Analysts and civil society groups said the government needs to have more transparency and stronger anti-corruption reforms as the country marked one year under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In a roundtable discussion organized by Stratbase ADR Institute and Democracy Watch Philippines, analysts said these measures would benefit the country.
Stratbase ADR President Dindo Manhit said that to enhance transparency and accountability in the government, Marcos should ensure the implementation of Executive Order No.31, which institutionalized the Philippine Open Government Partnership.
Manhit gave Marcos a grade of 8 out of 10, noting that his government has started many reforms and new policies. And although the current government inherited a bad fiscal situation, Manhit said the economy is recovering quite well.
“The reinforcing link and variable in achieving a resilient, inclusive, and prosperous Philippine society pertains to the dynamic relationship between government as the enabler, the private sector as the indispensable actor, and civil society as the guardian of societal processes and the commerce of relations,” Manhit said.
Manhit urged the President to use his momentum from the 2022 electoral victory to task different sectors to work together toward a more transparent, accountable, and responsive governance.
He also stressed the need to push the E-Governance initiative to give effect to the people’s freedom of information.
Previously, Marcos Jr. called on all branches of government “to genuinely uphold and give effect to the people’s freedom of information,” which serves as the basis of the E-Governance initiative.
Meanwhile, Democracy Watch Philippines Co-Convenor Shanice Espiritu cited Marcos’ lack of strong anti-corruption and reform statements compared to his predecessors, Presidents Benigno Aquino III and Rodrigo Duterte.
“The Duterte and Aquino III administrations were met with failing trust in institutions, the Marcos Jr. administration’s main challenge is to recover from the pandemic and build a strong and resilient post-pandemic economy,” Espiritu said.
Espiritu recommended that the government should confront urgent issues such as inflation and anti-corruption policies to accomplish long-term development goals.
Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri gave the President a grade of 8 out of 10 for doing “a very fine job” in his first year.
Senate finance committee chairperson Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said the President would get 87 percent because there are still a lot of things that he must do, being in office for only a sixth of his term. He has five more years, he said.
He also said new members of the President’s Cabinet will have a learning curve in the next few months.
Zubiri, Angara, and Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva believe that the President should focus more on the country’s agricultural sector.
Zubiri noted that our highest poverty rates are in the rural areas where there’s a lack of development in agriculture.
