What is at stake for the Filipinos for the 2022 Elections?

It is no brainer that the 2022 Elections will surely determine the future of the country. With this in mind, what is at stake for the Filipinos for the 2022 Elections? In this article, we’ll talk about the key political and governmental issues that have defined and will continue to define the nation.

The Philippines’ foreign policy

With China being increasingly hostile and militarized in the West Philippine Sea, we have seen the bullying of our fishermen, preventing them from fishing on our own territorial waters. While the arbitrary ruling in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, stating that these waters are still part of Philippine territory, it is quite notable that the current administration has not enforced such ruling, leading to China not honoring it as well.

Moreover, the Philippines, under the Duterte administration also saw a clear shift towards its allegiances. The Philippines has forged ties with China while at the same time, distancing itself from the other global superpower USA.

Pandemic response

There are multiple issues that emerged with the COVID pandemic. Firstly, there is the collapse of the healthcare system, with healthcare workers being severely underpaid and overworked that they would rather migrate and work overseas than in the country due to poor working conditions.

Secondly, the situation in the country still hasn’t improved since the start of the pandemic. Children are still not back in school. The Philippines is the last country in the world to open its schools back.

The number of COVID cases experienced multiple surges throughout the two-year period that this pandemic is still ongoing. But more importantly, we are still far from reaching herd immunity due to slow vaccination.

Economic crisis

The Philippines experienced multiple hits in its economy during the COVID pandemic. With multiple lockdowns, many companies closed, leading to millions of Filipinos losing their jobs. The urban poor had it the worst. With no mobility, tourists, and movement, their usual sources of livelihood weren’t viable anymore.

Notably, we still have not recovered but the economy is gradually opening. It would certainly help for the next leaders of the country to have solid platforms on their economic policies.