THE vetting and interviews for prospective Cabinet members of the coming Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration have been slow, and political pundits are quick to compare Marcos with then presumptive president-elect Rodrigo Duterte a week after winning the 2016 presidential elections.
With former agriculture secretary Carlos Dominguez III as his financial adviser, Duterte was able to come up with an eight-point economic agenda even ahead of naming the composition of his economic team. The inference is that Duterte came prepared at the moment of victory, while Bongbong Marcos had only the general assurance that he will “hit the ground running.” This is not even original, because Fidel V. Ramos, 30 years ago, used the same words to characterize his assumption into Malacañang in 1992.
‘Much of the success in pushing the economy forward will also depend on how the government will handle further threats of COVID-19 resurgence, considering that new variants of the Omicron virus have been developing lately.’
We note that the business community is on edge about the prospects of the national economy under the next president. Since weeks before the elections, investors and businessmen had been holding on to their cash and their plans, business expansion and new projects were on hold, and everybody was anxiously trying to guess what the polls would bring.
Most everyone is convinced that this transition 2022 won’t be a walk in the park, as the new Marcos administration will have to lead efforts in the country’s recovery from the pandemic, both in economic and health terms.
Much of the success in pushing the economy forward will also depend on how the government will handle further threats of COVID-19 resurgence, considering that new variants of the Omicron virus have been developing lately.
Just these two considerations should prompt presumptive president-elect Bongbong Marcos and his team to take extra care in giving out appointments, especially in sensitive and strategic agencies such as the departments of finance, health, defense, transportation, public works and highways, and information technology.
Come to think of it, it is reasonable to expect that there would be no major changes in official policies and programs, since Marcos has Inday Sara Duterte by his side as vice president, and they generally promised continuity in governance aside from national unity, which means massive layoffs and revamp in government personnel is not contemplated.
The call is for the business community to take its time, draw some patience and let BBM lead, as some 30 million Filipinos wanted it to. If the new president’s style is a bit slow but sure, then let it be.
