The theme of the employers’ convention, “Survive, Compete, Succeed”, is appropriate, as the country’s economy is barely surviving the crisis it is in. It is, however, almost impossible for the country to compete and succeed with its current state and orientation, much less be in the company of the world’s most economically and politically powerful. That is, unless the country breaks away from its existing economic and political relations with the U.S. and start asserting itself as what is being done by Venezuela, Cuba, and Bolivia. Bolivia recently nationalized its oil industry.
But if the country continues with its current direction, it will accumulate bigger trade deficits, incur more debts, and plunge deeper into a state of backwardness and crisis. The balance of trade in goods (BOT-G) deficit for the Philippines in January 2006 has reached $415 million, higher compared to last year’s deficit of $207 million. Total public sector debt amounted to P5.48 trillion by June 2005. The Arroyo administration is making things worse by intensifying its policies of liberalization, deregulation and privatization. If it succeeds in amending the 1987 Constitution to keep itself in power and to further open up the country to exploitation and profiteering by foreign monopoly corporations, the only road the country would take is the road to perdition. (Bulatlat.com)
