Philippine leader faces challenge to retain support

Significance

A day earlier, the opinion pollster Pulse Asia Research released the results of a survey in which his government had majority approval ratings on eleven out of 13 key issues. The Marcos administration did not score so well on poverty reduction and controlling inflation, issues that affect ordinary citizens greatly.

Impacts

• Marcos will adopt -- and adapt -- most of the major policies of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, whose daughter is his deputy.
• The Philippines may struggle to realise its GDP growth target of 6.5-8.0% annually between 2023 and 2028.
• Rising US-Chinese tensions will make it difficult for Marcos to pursue balanced relations with Washington and Beijing.