Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has reflected on the challenges of his time in office, saying that while the fundamental nature of the job has not changed, the things he now worries about certainly have. Speaking about navigating the last four years of his six year term, he said he had the advantage of having watched his father serve as president, which meant he always knew the role would be difficult. The work, he noted, is constant and urgent, with almost everything carrying a sense of importance.
A large part of the added pressure, the president said, now comes from the war involving Iran. The conflict has rippled through global energy markets, and Filipinos are already grappling with a higher cost of fuel at home. Asked whether he was concerned that people could take to the streets if fuel prices were to remain high, Marcos was blunt, saying that this is exactly what is going to happen and that it is, in fact, already happening.
To soften that blow, the government has moved to shield the population through a broad subsidy programme. Marcos explained that the state is now providing both fuel subsidies and straightforward cash subsidies aimed at operators and drivers across the transport sector. The support covers ships, buses, public transport within the cities and the delivery systems that keep goods moving, in an effort to absorb the shock before it reaches ordinary people.
The goal of that approach, according to the president, is to ensure that the actual end consumer feels the rise in fuel prices as little as possible. By channeling assistance to the operators and drivers who form the backbone of everyday transport, the government hopes to keep the cost of living from spiraling for households already under strain. Marcos framed the subsidies as a direct response to a crisis driven largely by forces outside the country's control.
Beyond the immediate energy strain, the president also addressed the wider geopolitical picture. Given the volatility in the energy market and what he described as the geopolitical chaos, Marcos said there is reason to think a reset in relations with China is needed. He went further, suggesting that such a recalibration is certainly going to happen and that, in his view, it is not really presented as an option but as something close to inevitable.
On the economy, Marcos turned to the question of how the Philippines can push its growth rate higher. To get above six percent, he said, the answer is investment. He pointed to the country's strengths in production, noting that its largest export in dollar terms is semiconductors, an industry that has become central to the national economy and to its place in global supply chains.
The president argued that the country has improved its standing in that sector by climbing the value chain. He said the Philippines has now moved away from pure fabrication toward design, a shift he believes has put the country in a very good position. For Marcos, strengthening that high value role in the semiconductor industry is part of the strategy to deliver the stronger, investment driven growth he is seeking.