IBON Features | 8 May 2016
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PATH NOT TO TAKE: THE EXCLUSIONARY AND ELITIST DAANG MATUWID
IBON Features | #BeyondElections2016
| The Aquino administration’s long-playing call to sustain its
so-called legacy of a fast-growing economy driven by “good governance”
resonated in the “ituloy ang Daang Matuwid” electoral campaign. That the
elections are just a day away and that the term of Pres. Benigno S.
Aquino III is nearing its end are opportune moments to review Daang
Matuwid and expose it for what is has truly been.
These
past six years have shown that the Daang Matuwid legacy which the
ruling party’s standard bearers vow to continue is that of exclusionary
economics, antipeople neoliberal policies, elite governance and deepened
subservience to foreign interests at the Filipino people’s expense.
Exclusive growth. The
Liberal Party has taken to claiming the supposed achievements of the
Aquino administration: a relatively fast-growing economy under its rule.
They attribute this growth to “good governance” with an anti-corruption
drive and the pursuit of market-based reforms which purportedly boosted
the confidence of business to invest and consumers to purchase.
Daang
Matuwid underscores how market-based reforms help to create a business
and foreign-investment friendly environment, which is expected to
eventually translate into widespread development for the country.
“Inclusive growth” is treated as an add-on to be addressed through
increased social service spending.
However,
this is merely a continuation of the same old neoliberal globalization
policies that began in the 1980s. The government focused on using
public funds and resources to promote private profits and interests.
Though growth may have been relatively rapid, it was not felt by many
and did not deflect from the deterioration of the domestic economy.
Jobs crisis. Despite
reported uptick in employment, job generation has weakened to an
average of only 692,000 from 2011-2015 down from the annual 858,000
from 2001-2010. Poor quality work is widespread: 24.4 million or 63% of
total employed are non-regular, agency-hired, informal sector, or unpaid
family workers. Working Filipinos are also grappling with low incomes
despite increasing labor productivity. Almost half or 46% of workers
receive less than the minimum wage and 25% receive just exactly the low
minimum wage.
Persistent poverty.
The number of Filipinos in extreme poverty remains unchanged at 27
million in the first half of 2015. There is an estimated 66 million poor
Filipinos surviving on just P125 or less per day. There are 203,000
more underweight children while there are 692,000 less fully immunized
children despite P295 billion being spent from 2011-2016 on the
conditional cash transfer scheme Pantawid Pamilyang PilipinoProgram (4Ps).
Shrinking production sectors. The
agriculture and industry sectors, which are vital for national
development and sustained growth, continue to deteriorate. Agriculture
growth has been declining from 2.8% in 2012 to just 0.2% in 2015.
Manufacturing growth has also been slowing down from 10.3% in 2013 to
5.7% in 2015.
Inequality. The
neoliberal policies pushed on the Daang Matuwid platform concentrated
wealth and economic power in the hands of a few elite business groups
and oligarchs. The wealth of the 25 richest Filipinos (US$44.1 billion)
is equivalent to the combined income of the country’s poorest 76
million Filipinos. The networth of the 40 richest Filipinos grew from
14% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 to 24% in 2015. The
gross revenue of the top 100 corporations also rose from 59% of the GDP
in 2010 to 69% in 2014.
Public funds for private gain. The
government’s centerpiece public private partnership (PPP) program has
allowed the private sector to greatly profit from public funds and
resources – even in utilities and social services such as education,
health, housing. For instance, the San Miguel Corporation owned by
presidential uncle Eduardo Cojuangco has bagged PPP contracts worth a
total of Php149.06 billion. Under Daang Matuwid, there have been 12
projects worth Php217.4 billion awarded to the private sector. Many of
these projects such as the construction of MRT7 in San Jose Del Monte,
Bulacan and the Quezon City Business District have driven farmers and
urban poor settlers, respectively, from their abode, resulting in forced
evacuation and violent demolitions.
