If I were the chauffeur of the President (Part 1)
After the successful elections last May 10, 2010, it’s time for our chosen leaders to flex their muscles and embrace the great challenge that lies ahead so that when July comes they would be ready to do the right things for our nation. I don’t really know their development agenda, except the fight against corruption and poverty, the most common themes during the campaigns. Simple as they seem, these two (2) concerns have more than what meets the eye, and if they were used as the sole barometer for a successful performance after 6 years, any of those who ran for presidency and promised to put an end to both of them would definitely flank. Haven’t we heard these before from all our most respected Presidents in the past?
The first campaign slogan of Senators Noynoy and Mar “tuloy ang laban” aptly describes what needs to be done – to continue the fight, taking off from significant gains achieved in the past and doing more. Corruption, per se, pervades not only in the government but in the whole society. It has become a culture even in transactions and personal affairs that do not necessarily involve the government or any of its instrumentalities. Poverty, on the other hand, has many roots deeply implanted into the whole and interdependent economic, social and cultural, and political systems. The fight against poverty therefore would require clear understanding of the nature of these causes so that we can successfully deracinate them from the systems.
Corruption and poverty are mere yet significant symptoms of more critical development concerns which should be the focus of any administration. A thorough examination of these and the acceptance of where we truly are would provide us the lead where the battle should be won. Let me then give you some facts or perspectives on our development standing as a nation.
For over 4 decades, the country was unable to generate and sustain a level of economic growth that could significantly raise the level of incomes and reduce the incidence of poverty. Positive growth rates registered by the country in terms of gross domestic product per person were much lower than the average growth rates for comparable neighboring Asian economies. For the period 2004 to 2006, however, the Philippines made good progress in reducing budget deficit and debt burden. Economic performance substantially improved, posting growth rates of more than 5% for 3 consecutive years from 2004 to 2006. Yet, the economy experienced a down turn in 2007 up to 2009 brought about by the global financial crunch in 2007.
The rather dismal and fragile economic performance of the country has been attributed to high population growth, growing gaps in infrastructure and quality basic services, large and still ballooning budget deficits, high level of public debt (and debt repayments), poor tax collection performance and misallocation of funds to various competing priorities, weak institutions of governance, and persistent community conflicts.
In recent surveys, about a quarter of Filipino families live below the poverty threshold. Poverty is most prevalent in rural areas where a little less than half of the rural population are considered poor. People at the rural areas are basically agriculture dependent because of the very limited off-farm employment opportunities unless they move and migrate to the nearby urban areas. Yet even if they go to urban areas, they would still be begging for jobs, one that would suit their limited and perhaps irrelevant skills, if ever they have any.
(To be continued)
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