Family feud and our tight fiscal space

The only thing worse than a breakup is an ugly breakup, and that’s exactly what has happened with the Marcoses and the Dutertes.

The plot gets thicker every day, and after Vice President Sara Duterte’s tirades in a two-hour press conference last week, it is obvious that UniTeam is now a thing of the past.

So far, Sara’s beef has been about the loss of her entitlements – from confidential funds to her security contingent, all funded by taxpayers’ money. And now, in addition to that, a new issue – access to the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing or the so-called Bluebirds which President Marcos apparently did not fulfill.

Unfortunately or fortunately, we have become unwitting spectators in this latest round of the Philippines’ Game of Thrones: Marcos-Duterte version.

On the one hand, it’s good that UniTeam parted ways because now all these dirty secrets of the previous administration are out in the open, including those who were really involved in perpetrating the bloody drug war.

We’re also seeing how ugly politics is in the Philippines and how entitled our leaders are, throwing tantrums when they lose their entitlements.

But unfortunately, we’re also seeing how political foes attack each other not because of valid economic or political issues but because of broken promises that have affected their personal lives.

In short, it’s personal, and it’s never about the country. It’s never about the Filipino people.

Unfortunately, too, this ugly breakup has taken center stage, capturing our leaders’ attention which should instead be focused on many pressing issues hounding our country today.

One such issue is our tight fiscal space, which is bloating our borrowings.

According to the latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury, revenue collections amounted to P2.993 trillion in the January to August period, equivalent to 17.1 percent of gross domestic product.

Similarly, year-to-date expenditures reached P3.7 trillion, up by 11.32 percent, and already equivalent to 64.13 percent of the P5.8-trillion full-year target.

As a result, the country’s fiscal deficit for the eight-month period reached P697 billion, which is now at 4.9 percent of GDP, up from 4.8 percent for the same