Hontiveros: Filipinos feel ‘chaos’ in Malacañang after Marcos’ first 100 days in office

MANILA, Philippines — As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first 100 days in office nears on October 8, Filipinos are feeling the chaos in Malacañang, Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Friday.

“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,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

(After his 100 days in the position, it seems that Malacañang is afraid to face itself in the mirror. What it will show will be unsettling, like what the Filipino people are starting to see. The countrymen are feeling the chaos in Malacañang.)

For the opposition senator, the first 100 days in office, conceptualized by President Franklin Roosevelt, is meant to “set the tone of bold leadership and management in the midst of crises.”

“To this day, that tone has not been assumed,” Hontiveros noted.

“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?” she added.

The challenges in government functions, Hontiveros said, are Marcos’ “lack of management skills and a topsy-turvy bureaucracy,” noting the “non-handling” of the “illegal” sugar importation mess.

She also pointed out the resignations of then Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, and Jose Calida as chairman of the Commission on Audit.

Hontiveros also said that there are no health and agriculture chiefs who would respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and food shortage.

Marcos concurrently sits as agriculture secretary. Hontiveros, however, believes that being an agriculture chief is a full-time job.

READ: Hontiveros urges Marcos to appoint DA chief to avert sugar crisis

The lawmaker cited a recent Pulse Asia survey result which showed that 42 percent of Filipinos disapproved of Marcos’ lack of urgency in controlling inflation.

READ: Marcos admin gets high approval ratings in Pulse Asia survey

Marcos may have formed an economic team, but the road to recovery from the recession is still unclear, said Hontiveros.

While the senator stressed that not all concerns will be addressed in 100 days, she told the president that the country does not have “the luxury of time.”

“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 (There are many things to fix. Many people need help). 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,” Hontiveros said.

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