MANILA Just weeks after appointing A-list technocrats to his cabinet, President-elect Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr is showing his populist stripes.
The Filipino leader, who will officially be sworn in by the end of this month, has made the unprecedented move of appointing himself as incoming agriculture secretary, thus concurrently serving in key top positions in the next government.
The surprising move comes amid soaring inflation, as millions of Filipinos grapple with record-high energy and food costs.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, inflation hit 4.9% in April, the fastest pace in more than three years and way higher than the 2-4% inflation target band set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for 2022.
The Department of Energy, meanwhile, has warned of a continuous increase in gasoline prices for the foreseeable future, driven by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The incoming presidents critics claim he lacks the expertise and understanding of pricing mechanisms to transform the Philippines agricultural sector.
Others sense that the namesake son of a former Filipino dictator is merely engaging in pie-in-the-sky populism, particularly in regard to his promise to slash the price of staple foods by more than half.
In particular, he has claimed he will cut rice prices by more than half to 20 pesos (US$0.3704) per kilo.
To do this, Marcos has said there must be a regular and thorough inventory of rice harvests held by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Food Authority (NFA), both of which will procure rice harvests from local farmers at higher and more competitive prices. According to Marcos, this will prevent rice cartels from controlling the supply.
Marcos likely realizes that well-targeted agricultural policies and programs will be key to maintaining his popularity and political stability after his recent landslide election win.
As to agriculture, I think that the problem is severe enough that I have decided to take on the portfolio of Secretary of Agriculture, at least for now and at least until we can reorganize the Department of Agriculture in the way that will make it ready for the next years to come, Marcos told a news conference days before his inauguration.
We need to change many things. There are offices that are no longer useful, or need retooling post-pandemic since things are being done differently now, added the new president-elect while vowing to enhance the countrys food security and overhaul the agriculture sector.
To be sure, the Philippines agricultural sector is in deep crisis. Despite having one of the most fertile agricultural lands in the world, the country has repeatedly faced food shortages in recent decades.
Despite a deep economic recession in 2020, the Southeast Asian country remained the worlds largest rice importer, according to the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Services.
A year earlier, the Philippines imported 2.9 million metric tons of rice, with imports nearly quadrupling in the last three years. Nearly 80% of the Philippines rice imports are sourced from Vietnam, underscoring the formers precarious situation.
Meanwhile, the average age of farmers in the Philippines is around 58 years old, which portends a long-term labor shortage in the critical sector.
The Philippines food security crisis is the upshot of a failed land reform program, a lack of investment in rural infrastructure and agriculture financing, and a proliferation of import cartels and predatory middlemen who have crushed various agricultural industries.
Things came to head in 2018, when the government confronted a simultaneous increase in the price of rice, a rapid depletion in food reserves and weevil infestations that devastated crops.
In the third quarter of that year, the price of milled rice jumped to 46 pesos (US$9) per kilo, pushing millions of Filipinos close to or over the poverty line.
Outgoing President Rodrigo Dutertes administration was thus forced to revisit its policy of quantitative restrictions (QRs), which ensured only a few suppliers secured import licenses from the National Food Authority (NFA) to protect domestic producers.
In 2019, the Philippines passed a landmark Rice Tariffication Law, which liberalized rice importations in order to reduce the price of staple food in the country.
The move was particularly controversial, with several senators and civil society groups warning of further damage to the countrys already fragile agriculture sector.
Meanwhile, the price of staple foods such as rice has not significantly declined, with the ongoing shocks to global energy and food markets triggering fast-rising inflation in the Philippines.
On the campaign trail, Marcos Jr zeroed in on the sad state of the countrys agriculture sector as a central theme of his candidacy. He vowed to halve the price of staple foods such as rice by amending the Rice Tariffication Law and strengthening food production at home.
Our farmers are pitiful because even without being ravaged by typhoons and calamities, they are already in a catastrophe because they are even being charged for water for irrigation, Marcos said during an interview in April.
After winning the presidency, Marcos Jr sought to reassure jittery markets by appointing seasoned technocrats to key positions in his cabinet, including at the department of finance, national economic and development authority and the BSP.
All the while, though, the new Filipino leader has refused to budge on his various populist pledges, which analysts and observers note hell be able to more readily implement as acting agriculture secretary.
From the very beginning, I have always said that agriculture is going to be a critical and foundational part of our economic development or economic transformation as we anticipate the post-pandemic economy, Marcos Jr told the media earlier this month.
