In my expedition through every nook and cranny of the virtual warzone of Philippine politics, I often find myself invested in the same thing — Filipinos divided over President Bongbong Marcos’s presidency. And much like every time I stumble upon debates between devotee versus devotee, I can’t help but deem it a long-drawn-out tale.

It’s an age-old story: people locked in their black-and-white worldviews; on one side, mediocrity is given a pass, with the logic of Marcos Jr. being the “lesser of evils” following as credible support. Then, on the flip side, the opposition would consider the slightest hint of approval as loyalism—a personal attack would ensue. 

No middle ground, and nothing but tempers resolved. 

Still, I figure that most discourse could be wrapped up in an instant if both sides simply agree upon one truth: Marcos Jr. is a mediocre president at best—and that mediocrity is precisely one of the many reasons the Philippines remains in shambles.

Granted, when the previous administration decided to play god and raised the nation’s death toll as if we were at war, even incompetence appears like an improvement. A bar plunged so far down that doing less harm now passes for progress. 

But what this country desperately needs is, of course, not some inept, dynastic son of a dictator. The nation’s problems are too deep-rooted for a leader whose greatest political asset is his last name. Without the weight of his family’s history, you could barely feel his presence. 

Think about it, more than half of his term has passed—with the first two years wasted away in his fruitless foreign visits—and whatever new outrage the Dutertes have sparked could be felt more in a span of a week than his three-year presidency.

Marcos Jr. is very much treating his reign like it’s mere maintenance, with him patching leaks instead of actually steering the ship. 

The alleged coup plots? Multiple instances of resignations? Constant reappointments? All signs of a dismantling government, but sure, let’s play pretend and act like his sentiments of his administration being on solid ground make up for the quake it’s causing. 

The Filipinos are not dumb. What we’re being led to see is nothing but illusion. The continuous reshuffling of officials (from police chiefs to Cabinet members) is a clear indicator of instability, yet we’d accept it, since it’s under the guise of “control.”

I’ve seen people commend Marcos Jr. when he stepped up when it came to the once inescapable flood control fiasco, being the one who opened the can of worms in the first place and all, but—as always—his response was lacking to me. Simply because his response was once again in the literal sense. Another statement portraying disappointment, another string of words in an attempt to appease the raging public, another issue concluded with still no true action accomplished. 

Yes, compared to the previous administration, it’s certainly an upgrade. But a bare cleanup of the mess it’s made will never be what our country deserves. 

Repair is not reform, and our reversion to normalcy is not development.

Proactiveness is essential, and we definitely aren’t getting that from a president who only surfaces to apologize once the damage has been done. What we should demand is advancement after accountability, not just either of the two.

We do not have the luxury to be purists, but as long as we keep settling for almost-good, almost-bad governance, our nation will mirror that mediocrity:

Forever almost what it could have been.