Asia Times Philippine leader is squeezing critics as perceptions grow he is largely responsible for nation’s twin economic and health crises
MANILA â Facing an acute economic crisis, a persistent Covid-19 outbreak and declining popularity, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has fittingly extended a state of national calamity for another year.
While the move will allow the government to adopt emergency measures to stabilize food and basic good prices, as well as deploy Quick Response Funds for especially pressing pandemic needs, it also allows the authoritarian leader to tighten his grip on the country ahead of 2022 presidential elections.
Some of the presidentâs legislative allies are even pushing for postponement of the polls, potentially allowing Duterte to extend beyond his single six-year term in office.
Instead of reassuring the public about the integrity of upcoming elections, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), which is now packed with Duterte appointees, has left the decision to Congress, a body which is also dominated by the presidentâs allies.
Meanwhile, the Filipino leader has to grapple with the countryâs worst economic crisis in a generation, much of it his own making. In its latest report, the Asian Development Bank forecast a 7.3% contraction for the Philippines, among the worst in Asia. Only Thailand, which posted a laggard 2.4 percent growth last year, is expected to fare worse with an 8% contraction this year.
The ADBâs Philippine projection is almost twice as worse its June forecast of a 3.8% contraction, a reflection of the economyâs 16.5% shrinkage in the second quarter. It also marks a sharp reversal from the countryâs close to 6% growth posted in 2019, with the nation bracing for the worst contraction in its post-World War II history.
That will be compounded by declining foreign remittances, usually a key engine for domestic consumption and local growth. The government has said some 600,000 overseas workers had been repatriated as of mid-August, adding to the rising pool of the unemployed.