Ringing out the old year
The victory of Catriona Gray as Miss Universe gives the country cheerful news at the end of a year made difficult by soaring consumer prices, a weaker peso and continuing reports of deadly violence and corruption.
A hefty excise tax on fuel took effect at the start of the year, triggering a cascade of price increases on consumer goods, aggravated later by a shortage of subsidized rice. In 2018, inflation surged to its highest in more than nine years, and the peso became the third worst performing currency in Southeast Asia.
The executive flexed its muscle, with its chief lawyer succeeding in speedily ousting a chief justice through a simple quo warranto petition rather than through an impeachment trial as provided by the Constitution. A leadership change in the House of Representatives was also seen to have the backing of the executive. The amnesty of Sen. Antonio Trillanes was invalidated by the President, but a court allowed the senator to remain free.
Drug-related killings continued, along with President Duterte’s bickering with the Catholic Church. Martial law was extended for another year in the entire Mindanao, even as the Bangsamoro Organic Law was passed. Peace efforts with communist rebels, on the other hand, are in limbo.
The travel industry took a hit from the precipitate shutdown of Boracay during the peak summer season. But the cleanup put other tourist destinations on notice that they need to promote sustainable tourism.
A diplomatic row erupted between the country and Kuwait following the discovery of the body of Filipina maid Joanna Demafelis in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in the Gulf state. The row has been settled, and greater efforts are underway to protect Filipino migrant workers.
Several officials linked to corruption were sacked, but others were recycled. For the first time, Imelda Marcos was convicted of graft, but she was allowed to post bail.
Janet Lim Napoles was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the pork barrel scam, while an accused beneficiary of the scam, former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., was cleared in a controversial Sandiganbayan ruling.
The final months of the year saw lawmakers in an ugly squabble over their share in the Road User’s Tax and pork barrel-type allocations from the annual government outlay, which led to a reenacted national budget for the first time in nearly a decade.
Typhoons and landslides killed hundreds during the year, leading to renewed calls for intensified reforestation and tighter regulation of mining. The death toll from tropical depression Usman lends a sad note to the end of 2019, but it should intensify the resolve to boost reforms in the coming year.