The 2022 Presidential Elections Is One of the Most Crucial Yet
February 25, 2022•770 words
Last month, our country marked the beginning of the campaign period for the 2022 elections. As usual, campaign rallies were held, sorties were planned, and plans were revealed. That of course, is the status quo for any elections — yet this upcoming 2022 presidential elections is arguably one of our country's most crucial yet.
The upcoming 2022 elections have a lot of things going for it, set against the gloomy background of the pandemic; the government's inept, incompetent, and indifferent response to it; and, the malicious spread of disinformation and outright lies. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the crack's within Duterte's strong-fisted rule, exposing his inability to rein in the situation and give timely response whenever possible. A majority of our fellowmen suffered under the pandemic with unemployment, yet the government floated little help and assistance despite the ballooning debt. Compounding the problem is the unforgivable robbery of massive funds that could have helped more of our countrymen get by. Even then, most of Duterte's minions were unapologetic and even have the gall to break laws just because they can. Meanwhile, the rabid spread of misinformation and lies meant that facts and evidences were set aside, distorted and even seen as harmful. What is painfully true and evident were ignored, and what is convenient to believe in were glorified in the veil of "respecting one's opinion".
As such, the spot for the top job is crucial than ever. The next president should and must undo the damage and rectify the wrongdoings this administration had done. It is not an easy task though — as a matter of fact, it is a monumental one. Duterte's minions roam the halls of Senate, Congress, and Supreme Court, each with their own agenda but with a unified gratitude to the one who put them there. Back are the days when politicians can do wrong yet still claim to be in the right. Back are the old, corrupt system of governance that the next president needs a big reform to set the government in a course of correction.
Our country's path to recovery is wholly dependent on the agenda and platforms of the next president. There has never been a more dire post-EDSA situation for our country than these past two years. Unemployment grew, and the country's economy suffered one of its largest crash. Worse, the country incurred massive debts that any fiscal actions taken by our country needs to be frugal and prudent. The next president shall face a tough job of setting the country on a path to recovery. Even then, recovery is not going to be a straightforward especially as we don't know how the COVID-19 pandemic will take shape for the next few years.
The country faces a dire economic situation compounded by the uncertainty of the pandemic. The next president must get the everything right to set the country in a stable footing. At the same time, the next president must tread the fine line as Duterte's administration brought back the corrupt and inept system of governance and amplified the oligarchs that are long presumed to be dead. But the country is at a much bigger stake this 2022 — the upcoming elections will let Filipinos decide if one crucial moment of history is truly worth dying for.
With the return of the Marcos to the Malacañang just one win away, the upcoming elections risk the erasure of what the 1986 People's Power Revolution stood for. If another Marcos becomes the president of the country, the fight of the Filipino people against the erasure of democracy will be thrown out the window. Democracy will take a hit in a fragile country still haunted by the ghost of Marcos' iron-fisted yet corrupt rule. The future generation will be paying the consequence of such erasure, doomed to repeat the same mistakes that plunged the country into Martial Law almost 50 years ago.
The future of the Filipino people — that is at stake come May 9. The upcoming 2022 presidential elections is set to determine not only the future six years, but also the decades to come. Duterte's administration fostered the corrupt and inept, enabling the return of Marcos in an unprecedented way. Plus, there's the looming threat of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect in the economy. With these in mind, there's no elections more crucial than this year — for whatever the results of the elections, particularly the presidential election, will set the path the country shall take. Now, the path is not yet set in stone. Will it be for the good, or will it be for the worse?