There is something deeply unsettling—almost dangerous—when a nation hears its highest leader say, “wala tayong magagawa diyan.”
At a time when fuel prices surge, when every jeepney driver counts coins before starting the engine, when every household stretches a shrinking budget just to survive—those words do not sound like realism.
They sound like surrender.
No one is asking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to control the global oil market. No one expects him to dictate the outcome of conflicts halfway across the world.
Filipinos are not naïve.
But what they do expect—what they deserve—is leadership!
Leadership is not about having total control over a crisis. It is about showing resolve despite the lack of control. It is about exhausting every possible measure, exploring every alternative, and standing before the people not with excuses—but with direction.
Because words matter.
When a president says “nothing can be done,” it sends a chilling message: that the fight has already been conceded, that the burden is now solely on the people, and that the government is merely a spectator to their suffering.
Kulang na lang sabihin na “bahala na kayo dyan or kanya-kanya na muna tayo” o plain and stupid – Goodluck na lang!
And that is where the real failure begins.
Not in the uncontrollable rise of oil prices—but in the failure to project urgency.
Not in the global crisis—but in the absence of visible, relentless action against its effects.
Filipinos are resilient—but resilience is not an excuse for government complacency! The people can endure, yes—but they should not have to endure alone.
A president does not need to have all the answers. But he must never sound like he has stopped looking for them.
Because in moments of crisis, leadership is measured not by control but by urgency, by courage, by compassion and by the refusal to ever say: “wala na tayong magagawa.”
If the people are still fighting to survive, the President has no right to sound like he has already given up or say “wala tayong magagawa dyn?”
