Another ‘lost decade’ possible if multiple crises persist–fdc

Neda said the law aimed to promote stronger governance in the grant and review of tax incentives through the oversight function of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB), ensuring accountability and transparency.

Instead of reducing the taxes of these foreign players, the government must increase spending on education, health care, housing and nutrition, Ofreneo stressed. This will address the impact of the pandemic, particularly on the job losses, and ensure more Filipinos can afford their basic food and non-food needs.

“The Marcos administration faces a dilemma, with the country struggling to recover from the pandemic, and facing a myriad of crises. Will it save the corporations or will it save the ordinary people first?” FDC said.

“For the Freedom from Debt Coalition, which has been sounding the alarm on the emerging debt and fiscal crisis in an increasingly uncertain global context for years, the answer is clear. Focus on the people first,” he added.

Bold reforms–ibon

IN a separate briefing, Ibon Foundation Inc. said the new administration must take pains to institute bold reforms given the challenges the country faces.

Ibon said addressing these challenges means discontinuing the Duterte administration’s “neoliberal policies that enriched oligarchs, immiserated the majority, and plundered resources.”

The think tank added: “Bold measures that will truly develop agriculture and industry need to be identified, and the new administration can start with junking existing harmful policies such as the Rice Tariffication Law, expanded foreign investment liberalization such as in public utilities, and lopsided trade deals only favoring rich countries.”

The group called for the implementation of immediate measures such as providing cash assistance to households, substantial wage hike and subsidies, removing oil taxes, ensuring affordable and available transport, and supporting agricultural producers and micro, small and medium enterprises.

These measures, Ibon said, do not only strengthen aggregate demand but also help ensure supply response and mitigate further inflation.

Ibon also recommended that the administration realign the budget for non-urgent infrastructure, debt service and the military, and impose a billionaire’s tax.

It should start expanding policy space by reviewing the promarket and big businessfriendly framework which has only made millions of Filipinos more vulnerable.

Ibon noted that the Philippines is among the poorest performing economies compared to its neighbors. Its gross domestic product (GDP) had the biggest contraction of 9.6 percent in 2020, followed by Thailand and Malaysia, which contracted by 6.2 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively.

It added that the average annual GDP growth of 3.8 percent from 2016 to 2021 ranks the country as the 5th worst economic performer in the region before and during the pandemic.

The share of agriculture and manufacturing in the economy at 9.6 percent and 19.2 percent in 2021, respectively, are their smallest in history—in the case of manufacturing, in 70 years.