BACKBENCHER
Rod P. Kapunan
1/19/2013
President Benigno Simeon "PNoy" Aquino III is about to cross the halfway mark of his term, and the people who gave him the adulating mandate are still awaiting some tangible achievements. They have yet to see what that modern-day American philosopher Eric Hoffer said as the "promise of hope" translated to one called "matuwid na daan".
Of course, those who have been lording it over are expected to praise the 7.1 percent increase in gross domestic product as phenomenal. They would be quick to say he surpassed what their favorite whipping boy Ferdinand Marcos had achieved during his time, even outpacing the brisk economies of Singapore – 0.3 percent, Malaysia – 5.2 percent, and Thailand – 3.0 percent. The Philippines has even overtaken the accelerating economies of Indonesia – 6.2 percent and Vietnam – 4.7 percent.
Despite that much-vaunted feat, we remain at the bottom, listed no. 102 in the ranking of real growth rate with the rest of the world. As of 2011, we have a per capita income of $4,100, but remain way below, ranking at 162 in comparison with other countries of the world. Mr. Aquino's hooters also trumpet the low unemployment rate at 7 percent. However, they fail to explain that it is the result of the reclassification of the underemployed, part-time, seasonal workers as employed, while those who have been unemployed for more than a year excluded from the statistics.
The greatest ambivalence is that poverty continues to stalk most of our people at 26.5 percent as of 2009. In the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations, as of the last quarter of 2012 about 16.3 percent or 3.3 million families suffer from hunger. If that figure is multiplied by five, which is the average number of persons per family, that would be equivalent to 16.5 million Filipinos out of a population of 103,775,002 million suffering from hunger.
In fact, there is much doubt in that analysis. The experience of not having to eat once in every three months cannot be termed as hunger, but one we could say a bad day for the family. Hunger is rooted on extreme poverty, and it is a daily occurrence to poor families. They have to hurdle daily to make sure they would have something to share together on the table to go on with life.
This explains why to this date, 54 percent or about 10.9 million families, or equivalent to 54.5 million Filipinos believe they remain poor. Even if we are to take it that this administration is pushing our GDP to such an unprecedented level, the per-capita income, foreign investments which are mostly portfolio investment or casino-like gambling, increase in exports, etc., belie that. The real ledger in measuring progress is when the majority of our people are affected by the transformation in terms of increased income and purchasing power, reduced poverty, and the elimination of hunger and the endemic diseases brought by it.
That now reduces to nothing the 7.1 percent increase in GDP because that contradicts the fact that we remain the highest from among the Asean member countries in terms of economic inequality, according to Xinhua in its August 6, 2011 issue. Moreover, according to the study conducted by the Stratbase Research Institute, the Philippines registered a Gini coefficient of 44 percent in 2010 higher than Thailand with 42.5 percent, Indonesia with 39.4 percent, Malaysia with 37.9 percent and Vietnam with 37.8 percent. According to Stratbase, "the huge disparity in income could breed social tension and political instability."
The prioritized legislation like the Reproductive Health Act, the passage of the so-called "Sin Tax," and the amendment strengthening the AMLA bear the visible markings of subservience to repay debt to those who made possible his election. The questionable agreement with the MILF stands as a sellout than an earnest effort to achieve peace in Mindanao. The manner in which the chief justice was removed and replaced by an unabashed minion was a miscarriage than a vindication of justice.
Even our foreign policy is now perceived as implementing the blueprint of Washington's grand design to contain China. This can be drawn by the routine port of call of US warships, increased joint military exercises with our soldiers living up to their role of scouts, and the senseless purchase in arms that could never tilt by half a degree the balance of power in the region.
The irony in PNoy's success is that it is not borne out of craftsmanship in government, but one prepared for him by his benefactors. Everybody knows that the P2.006 trillion national budget is not the residual result of increased income from production and business activities, but the result of increased and vigorous collection of taxes. The sad part is the small local entrepreneurs and the wage earners are always the ones affected.
Even the constructions being undertaken are mainly designed to complement and enhance foreign and elitist businesses, and not really to open new opportunities for our people to participate. This one can observe by the thrust of those projects, which is to attract tourism, to instill love for luxury, mire our people crass consumerism. Constructions are designed to pave the way for the building of new shopping malls, luxurious hotels, exclusive resorts and restaurants, and condominiums only a few could afford.
The popularity of PNoy is more of an image itched into the ignorant mind of many, and that is precisely designed to generate a bandwagon for which his candidates hope would work. The promise of illusory democracy and freedom is a dead platform. What will be decisive is the question on what they have accomplished, and not on their credentials of being the supporters of the ideology of vengeance. It is not even about the GDP for which many of them could hardly understand. As one cynic would put it, "Yan ba ay nakakain?"
