine flag at four vital West Philippine Sea islands: Lawak Island, Likas Island, Parola Island, and Pag-asa Island.

The five new 30-foot buoys are integrated with modern marine navigation aids such as lighting and specific anchoring systems. They also have a remote monitoring system that sends data to the PCG National Headquarters in Port Area, Manila, via satellite.

Covid in PH On May 13, Philippines reported its first cases of the more transmissible Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1, with two cases (both local) in Metro Manila and twelve cases in Puerto Princesa, Palawan (11 foreigners and 1 local).

Metro Manila together with CALABARZON and other provinces nationwide remained under Alert Level 1 for COVID-19 from May 16 to 31.

As of June 16, 2022, the total number of cases in the country is 3,694,529, with 3, 194 active cases 60,461 deaths, and 3,630,606 recoveries.

153 million doses had been administered and 68.8 million people had been fully vaccinated, having fully vaccinated 62.8% of the population.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), around 40.6 million eligible Filipinos have yet to receive their supplementary COVID-19 vaccination doses.

Only 25%, or 13.7 million, of the 54.4 million people due for booster doses had received them as of May 18, and 40.6 million still waiting.

The DOH warned last Monday that the Philippines could see an increase in cases by mid-year if booster uptake stays low.

The Philippines has expanded the distribution of second COVID-19 boosters to senior residents and frontline health professionals, citing the need to strengthen immunity against the virus.

This expansion to a larger population comes as health officials confirm local transmission of the more contagious Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1.

War on Drugs As of Feb. 28 this year, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) confirmed the total number of drug suspects slain in the government’s fight against illegal drugs reached 6,235.

In the 229,868 drug war operations launched since July 1, or since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, a total of 331,694 suspects have been arrested.

According to the PDEA, 11,060 barangays (villages) have still to be “cleared” of illegal drugs, while only 24,379 of the total 42,045 barangays have been declared “drug-free.”

A total of PHP76.01 billion in illegal substances has been recovered across the country. Crystal meth, often known as shabu, continues to be the most discovered and seized illegal drug, accounting for 9,915 pieces, followed by marijuana (10,110.48 pcs.), cocaine (524.63 pcs), and ecstasy (163,295 pcs). As of February 2022, 14,648 high-value targets have been arrested. Authorities have also nabbed 331,694 people involved in illegal narcotics trafficking.

Duterte expressed hope that the country’s next leader would be equally devoted to halting the spread of illegal drugs in the country, given the possibility of a resurgence of the drug problem.

However, presidential candidates agreed on April 3 that, while the spread of illegal narcotics must be managed, the violence and deaths that have defined President Rodrigo Duterte’s hallmark campaign must be stopped.

Duterte has stated that he will never apologize for the deaths of alleged drug users and traffickers during his six-year brutal anti-drug campaign.

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) pre-trial chamber has approved an investigation into the killings linked to the anti-drug campaign, but Malacañang claims that the tribunal has no authority over the subject.

Build, Build, Build Program With less than three months left in President Duterte’s administration, 18 out of 112 infrastructure major projects under Build, Build, Build Program (BBB) will be completed by June this year.

Likewise, 12 more projects are to be completed by the end of 2022 and 89 more are scheduled for implementation

by 2023 and to be accomplished in the next six years.

Among the measures in his 10-point socioeconomic program that would drive poverty reduction is the acceleration of infrastructure and the development of industries that will yield robust growth across the archipelago.

The programmed infrastructure expenditures for 2023 and 2024 were also raised to P1.28 trillion and P1.35 trillion, respectively, from P1.26 trillion and P1.32 trillion earlier.

By end of 2022, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTR) said that the government’s outstanding debt could

breach the P13 trillion mark or a record P13.42 trillion. The BTR had said that the government will borrow P2.2 trillion this year, of which three-fourths were to be raised from the domestic debt market.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said last year that the current administration is expected to complete at least 18 bigticket flagship infrastructure programs worth P235.9 billion by mid-2022 or until the end of Duterte’s term.

To aid the country’s growing needs amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the government had to source funds from foreign borrowings and grants for the pandemic response budget.