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Last 2022 National Elections, the Filipino nation was confronted with the unsightly horrible face of suffrage. That, its grisly semblance is nothing but a paradox—an illusion of a democratic choice.
In a semi-colonial and semi-feudal state, the political power of the same bureaucrats knows no frontiers. Through the amassed economic capitals of prevailing tycoons and dynasties, there prevailed the same names in public office. While the same political personalities enriched themselves in the peak echelons of power, and contentious electoral tactics allowed a second Marcosian regime, the masses continue to tirelessly work for survival as the political bandits and the active state apparatuses bleed their pockets dry.
Indeed, it becomes crystal clear that the predicament on the election turnout is two-fold: that is a class-based issue, and to re-state, that it is an illusory democratic exercise.
Foremost, the interests of the transnational and global business tycoons, local compradors, and bureaucrat capitalist-politicians that seep into the roots of Philippine legislation, and circumnavigate vile political machineries, essentially, all emanate from the one percentile of economic structure. The 1% bourgeois-compradors crush the national-democratic and pro-people legislations to serve the best interest of the few and the whims of the global hegemons.
Studies reveal that about 80% of the legislature, and more than 50% of the elected government officials arose from the old political families with business-government linkages, and strong dynasty-poverty links. These imperialist-backed and business-linked statesmen overtly cater to the obvious elite benefactors outside the precepts of law. Thus, the paradoxical jab on the “government of the people, by the people and for the people” is fittingly thrown against the elected figures—for they serve powerful masters, but not the people.
The Filipino masses, in contrast to the interest of the power elite, gamble high stakes on their political bets, believing that their main tickets would improve the quality of life amid the widening gap of poverty, and intensifying economic sabotage that drained the sweat of the working class.
Two years had already transpired when the country witnessed the collective electoral aspirations against poverty, low wages, education, food security, health care crisis, and injustice. Au contraire to the bold claims of the prevailing elected officials of “better quality jobs,” about 1.9 million Filipinos are unemployed as unveiled by official labor force reports. NCR’s minimum wage of 645 pesos, which limits a family of five on their daily consumption and basic needs, actively illustrates the 46% wage gap that aggravates impoverished households.
Economic research groups divulged the significant state budget cuts that will contrastingly be implemented following the previous election year. The palliative social assistance programs for Filipino families, aiding the latter amid the spiking prices of commodities, and joblessness will be swept under the budget cut wing for 2025. The resultant effect of such cuts will purport to a prolonged poverty incidence until 2028.
In the education sector, State Universities are subject to 14.1 billion 118.8 billion-peso budget cuts, while the budget allocation for primary and secondary education remains relatively stagnant.
Earlier this year, the PUV Modernization was railroaded, perpetuating the mass transportation and economic crises. Simultaneously, there incurred a budget increase on ‘foreign-assisted’ ticket infrastructure projects, while the public works budget decreased significantly.
Furthermore, the agriculture and agrarian reform sector are projected to undergo a massive decrease by 225.8 billion-pesos. While the nation remembers how grandiose the promise of 20 pesos per kilo of rice on the market during the height of the 2022 national elections, nowhere in today’s socio-economic standing can this campaign vow be truly seen.
As the foregoing impending budget cuts reflect the failed promises of yesteryear’s candidates, these relative decreases will disproportionately profit local and foreign businesses.
Ironically, the cuts in the national budget uncovered a stealth cloak. Beneath it lies a callous dole-out government program, coined as the Ayuda sa Kapos Ang Kita Program (AKAP), which amounted to more than 26 billion-pesos. Mayors for Good Governance unpacked that patronage politics primordially navigates the band-aid ayuda program, which only caters to the political supporters of the local leaderships. It neither targets to sustainably aid the urban nor to genuinely support rural poor, but it engines political demagoguery.
As the 2025 elections nears, one of the highest budget allocations is reposed to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in lieu of the education sector, while the Constitution explicitly states the highest budget allocation requirement for it. To date, unnecessary road destruction, reconstruction, and erection of multi-purpose buildings have become a frequent spectacle in the local communities.
From the dubious 125 million Confidential Funds of the Office of the Vice President to the 363 billion-pesos unprogrammed funds of the legislature, a large fraction of the Philippine population remains in the poverty line.
Now, faced with massive thievery, superfluous narratives, blatant lies, illusory democratic choice, and rigid options of political figures to choose from, Filipino voters are left to ponder: what’s next?
While it is true that there is an urgency to call for critical voters in order to elect the truest representatives of mass sectors, and to counter the resurgence of corrupt governance, the fight for genuine change should not only end up within a four-cornered ballot box. Thus, the struggle for a systemic change does not rest in a messianic plot that was promised by any candidate who employed fragrant sophistry.
A plethora of historical analyses dictate that progress cannot be solely ascertained by electing competent national leaders, but by breaking the spinning wheel, that is, being unconscionably pedaled by the power elite.
Lest, the peasantry, working class, and multi-sectoral communities should forward their genuine class interests by maximizing the public sphere, and by mass organizing, for them to gradually brew an active public opinion that lies above the firepit. For the mass voters have nothing to lose—but their chains.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The editors speak for the publication as a whole, represented by the Editorial Board on the crucial matters and prevailing national issues.
This article was first published in Volume XVIII, Issue I print edition of The Red Chronicles.
References:
- Aurelio, Julie M. “PUV Modernization Still a Go, Says President.” INQUIRER.net, August 8, 2024. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1970616/puv-modernization-still-a-go-says-president.
- Fuentes, Arthur. More Filipinos ‘poor’ as self-rated poverty hits highest level in 21 years: SWS. https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/1/8/more-filipinos-poor-as-self-rated-poverty-hits-highest-level-in-21-years-sws-1629
- Mendoza, et. al. “Political dynasties, business, and poverty in the Philippines” (2022). Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jge.2022.100051
- IBON Foundation. “Unpacking data shows labor market getting worse” (2024). Retrieved from: https://www.ibon.org/sep-2024-lfs-labor-market-getting-worse/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2tck9V4eYXY1cmo2jRl_UOaUjh8ZB5dzYrdSY2sV8o4MkDunEbibciEUQ_aem_Ht_sjc8j7D1zRW-ntVfSDQ
- IBON Foundation. “2025 national budget is agenda of austerity for the many, prosperity for a few” (2024). Retrieved from: https://www.ibon.org/2025-national-budget-agenda-of-austerity/
- Pasion, Lorenz. “FACT CHECK: Marcos Did Make P20/Kilo Rice Promise.” RAPPLER, September 4, 2023. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/fact-check/bongbong-marcos-made-20-pesos-per-kilo-rice-promise
- Punongbayan, JC, [In This Economy] Opening the floodgates to ayuda. https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/in-this-economy-opening-floodgates-ayuda/
- The unprogrammed funds issue in the Marcos admin’s 2024 budget, simplified. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/explainers/unprogrammed-funds-marcos-administration-2024-budget-issue/