(rpkapunan@gmail.com)
Of course, those who have been lording it over are expected to praise the 7.1 percent increase in gross domestic product as phenomenal. They would be quick to say he surpassed what their favorite whipping boy Ferdinand Marcos had achieved during his time, even outpacing the brisk economies of Singapore – 0.3 percent, Malaysia – 5.2 percent, and Thailand – 3.0 percent. The Philippines has even overtaken the accelerating economies of Indonesia – 6.2 percent and Vietnam – 4.7 percent.
Despite that much-vaunted feat, we remain at the bottom, listed no. 102 in the ranking of real growth rate with the rest of the world. As of 2011, we have a per capita income of $4,100, but remain way below, ranking at 162 in comparison with other countries of the world. Mr. Aquino's hooters also trumpet the low unemployment rate at 7 percent. However, they fail to explain that it is the result of the reclassification of the underemployed, part-time, seasonal workers as employed, while those who have been unemployed for more than a year excluded from the statistics.
The greatest ambivalence is that poverty continues to stalk most of our people at 26.5 percent as of 2009. In the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations, as of the last quarter of 2012 about 16.3 percent or 3.3 million families suffer from hunger. If that figure is multiplied by five, which is the average number of persons per family, that would be equivalent to 16.5 million Filipinos out of a population of 103,775,002 million suffering from hunger.
In fact, there is much doubt in that analysis. The experience of not having to eat once in every three months cannot be termed as hunger, but one we could say a bad day for the family. Hunger is rooted on extreme poverty, and it is a daily occurrence to poor families. They have to hurdle daily to make sure they would have something to share together on the table to go on with life.
This explains why to this date, 54 percent or about 10.9 million families, or equivalent to 54.5 million Filipinos believe they remain poor. Even if we are to take it that this administration is pushing our GDP to such an unprecedented level, the per-capita income, foreign investments which are mostly portfolio investment or casino-like gambling, increase in exports, etc., belie that. The real ledger in measuring progress is when the majority of our people are affected by the transformation in terms of increased income and purchasing power, reduced poverty, and the elimination of hunger and the endemic diseases brought by it.
That now reduces to nothing the 7.1 percent increase in GDP because that contradicts the fact that we remain the highest from among the Asean member countries in terms of economic inequality, according to Xinhua in its August 6, 2011 issue. Moreover, according to the study conducted by the Stratbase Research Institute, the Philippines registered a Gini coefficient of 44 percent in 2010 higher than Thailand with 42.5 percent, Indonesia with 39.4 percent, Malaysia with 37.9 percent and Vietnam with 37.8 percent. According to Stratbase, "the huge disparity in income could breed social tension and political instability."
The prioritized legislation like the Reproductive Health Act, the passage of the so-called "Sin Tax," and the amendment strengthening the AMLA bear the visible markings of subservience to repay debt to those who made possible his election. The questionable agreement with the MILF stands as a sellout than an earnest effort to achieve peace in Mindanao. The manner in which the chief justice was removed and replaced by an unabashed minion was a miscarriage than a vindication of justice.
Even our foreign policy is now perceived as implementing the blueprint of Washington's grand design to contain China. This can be drawn by the routine port of call of US warships, increased joint military exercises with our soldiers living up to their role of scouts, and the senseless purchase in arms that could never tilt by half a degree the balance of power in the region.
The irony in PNoy's success is that it is not borne out of craftsmanship in government, but one prepared for him by his benefactors. Everybody knows that the P2.006 trillion national budget is not the residual result of increased income from production and business activities, but the result of increased and vigorous collection of taxes. The sad part is the small local entrepreneurs and the wage earners are always the ones affected.
Even the constructions being undertaken are mainly designed to complement and enhance foreign and elitist businesses, and not really to open new opportunities for our people to participate. This one can observe by the thrust of those projects, which is to attract tourism, to instill love for luxury, mire our people crass consumerism. Constructions are designed to pave the way for the building of new shopping malls, luxurious hotels, exclusive resorts and restaurants, and condominiums only a few could afford.
The popularity of PNoy is more of an image itched into the ignorant mind of many, and that is precisely designed to generate a bandwagon for which his candidates hope would work. The promise of illusory democracy and freedom is a dead platform. What will be decisive is the question on what they have accomplished, and not on their credentials of being the supporters of the ideology of vengeance. It is not even about the GDP for which many of them could hardly understand. As one cynic would put it, "Yan ba ay nakakain?"
(rpkapunan@gmail.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment
REMINDERS:
- Spamming is STRICTLY PROHIBITED
- Any other concerns other than the related article should be sent to generalkuno@gmail.com. Your privacy is guaranteed 100%.