He alleged neighboring Vietnam and Thailand were planning on forming rice export cartels, which if true would further exacerbate the Philippines food insecurity.
You may have noted that Thailand and Vietnam, for example, one of our main sources of imported rice, have decided to ban their rice exports at least for now. So we have to compensate for that by increasing production here in the Philippines, he said.
Marcos Jr has already promised to overhaul the Department of Agriculture by reorganizing its attached agencies such as the National Food Authority (NFA), the Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI) and the Kadiwa program.
Marcos Jr has emphasized the need to overhaul the countrys agricultural sector as a critical and foundational part of the Philippines post-pandemic recovery and long-term economic transformation.
Yet there are few, if any, indications so far that the new Filipino leader is willing to address entrenched structural problems, including price-distorting food import cartels, predatory intermediaries and, perhaps most importantly, the lack of land reform, which continues to keep countless Filipino farmers in abject poverty.
Some critics fear that Marcos Jr, who has been accused of corruption and tax evasion, seeks direct control over the 71 billion peso ($1.4 billion) agricultural trust fund, which they note was previously misappropriated by his ex-dictator fathers cronies.
Leading legislators and experts, meanwhile, have openly questioned the feasibility of Marcos Jrs populist pledges including his ambitious food price pledge.
Impossible. You kill the livelihood of 3.6 million rice farmers, said leading economist and congressman Joey Salceda, who warned of potentially disastrous repercussions of the new presidents promise to halve the price of basic commodities such as rice.
Rolando Dy, executive director of the Center for Food and Agribusiness at the University of Asia and the Pacific, similarly dismissed the pledge as impossible, while calling on the new Filipino president to instead focus on appointing competent officials.
He has to rely on good advisers. He has to appoint competent undersecretaries for operations and high-value crops, Dy said.
Read more:
Marcos bids to be man of the Filipino farmer - Asia Times
- Scholz warns of the rise of right-wing populists ahead of EU elections - Euronews - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- An ex-GOP congressman blasts the 'populist wave' that he says has corroded conservatism: 'Now we're impeaching ... - Yahoo Canada - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Thinking About A Truly Populist Party - Above the Law - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- The Polish response to the WCK incident exposes the dangers of populism - Ynetnews - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Greatest threat facing EU is populism, Mitsotakis tells ND faithful - Kathimerini English Edition - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Polish pro-EU wing wants local vote to end 'age of populism' - EURACTIV - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- US election: how populists encourage blind mistrust and how to push back - The Conversation - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Lessons from the Netherlands on the rise of the populist radical right - UK in a Changing Europe - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Opinion | From Jacobites to Populists - The New York Times - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Why Right Wing Populism Is Unable To Address the Climate Crisis - Impakter - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- In our debased world, a new, benign Manhattan Project is ... - The New European - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Populism has given the elites more power than ever - Financial Times - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- Starmer should beware a Left-wing insurgency - UnHerd - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- The French Far-Right Tsunami Is Coming - The Media Line - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- Can Spain hold back the right? - The New European - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- Populism, authoritarianism and agrarian struggles - Transnational Institute - July 19th, 2023 [July 19th, 2023]
- Mainstream Conservatives Are On The Run in Europe, Too - POLITICO - June 30th, 2023 [June 30th, 2023]
- Opinion: The Perils Of Populism - Hingham Anchor - June 30th, 2023 [June 30th, 2023]
- In the global struggle with populism, elections are a salve - Frederick News Post - June 30th, 2023 [June 30th, 2023]
- Column: The push me-pull you of political populism - Omaha World-Herald - June 30th, 2023 [June 30th, 2023]
- Why the World Is on the Brink of Great Disorder - TIME - June 30th, 2023 [June 30th, 2023]
- Europe's liberals should take a page or two out of the populist movement's book - Euronews - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Smith, Trump and the Paranoid Populist Assault on Democracy - TheTyee.ca - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Other GOP candidates still pave the way for Trump's vile populism - National Catholic Reporter - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Terrorism and voting: The rise of right-wing populism in Germany - CEPR - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- From Donald Trump to Danielle Smith: 4 ways populists are ... - The Conversation - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Pluralism vs. Ultra-Nationalism: The Real Cleavage Behind Turkey's ... - E-International Relations - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- The Erdogan era lives on, as does the power of populism - asianews.network - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Democratic backsliding in Mexico: Lessons for opponents of ... - Wilson Center - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Can Ron DeSantis Out-Populist Donald Trump to Win the GOP ... - Boston University - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Danger of populism - Daily Pioneer - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Algeria: A populist leader challenging our notions of what