A year ago, Philippine?President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.¡¯s annual address to Congress shocked the nation with revelations of billions of dollars of graft involving flood-control schemes. The disclosure triggered an economic slump as projects slowed and consumers and businesses cut spending.
On Monday, Marcos needs his State of the Nation speech to help revive growth, his ratings and his presidency. The self-proclaimed graft-buster, whose late father was a dictator famous for amassing ill-gotten wealth, faces a public who says he¡¯s done little to clean up the corruption he revealed.
¡°Marcos Jr. remains haunted by the lack of progress and accountability on the flood-control scandal, inflation impacts and people¡¯s still-vulnerable economic power,¡± said Hansley Juliano, a political science instructor at the Ateneo de Manila University. The president needs ¡°more explicit, decisive action and greater visibility,¡± he said.
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