Looking back and forward

By Artchil B. Fernandez

The year 2022 without doubt is one of the eventful times in the annals of the nation. The events that took place are milestones in the country’s history.

2022 marks the waning of Covid-19 pandemic and the slow return of life to normalcy. For almost two years, the pandemic raged and overturned societal life.  Life shifted to the digital world from work to school to religious activities and to almost all social activities. Physical contacts are severely restricted. Lockdowns, restrictions of movements and empty streets are staple features of life. The wearing of mask is universal and new lifestyles emerged. The world has never seen such drastic changes for a hundred of years.

Light however was seen at the end of the tunnel in 2022. The year started with another surge of infections but ends with many restrictions scaled back if not scrapped. The pandemic however has forever altered social life and the pre-pandemic ways of doing things are gone for good. The post-pandemic world is much different from the pre-Covid-19 era.

The impending end of the pandemic does not imply the banishment of Covid-19 disease.  Covid-19 is here to stay and will become part of life on the planet. Humans have to learn to live with SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Current surge of Covid-19 infections in China is a warning to everyone that the end of the pandemic is not the end of the disease. The pandemic is just transformed into an endemic.

Looking forward in the years ahead, precaution must be continuously taken against Covid-19.  It is a killer disease and remains an infectious and dangerous sickness. The virus continues to mutate, and new variants are even more deadly than the previous variants. The battle against Covid-19 is never over even when the pandemic finally comes to an end.

Another area worth looking back is politics. The country held it’s once every six years presidential election. The outcome departed from Mark Thompson’s assumption that post-EDSA Philippine politics swings from reformism to populism. Du30 was a populist who took over from PNoy’s reformist presidency. The pendulum, however, did not swing back to reformism but has a result that is new and different.

BBM was neither a populist nor a reformist. While his victory in the last election is perceived as a continuity which is also another deviation from the post-EDSA pattern of Philippine politics, BBM is not also seen as a clone of Du30.

Even the continuity view of BBM’s administration must be qualified. It is seen as continuity in the sense that BBM was not an opposition to the previous administration but its ally. The Marcoses are among Du30’s financial backers in 2016 and Du30 has returned the favor by paving the way for the rehabilitation of the Marcoses. Among Du30’s first acts as president is allow the burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos senior at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

However, BBM’s administration cannot be considered as continuity in terms of policies and approach to governance. For one, BBM ditched Du30’s bloody and gory war on drugs by completely abandoning “Tokhang” in favor of a more toned down and less violent way of dealing with the menace of illegal drugs.

In another turn-around, BBM also discarded Du30’s hostile attitude towards the US and Europe as well as his shameless subservience to China. To the consternation of Du30, BBM moved to swiftly repair the ruptured relations with the US and Europe which was the defining characteristic of Du30’s foreign policy. While BBM was not antagonistic to China he was also not head-over-heels to the giant bully unlike Du30 who behaved like a wide-eyed fan boy.

The new administration of BBM is more of a restoration regime rather than a populist or a reformist one. The primary concern of BBM is not to cater to populist demand or to call for reform. His main preoccupation is how to rehabilitate the wicked image of his family without owning/admitting the horrendous crimes his family committed against the Filipino people.

Instead of confronting the serious economic crisis besetting the nation, BBM pours more time and attention to vlogging. The chief purpose of the vlog and the social media offensives of the Marcoses is to obscure their dark past – horrendous human rights violations during the dictatorship and the $ 10 billion stolen from the Filipino people, by rewriting and distorting history.

Six months into his presidency, no effort was done by BBM to manage the 8 percent inflation rate. A kilo of red onions now costs 600 pesos and as the current agriculture secretary BBM is not bothered by this development. He has also completely forgotten his election promise of 20 pesos per kilo rice. Looking back, BBM is not interested in serving the interest of the Filipino people, but his main preoccupation is how to deodorize the foul stench of his family.

Given his past actions, Filipinos can look forward in the coming years BBM will continue to exert effort not to serve public interest but to advance the selfish agenda of his family. The Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) which has all the markings of notoriety the Marcoses are famous for in terms of handling public funds is just the start. Expect the Marcoses to continue pushing their dark and insidious designs.

Looking back and forward, Filipinos must continue to be vigilant and be on alert. Covid-19 is still a serious health threat and the unrepentant Marcoses are back.