is possible in the Middle East - Middle East Monitor - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- How Imran Khan's populism has divided Pakistan and put it on a knife's edge - The Conversation - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Slovakia to Get 'Expert' Government But Return to Populism Looms - Balkan Insight - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Portuguese president: empowering youth will be the death of populism - EURACTIV - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The anti-intellectualism of conservative ... - Winnipeg Free Press - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- The populism of Matthew Goodwinand its many problems - Prospect Magazine - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- The Business Nightmare of Dealing with Government - The New York Times - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Ciarn Fitzgerald: Focus on food prices is mere populism - Agriland - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Populism in the United States - Wikipedia - February 26th, 2023 [February 26th, 2023]
- What is Populism? | Political Science - Stanford University - February 5th, 2023 [February 5th, 2023]
- Why Populism Is Rising And How To Combat It - Forbes - February 5th, 2023 [February 5th, 2023]
- Mexicos Dying Democracy: AMLO and the Toll of Authoritarian Populism - December 28th, 2022 [December 28th, 2022]
- Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and ... - December 26th, 2022 [December 26th, 2022]
- Pope lunches with poor, denounces sirens of populism - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- 3 steps forward, but 2.5 back for populism - bangkokpost.com - November 25th, 2022 [November 25th, 2022]
- Pence warns of 'unprincipled populism,' 'Putin apologists' - Fox 34 - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- London lesson: The 44-day govt in Britain is a reminder to our politicians to give up fiscal populism - Times of India - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Left-wing populism - Wikipedia - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Populism on the rise in Canada as unelectable Pierre Poilievre sweeps ... - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- The Left Is Demonizing PopulistsFor Pushing What the Left Once ... - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- DAILY | Poilievre vs. Media Party; Trudeau on populism, disinfo; Mayor ... - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Globalization is fueling the populism surging across the Western world - The Hill - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Smith rides high on populist wave Winnipeg Free Press - Winnipeg Free Press - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- J. D. Vance and the Collapse of Dignity - The Atlantic - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- 7 non-fiction book releases to add to your TBR - The Daily Vox - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Ian Bremmer: How crises opened the way for some positive change in Europe - New Zealand Herald - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- From OPRF to Poland with a focus on Ukraine - Wednesday Journal - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Florida's DeSantis takes conservative populism to the Rust Belt - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Journalism and the Threat of Neo-Populism - Geopoliticalmonitor.com - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- History As It Happens: The 'fake' populists - Washington Times - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- European populist parties vote share on the rise, especially on right - Pew Research Center - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- DYER: Progress and decline of populism Red Deer Advocate - Red Deer Advocate - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The Populist Pugilist Vying to Replace Conor Lamb - The American Prospect - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Understanding Europes shift to the right - POLITICO Europe - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Trump still "king" and "kingmaker" to some in Pennsylvania - CBS News - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Investigation reveals Poilievre, populist and pro-natural gas groups spread fertilizer disinformation to whip up outrage against Trudeau - Canada's... - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Citizens or consumers | The Times - The Wellington Times - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The Challenges of Epistemic Communities in Shaping Policy in the Age of Post-Truth - E-International Relations - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The EU, not Meloni, is the threat to democracy - Arab News - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Bulgaria's elections could threaten NATO and EU unity on Ukraine - Washington Examiner - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- I'm not optimistic about the future of the global economy and I don't expect the next 10 years to be particularly good - CTech - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Brazil's election: The rise and impact of populism - University of Michigan News - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Opinion | Right-Wing Populism May Rise in the U.S. - The Wall Street Journal - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Survey: Right-wing populism ex pat Estonians' main negative image of home - ERR News - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Jair Bolsonaro's Hard-Right Populism Is Horrifying. But He Didn't Come From Nowhere. - Jacobin magazine - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- The Wild Ones - by Nick Catoggio - The Dispatch - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Political scientists to study populist rhetoric as a threat to democracy - The Source - Washington University in St. Louis - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Italy's opposition blame disunity and populism for defeat - Reuters - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Utopian Nostalgia and the Radical Right - The Dispatch - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]