Birdtalk Midyear 2011: Failing Economy, Growing Disenchantment

Birdtalk Midyear 2011--The new administration itself has moved to the forefront of reproducing instead of resolving these problems.

Download in PDF format One year is long enough to evaluate the Aquino administration. Economic directions and political priorities have been set which can already be measured against the country’s long-standing problems and the needs of the people. Without expecting that the change Filipinos hope for will happen overnight, a year is more than enough time to see if the first decisive steps towards this have been taken.

Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III promised change and so effectively sent this message that he won the presidency by it. A year later, however, the country’s economic and political problems are as entrenched as ever. The snag is not merely of untangling a mess inherited from the previous Arroyo administration – the new administration itself has moved to the forefront of reproducing instead of resolving these problems.

The country’s troubles are undoubtedly considerable: tens of millions of poor Filipinos, severe social inequality, manufacturing and agricultural decline amid global crisis, recurring fiscal troubles, persistent political repression, weak and undemocratic institutions of governance, systemic corruption, and lack of national sovereignty. The administration admits as much to justify its lack of tangible accomplishment so far and claims that its first year was about creating the foundations for future progress.

Yet, especially in the realm of the economy, the policies and medium-term plan put in place actually undermine such progress. The Aquino administration’s approach is identical to that of the previous Arroyo government, though economic strategies should have been overhauled towards real social, agricultural and industrial development. Much of the poor economic performance in the first year of the administration is certainly due to failed globalization policies of the past – but in choosing those same policies, the Aquino administration has made this poor performance its own.

The political inadequacies are more fully the Aquino administration’s and go far beyond the widely-perceived personal incompetence and favoritism. The administration has consistently played up its banner anti-corruption/anti-Arroyo drive yet even here there is scant movement. On the other hand, state-sponsored human rights violations clearly persist astride rising militarism. Also conspicuous is the rapid subordination to United States (US) geostrategic interests at the expense of the country’s sovereignty.

Any claim to a productive first year will rest on a flimsy case. The dole-out programs rolled out give temporary relief for the country’s poor but alarmingly mask how the roots of their socioeconomic woes are not being dealt with – or, worse, being preserved. There are also narrow economic indicators meaningful only for international financial institutions, credit ratings agencies, investment managers and big business. And there are the sensational exposés of Arroyo-era corruption. These give the appearance of achievement but have not yet led to actual accountability and decisive action. Continue reading...