Daang
Matuwid's idea is to make business out of housing instead of providing
it as a social service. The Daang Matuwid administration has allocated
billions to private education instead of strengthening the public school
system and has pushed K-to-12 to hone an army of cheap labor for the
global market. Despite PhilHealth, its so-called universal health-care
program, 69% of total hospital bill is still paid with salary, loan or
sale of property: government subsidy ends up in private health
institutions.
Foreign-controlled economy. Daang
Matuwid's economic policy has been largely defined by foreign interests
such as the US government and international financial institutions like
the World Bank (WB). The US Agency for International Development
(USAID), one of the US government's key mechanisms for crafting the
country’s economic policy, funded the US$1 million Arangkada Philippines
Project (TAPP) since 2010. Administered by the American Chamber of
Commerce and implemented by the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in
the Philippines, the program aggressively seeks to change the 1987
Philippine Constitution and remove foreign economic restrictions. By
2015, some three out of four (75%) of the TAPP's 471 policy
recommendations have been started or already completed. The WB also used
US$1.1 billion in development policy loans in 2006, 2011, 2013 and
2014 to push for health, education and power privatization, higher VAT
and other taxes, and reduced government spending.
Onerous deals. The
Aquino administration also actively pursued Free Trade Agreements (FTA)
that seek to liberalize trade and investment, further exposing its
subservience to foreign interests at the expense of government
regulation for public interest. Since the beginning of its term in in
2010, the administration has actively sought to join the US-dominated
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. It has also started formal
talks for the European Union-Philippines (EU-PH) FTA, and through the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is involved in the
China-dominated Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Government refused to heed that the economy has not benefited from
earlier such deals as the Japan Philippine Economic Partnership
Agreement. Membership in same-principled World Trade Organization has
also resulted in more extensive damage to the country’s economy,
especially agriculture and industry, and thus to prospects for national
development.
Exclusive path. Daang
Matuwid was a straight path for elite politics characterized by
exclusionary and pro-foreign decision-making. Its brand of leadership
championing elite interests over that of the people’s figured throughout
Aquino's term.
Daang
Matuwid brandished symbols of democracy. Yet on Daang Matuwid wealthy
families’ political dynasties flourished, eventually corrupting most of
the party-list system and keeping landlord and compradore families in
control of government. Almost seven of 10 Senators and six of 10 lower
house representatives come from political dynasties.
Human rights violations. The
'straight path" boasts of a vibrant civil society and is
internationally known for its 'good governance' mantra. But contingent
to its continued implementation of neoliberal policies that have kept
the people poor and the economy backward are the Liberal Party-led
administration's repeated attacks on the people's civil and political
rights, especially against those that asserted them. Since December 2015
it has 304 extrajudicial killings (of whom 223 were peasants, 80
indigenous people and 28 children), 304 illegally arrested and detained
and at least 19 incidents and 7,000 victims of forced evacuation in
Mindanao, Southern Tagalog and Cagayan Valley in 2015 alone.
Haciendero leadership. The
Kidapawan massacre that felled two of more than 6,000 drought-stricken
farmers demanding government to release promised rice provisions would
only be the among most recent display of the ruling party's
marginalization of farmers and other people’s sectors. The
administration's lack of decisive action whether on the Supreme Court's
order to distribute the Aquino-Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita or on
Lumad killings in mineral-and-resource-rich Mindanao where several
farmers and indigenous folk had also been killed by State forces
highlights its bias for big landlord and business interests and against
the people’s assertion for land, jobs and broad-based development.
Corruption. Belying
its anti-corruption stance, Daang Matuwid also bent the high court’s
decisions declaring the priority development assistance fund (PDAF) and
the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) illegal, still retaining and
even increasing huge lump sum funds and maintaining DAP in the 2015 and
2016 budgets. This reeks of bureaucrat capitalism and fans suspicion
that people’s money may be used to fund the ruling party’s election
campaign.
