[EDITORIAL] What’s next after 2022 election?

With an overpowering lead of some 17 million votes over his closest rival as of this week’s latest but unofficial result, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., or BBM is the next president of the Philippines, ending his family’s decades-long quest to regain power after it was ousted in a 1986 uprising.

Aside from the major challenge of reviving the country’s economy stumbled by P13-trillion debt from the Duterte administration’s COVID-19 pandemic spending, Marcos must also deal resolutely with a corruption-ridden bureaucracy and declining remittances from OFWs forced to return home due to the global health crisis. He should stand firm and dispute with policymakers and finance managers on how to fully open the country’s tourism and business industries while strictly following health and safety protocols.

Marcos is probably a continuity president, expected to sustain some of the projects of the Duterte administration, specifically the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure projects. He made known his intention to facilitate the connectivity of our fragmented archipelagic country. His father successfully linked two separate provinces of Samar and Leyte by constructing the 2.16-kilometer San Juanico bridge during the 1970s, which was then the longest bridge in the country, which was surpassed later by the newly completed 8.9-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX). Under his presidency, 7 more provinces will be connected with the proposed $56.6-million (P2.96-billion) Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge project that will connect Panay, Negros, and Guimaras islands. Infrastructure projects like this could also be possible in neighboring island provinces like Cebu and Bohol, Cebu and Negros, Bohol and Leyte, Mindoro and Batangas, and other islands.

Our country is an archipelago of 7,640 islands. Due to the lack of infrastructure investment in the past decades — the cost to transport goods within the country has been expensive. BBB could be an opportunity to connect islands in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, therefore, linking 81 provinces, 146 cities, and 1,489 municipalities.

The sad reality is, that the geographically isolated island provinces are left behind in terms of investment, economic activities, and development. Poverty incidents in these far-flung islands are very high. Marcos’ promise to bring our separated islands closer, is welcome news to many Filipinos.

He is also expected to focus on reviving the country’s remittances and consumption-based economy.

To fulfill his campaign promise of bringing down the price of rice to 20pesos or 30pesos per kilo, his government needs to strengthen its support for rice farmers. He pledged that he will order for a nationwide inventory of rice farms and rice stocks. He also need to get rid of rice cartel by eradicating rice traders and middlemen in the picture. By doing this, the government, both the National Food Authority (NFA) and the local government units (LGUs) should buy all the palay produced by our farmers.

In Palawan, newly elected leaders are emerging in the province and the three congressional districts. Incumbent Vice Governor Dennis Socrates defeated former Governor Joel T. Reyes in a six-way gubernatorial race. His running mate, Leonso Ola also win as the new vice-governor.

The three newly elected congressmen in Palawan were businessman Edgardo Salvame, incumbent Governor Jose Ch. Alvarez, and former Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn.