Seeing ghosts or nearsighted?
President Noynoy Aquino was unusually fast at shooting down suggestions for limited amendments to the Philippine Constitution. While the President has been known to speak his mind, some of us wonder why he did not wait to speak to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Sonny Belmonte before commenting on a very important matter.
As a result, much of what the President used as his reasons for blocking the suggested constitutional amendments is now being thrown back at the President. The President believes that making changes in the Constitution in order to make the country investment friendly “might only delay the progress” and that we should not fix what ain’t broke.
That unfortunately is a matter of perspective and who the President listens to. Whatever progress the President is referring to can’t possibly be attributed to his administration considering the fact that they have been accused of under spending, not having any real economic flagship program, and their only claim to fame after two years is getting rid of “Wang-Wangs” on the road, throwing Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in jail and impeaching Chief Justice Renato Corona.
As stated by columnists and economists, the 6.4 percent growth that the President loves to refer to is generated by OFWs and transient investors who park money and pull out whenever stock values change and not from real investments or job generating factories. Assuming for argument’s sake that the 6.4 percent growth in our economy was generated by the business sector, much of it would be from the current business monopolies that have a strangle hold of the Philippine economy.
Considering we have lagged behind our ASEAN neighbors, is 6.4 percent really an achievement? Are we not misrepresenting the facts considering other nations who are experiencing economic slowdowns are actually billions if not trillions of dollars richer than us? More importantly, has the President studied how much bigger our economic growth rate might be if our country was truly foreign investment friendly?
In fairness to the President, he may simply be being prudent or careful that political upheavals or agendas don’t mess things up. However, the President should also be prudent about shooting things down before seeking the counsel of many. To fear what isn’t there is like seeing ghosts, and should we wait until our economy finally breaks down before we shore things up for the storm? If superpowers and developed countries have fallen all around us, how much longer before we ourselves will experience the storm?
Perhaps it is the wisdom of the years that now prods Senator President Enrile and Speaker Belmonte to think beyond their terms and their lifetime. Making the limited amendments to the Constitution is not about politics but about economic survival. It is about making the country and our economy stronger not for this decade but for the generations to come.
In the last two months I have read write-ups about the Philippine economy and how monopolies have succeeded to turn away foreign investments. Nowadays, it is common to find out that more and more Filipinos are sending their children abroad for college, because local institutions are no longer producing globally competitive Filipinos. Even the rich and famous have to go to Germany or Singapore for stem cell therapy or in-vitro fertilization because foreign experts are prohibited from practicing in the Philippines. A lot of the foreign currency that OFWs remit to the Philippines is simply being sent and spent outside the country.
Because of the OFW reality, the Philippines is now home to thousands of foreigners in mixed marriages. Many of these foreigners have brought their life savings into the Philippines, bought land, built homes but own none of it and simply have to trust their spouse and pray to God that their marriage lasts a lifetime, or end up losing everything.
In like manner, thousands of businesses in the Philippines are based on dummy corporations. Crime and corruption exists in the Philippines simply because the government and the Constitution is out of touch or out of step with international best practices. Everybody knows it, but legislators and the government do nothing about it because at the end of the day, monopolies dictate the terms and conditions of business in the Philippines. Many of those monopolies belong to or are partly owned by elected officials.
Perhaps the President should consider that the “Matuwid na Daan” or the straight and narrow path to progress is not just about fighting corruption but also “to right the un-rightable wrong” in our Constitution that protects monopolies and vested interests at the cost of our country’s progress. Perhaps the President should think beyond his term and remember that the sacrifice his parents made in the past are the things that he benefits from in the present. In response to “Hell Week On EDSA,” some of our readers have suggested that the MMDA should install CCTV cameras to monitor buses who violate the yellow lane, that the Civil Service Commission should study the possibility of changing office hours, using courier services more so that people don’t have to wait or return for clearances, passports, etc and promoting on-line services so that you don’t even have to go to a government office anymore. There should be serious vehicle reduction starting with the ban on recycling or rebuilding vehicles that have been declared as total loss or suffer structural damage to engine frames/ chassis. Ex-taxis or shuttles should not be re-registered as private vehicles once their franchises expire. E-mail: Utalk2ctalk@gmail.com