Zero accountability and neglect. Daang
Matuwid never owned up to its accountability in the tragedies that
beset the nation during its administration. So-called probe bodies have
absolved the president of command responsibility in the Mamasapano
incident and covered-up US troops’ illegal participation in the botched
operations where 44 of the PNP’s elite forces perished.
Government’s
implementation of neoliberal policies have kept communities inresilient
to calamity hazards. Meanwhile, according to recent data, only 30% of
families affected by super typhoon Yolanda have received livelihood
assistance and 6% of damaged coconut farms have been replanted while
millions of dollars and pesos in cash and material aid have not reached
the calamity victims.
Mary
Jane Veloso who remains in the death row is a picture of thousands of
Overseas Filipino Workers encouraged by Daang Matuwid to respond to the
global ‘steady demand’ for cheap labor. The fire that razed footwear
factory Kentex killing 72 mostly contractual and irregular workers
highlighted Filipinos’ labor woes: measly wages even pulled down lower
by the two-tiered wage system, labor flexibilization, lack or absence of
benefits, poor working conditions and the criminalization of unions.
War for profit.The
same pro-business bias defines the incumbent administration’s approach
to peace which has been reduced to the surrender of arms and principles:
The imminent passing of a watered-down Bangsamoro Basic Law presupposes
big business and foreign institutions’ corporate expansion plans for
Mindanao. It undermines the Moro people’s aspiration for
self-determination and sovereignty over ancestral land and resources.
Government’s refusal to resume peace talks with the National Democratic
Front of the Philippines delays discussion and thus action on pro-people
socio-economic reforms.
Cronyism, selective prosecution. In
Daang Matuwid those who have been charged with allegations of
corruption within the ruling camp and the previous administration were
not brought to justice. It did not prosecute for instance presidential
best friend Paquito Ochoa regarding the waterways projects and Alan
Purisima who even led sensitive police operations amid suspension.
Though former Chief Justice Renato Corona was convicted for corruption,
his boss former president Gloria Arroyo’s conviction for electoral fraud
and funds misuse was ambiguous and the fallen dictator’s son Bongbong
Marcos and his family are at large and even leading in the vice
presidential race in poll surveys. Presidential friends who were former
corporate executives have also been given top cabinet posts such as
Roberto Singson and Jose Almendras.
The
president’s vetoing the proposed Php2,000 Social Security System (SSS)
pension hike despite the abundance of possible sources of funds starkly
contrasts to Daang Matuwid standard bearer Mar Roxas’ former
chief-of-staff Eliza Antonino’s getting a Php6 million annual salary as
SSS commissioner.
Subservience. The
Aquino administration also unflinchingly disregarded the Filipino
people’s struggle for sovereignty and patrimony against US imperialist
aggression in legalizing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and
offering agreed locations which US military troops may use at liberty.
As the US strengthens its foothold on Asia Pacific, it benefits from the
Philippine government’s use of China’s affront regarding the
Scarborough Shoal to seek tighter ties with the US military. The US has
been allowed to elude Philippine laws in cases where Filipinos were
victims of US troops abuses as in the case of Gregan Cardeno, Nicole and
Jennifer Laude. It has no commitment whatsoever to defend the
Philippines much less its sovereignty. Its commitment is in ensuring
that the Philippine economy is shaped according to the interests of
foreign, especially US, corporations through globalization policies.
Through
their daily struggles for livelihood, social justice and rights, the
Filipino people have increasingly rejected Daang Matuwid. The elections
may be another opportunity to register this rejection, however
throughout their campaign, candidates other than the bearers of the
Daang Matuwid flag have not shown their platforms to differ. Under this
administration this would also be the second round of discredited,
privatized automated polls featuring machines supplied by a
multinational firm.
Beyond
the 2016 elections, this brings the nation to pursue the path that will
muster the people’s collective capacity to push meaningful and lasting
change that will truly benefit the majority. IBON Features
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