“Nine years later the administration is unfortunately going to be hard-pressed in claiming any meaningful economic achievement especially in terms of what really matters for most Filipinos who have suffered mounting decades of poverty and underdevelopment,” said Africa, Ibon’s research head and also a CenPEG fellow. “The economic legacy it leaves is a distorted and disintegrating economy.”
“Any ‘bright spots’ of seemingly vibrant economic activity needs to be seen in their proper context,” added Africa, a London School of Economics-trained economist. “The Philippines has a population of some 90 million, a labor force of over 38 million, and poverty of at the very least 28 million (using an unreasonably low poverty line of around P42 per person per day). The national economy needs to be directed to meeting the needs of all of these Filipinos, which entails, without exaggeration, radical structural changes breaking the inertia of decades of backwardness.
“However, the Arroyo administration’s thrust has been to continue with the failed economic policies of the previous administration’s inevitably resulting in a deepening, economic failure. On the face of it economic growth has been relatively high compared to previous administrations. Growth in gross domestic product (GDP) during the Arroyo administration (2001-2009) averaged 4.9 percent annually compared to 4.6 percent under Corazon Aquino (1986-1992), 3.1 percent under Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998), and 3.9 percent under Joseph Estrada (1999-2001).
“Yet the last nine years have also seen record joblessness, deteriorating quality of jobs, falling household incomes, increasing poverty, fiscal crisis, unprecedented debt and debt service, social service cutbacks, and deeper Philippine underdevelopment. There is unfortunately no inconsistency: the economy has become even more distorted and the gains from this growth and economic policy in general have gone to a few and not been felt by the largest number of the Filipino people. No amount of reporting of deceptively ‘hard’ infrastructure achievements, or indeed of officially refusing to count millions of jobless by changing the definition of unemployment, will change underdevelopment realities on the ground.”
In the short term, according to Bobby Tuazon, CenPEG’s director of policy studies, the challenges for the people are to oppose attempts by the Arroyo administration to extend its power by all means, to actively engage presidential aspirants and use the elections to push for people’s programs and secure the commitment of individual candidates and political parties to these, and build a people’s coalition and a political party. He said the people must push, among other things, for the Arroyo clique’s accountability for public crimes, a stop to and rollback of oil price increases, a moratorium on debt payments, push for a genuine agrarian reform, protection of local business against undue foreign competition, and a review of all globalization policies including deregulation, privatization, trade liberalization, and labor-only contracting.
“The people are the sovereign voice,” said Tuazon. “Genuine development begins with patriotism.”
Tuazon also said there is a need to work for “a government of public service, governed by ethics,” and urged the promotion of “leadership values versus traditional politics.” (Bulatlat.com)
