STATEMENT OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON PBBM'S FIRST 100 DAYS

The first 100 days was conceptualized by President Franklin Roosevelt, who acted swiftly during the Great Depression. It is meant to set the tone of bold leadership and management in the midst of crises, just as we are facing now.

To this day, that tone has not been assumed.

When he should have taken on the reins of governance, President Marcos seems to have taken only a slack hold. Is the President really at the helm? Or does he expect the ship to sail itself?

Matapos ang 100 araw sa posisyon, tila natatakot ang Malacañang na iharap ang kanyang sarili sa salamin. Nakakabagabag kasi ang maisisiwalat nito, tulad ng nagsisimulang makita ng masang Pilipino. Ramdam na ramdam ng bayan ang gulo sa Malacañang.

The President's lack of management skills and a topsy-turvy bureaucracy are blockages in government functions, as shown by the non-handling of the sugar import fiasco in the middle of the recession. Sa maraming sangay ng gobyerno, wala pa ring kaayusan ang liderato. Two Cabinet officials and the COA chairperson have already resigned. At hanggang ngayon, wala pa ring Health Secretary o Agriculture Secretary na silang dapat tutugon sa pandemya at food shortage.

The most recent Pulse Asia survey revealed that 42% of Filipinos disapprove of the President's lack of urgency when it comes to controlling inflation, which our kababayans believe is the most pressing issue today.

Because inflation soared to 6.9%, araw-araw dumadami ang mga nagugutom na pamilya sa bansa. The peso has plummeted to historic lows. Marami ang nawalan ng trabaho. Nagkukulang na tayo sa gulay at asukal, habang tumataas rin ang presyo ng gasolina at kuryente.

Bagamat nakapag-appoint siya ng mala-Avengers na economic team, hindi pa rin malinaw ang direksyon ng pagbawi ng ating bansa mula sa recession. Kung yan ang basehan, masasabing walang bakas sa First 100 days ng pagbangon ng ekonomiya ang itatampok ng administrasyong ito.

We do not expect the administration to solve all the problems of the nation in 100 days, but Mr. President, we do not have the luxury of time.

Ang daming kailangang ayusin. Ang daming nangangailangan ng tulong. The President should have taken control of the wheel 100 days ago. But since no one can turn back time, he needs to put his back into the real work now.