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Buried in all the political noises surrounding the pre-election skirmishes among those seeking elective positions in 2022 was President Rodrigo Duterte’s participation in the 38th and 39th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit. The Summit was held from Oct. 26 to 28 under the leadership of Brunei Darussalam with the theme, “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper.”

The Philippines, in a general sense, is in a quandary about how fast it should reopen the economy now that more and more Filipinos have been vaccinated. Many sectors are divided on the issue. But one thing is clear: the economy cannot be hostage forever to the virus.

The next president of the Philippines will have a much easier time than what President Rodrigo Duterte is going through right now. By the time the 17th president of the Republic assumes office sometime in July 2022, the pandemic would most likely be contained and most of the country’s population would have received two doses of Covid-19 vaccine plus booster shots, if approved by regulators.