Research group IBON hit Malaca\u00f1ang\u2019s launching of the \u2018Duterte Legacy\u2019 campaign while relief operations are still ongoing for tens of thousands of families displaced by the present eruption of Taal volcano. The campaign is not just rife with disinformation, said the group, but also insensitive politicking for the still distant 2022 elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Organized by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), the Duterte Legacy Campaign was launched by Malaca\u00f1ang at the Philippine International Convention Center barely a week after Taal volcano erupted. Cabinet officials showcased the Duterte administration\u2019s accomplishments in three \u201ckey pillars\u201d: peace and order, infrastructure development, and poverty alleviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IBON executive director Sonny Africa criticized the launch for its insensitivity. \u201cThe government pleaded lack of relief funds and asked the public for support,\u201d Africa said, \u201cbut here comes the PCOO using its bloated propaganda budget for presidential self-promotion conspicuously in anticipation of the 2022 elections.\u201d The PCOO budget which averaged Php1.1 billion a year in 2011-2016 has greatly increased under the Duterte administration to Php1.7 billion for 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Africa said that the PCOO campaign is only the latest disinformation effort of the administration. \u201cThe Duterte Legacy Campaign is deceiving the public about the real state of the economy with its selective and misleading presentation of figures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PCOO claims 4.2 million jobs generated through \u2018Build, Build, Build\u2019 to hype its impact. Africa said this is an exaggeration though and points out, for instance, that this is even more than the 4.15 million total employed in the construction sector in 2019 reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). There is so much double-counting that the number is virtually made up, he stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 4.5% unemployment rate is meanwhile disingenuous because the figure is only for the October 2019 labor force survey round. The PCOO would be more honest, he said, if they cited the higher 5.1% unemployment rate for the whole year which is already available from the PSA. Africa also said that the supposed 5.9 million Filipinos being lifted from poverty is only because a very low and unrealistic poverty line of Php71 was used to compute this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IBON pointed out that the Philippine economy is in worse shape because of the unreformed neoliberal policies of the Duterte administration. The group noted that: growth has been slowing since the start of the administration to just 5.8% in the first three quarters of 2019; agriculture grew weakly at just 1.5% and manufacturing slowed to 3.7%. The group also cited government debt bloating to Php7.9 trillion; regressive tax reforms eating away at the incomes of the poorest 60% of the population; high real unemployment at 4.7 million; and more than 12 million families trying to survive on Php132 or less per person per day. ###
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NEWS<\/p>\n
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