ADVERTISEMENT
"If we don't spend enough, ordinary citizens would continue to suffer...If we don't reverse the business closures, how could we generate jobs? The government would then have to provide aid, which is obviously not sustainable." -- Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo
"12% VAT on digital service providers such as Netflix and Lazada. Why not collect taxes from POGO?"
“The Duterte administration’s plans for economic recovery revolve around continuing infrastructure projects as the main source of economic stimulus, which actually stalled economic recovery.”
As COVID-19 wipes out whatever is left of the limited opportunities for Filipinos to earn a living, the Duterte administration’s lacking response, combined with an oppressive political environment, creates conditions for a perfect storm of social unrest.
Oil firms-imposed price adjustments are higher than what should be – by P 2.41 per liter for diesel and P4.76 per liter for gasoline, based on a DOE-recognized formula. The Big Three, a Duterte backer and other oil firms, rake in tens of millions of pesos daily from profiteering.
“Regional inequalities in the country can be reduced by providing economic dynamism in rural areas, which have lagged behind the urban areas and growth centers in the previous decades, leading to serious regional disparities.”
Amihan said that areas hit by Ambo were the same areas where social amelioration programs of the government have been slow. These are Eastern Visayas, Bicol and Southern Tagalog, where many poor peasant families rely on farming and agriculture for a living.
“During an intense crisis, the economic policies that should be implemented are those that are pro-people.”
"The Duterte government should ensure affordable and accessible food supply especially to the poor and marginalized to guarantee the Filipinos’ survival against COVID-19 and hunger.”
"This [#BarangayDamayan] aims to unite citizens while we undergo this public health crisis. It is very evident how the government has not provided urgent solutions such as free mass testing, accessible health care and assurance of job security amid the community quarantine. We see these as more tangible solutions rather than troop deployment."
For Ibon, the widening gap between the rich and the poor illustrates best the state of the Philippine economy. The P4-trillion net worth of 40 richest Filipinos is equivalent to the income of 54 million Filipinos.
"It will condemn to economic bankruptcy the sugar industry’s 80,000 planters and the employment and livelihood loss of its 700,000 agricultural workers, 26,000 mill workers and some 2 million downstream dependents."
For Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), Duterte’s SONA only renewed his administration’s commitment to fully implement “anti-poor, anti-farmer and anti-worker policies.”
“Definitely, the airport city project is a part of the government’s Destruct-Destruct-Destruct scheme that primarily caters to business interests and conveniently leaves out genuine development prospects for the people."
The joint venture, says the BEU and others against the joint venture, would turn water from a natural resource to a profit-generating commodity, to the detriment of consumers. For starters, the union says, a 12 percent value-added tax will be automatically tacked onto water bills once the deal is closed.
“Duterte's economic policies is creating a ‘debt bomb’ that will explode in the near future.“
"Increasing the national minimum wage is possible and not something that will burden the businesses.
The Philippines has now embarked on import liberalization of its staple – a dangerous path not just for the country’s food security, but more importantly, for that elusive economic development.
A community of readers and supporters that help us sustain our operations through microdonations for as low as $1.
Save as PDF