By SEN. MANNY VILLAR
IT does not take a genius to understand why economic issues have always been front and center of people’s concerns, especially as election season nears. The economy, and how it affects the everyday lives of people, is essentially a gut issue – one that resonates strongly to voters because they feel and understand its impact.
The latest Pulse Asia survey has confirmed this truth once again. In its September 2018, nationwide survey, four of the top five “most urgent national concerns” are core economic issues: inflation, increase in workers’ pay, poverty, and employment.
Nationally, 63% of Filipinos believe that controlling inflation is the most urgent concern. Fifty percent said improving the pay of workers in the most pressing issue of the country. About a third (32%) felt that “reducing the poverty of many Filipinos” should be the main focus of government while 30% identified the need to create more jobs as the most critical issue.
Fighting graft and corruption (26%) is fifth on the list while fighting criminality (23%), increasing peace in the country (14%), and protecting the environment (13%) are far behind the consciousness of people. It is interesting to note that Charter change is at the bottom with only 3%.
There are several points to be made here. One is that we need to focus our attention on pressing economic issues and not allow ourselves to be distracted by political commotions that tend to be loud but have no positive impact on the conditions of ordinary Filipinos. Partisan skirmishes are exciting to watch because they unfold like telenovelas but governance is about addressing the often “unsexy” but very important economic issues.
The second important point is that we need to listen to what our people want. When I was still in politics, and specifically when I ran in 2010, I made the struggle against poverty the cornerstone of my public career. Going around the country and meeting all kinds of people, I understood firsthand that the issues some people discuss nationally are often insignificant at the grassroots level.
That is not to say that national issues are not important but people would rather address the problems they grapple with in their everyday lives. One of the reasons President Duterte won in 2016 is that he understood how important peace and order, and illegal drugs are to people. It is that divergence between what we debate about nationally and what the people actually care about that needs to be bridged.
The Duterte administration received very good performance ratings on a number of issues important to people. Eight out of ten Filipinos approve of the way the administration has been fighting criminality. A separate Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll in June 2018 revealed that 78% of Filipinos are satisfied, and only 13% dissatisfied with the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.
Government also received high marks in terms of “protecting the welfare of OFWs” (75%), “responding to the needs of areas affected by calamities (74%), and “fighting graft and corruption” (71%).
Even in the case of the “most urgent issues,” the Duterte administration got positive Net Approval Ratings (% approve minus % disapprove): creating more jobs (+43), improving wages (+32), and reducing poverty (+11).
It is therefore not surprising that in the September SWS poll, 70% of Filipinos said they were satisfied with President Digong’s performance with a measly 16 percent dissatisfied.
These surveys should provide politicians and government officials with a guide on what problems to focus on. And I hope that these urgent concerns will become central issues during the midterm elections next year. Governing is difficult but made easier if we listen to our people.
