Aquino keeps his promise: No corruption

By TONY LOPEZ

When Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino 3rd became president on June 30, 2010, he promised no corruption and to run after his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. But he promised little on the economy, which at that time was, well, booming.

Eighteen months into his presidency, the people still look at Aquino with a jaundiced eye.

The President remains hugely po-pular—despite a dramatic slowdown in the economy (caused in large part by massive underspending by the administration), rising poverty, rising hunger incidence, rising inflation and rising unemployment.

In the third quarter Social Weather Stations survey, 68 percent said they were satisfied with the Aquino administration’s performance.

In the August to September 2011 Pulse Asia survey, Aquino chalked up a 77 percent approval rating and 75 percent trust rating. Surveys indicate Noynoy is the most popular of all post-EDSA 1986 presidents, an amazing finding considering the lack of substantial track record as a congressman for nine years and senator for three years.

“If no one is corrupt, no one will be poor. (Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap), is the defining principle that will serve as the foundation of our administration,” the Pre-sident said at his inaugural 18 months ago.

After a year and half of his presidency, indeed, there is no scandal that has tainted Aquino’s reputation—except for acts of omission or incompetence of his Cabinet and sub-cabinet people.

And the President has been able to put Mrs. Arroyo under arrest, guarded 24/7 by the police, collaring for once, the principal symbol of corruption and abuse —Aquino believes—in the previous administration.

Two weeks after her hospital arrest at upscale St. Luke’s in Taguig, a local judge has ordered Arroyo’s transfer to a government hospital.

Economy doing poorly

Meanwhile, on the economy, Aquino has done very poorly. Growth rate has halved while hunger, poverty, inflation and unemployment are up.

Inflation rose to 4.5 percent in the ten months to October 2011 from 4.0 percent last year.

Majority or 52 percent of the population say they are poor. Hunger stalks 23 percent of the population, up from 13 percent in June 2011 and 20.7 percent in March 2011, per Social Weather Stations survey.

At 3.6 percent, economic growth in the first nine months of 2011 is less than half the 8.2 percent rate scored during January-September 2010.

Unemployment was 7.4 percent in January 2011, up from 7.3 percent in January 2010. But that hides the impact of recent adverse developments. Failure of government to spend in the first nine months this year meant job losses of more than 300,000.

“Economic growth has been disappointing,” winces Harvard-trained economist Dr. Bernardo Villegas. “I thought the economy would grow by 4 percent in the third quarter (actual growth was 3.2 percent) because the government had started releasing (infra) funds,” he says in an interview.

Many economists and think tanks now believe growth during 2011 will be below 4 percent, and 4 percent is even lower than the low end of the government’s own projections for 2011.

“There is now no way we can expect to meet the revised annual growth rate of between 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent. That now unreach-able target was already revised downwards from 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent,” asserts political scientist Alex Magno writing in the Star Dec. 1.

Magno sneered: “The administration says it is not alarmed by the disappointing growth rate, but the local market surely is.”

“The stock exchange continued its downward path even as stock prices for the rest of the world spiked after encouraging sales numbers from the onset of the US shopping season.”

“The diffidence shown by the ad-ministration is itself unsettling. Our growth rate is now below the inflation rate and only slightly above our population growth rate. Our exports are falling dramatically while our imports are rising fast, creating a balance of trade deficit that is now reflecting on the peso-dollar exchange rate. The deterioration of the peso will soon magnify the costs consumers need to pay for vital imports like oil, rice, flour and milk. Consequently, poverty will deepen.”

PH slowest growing in ASEAN

Remarkably, the Philippines is now the slowest growing among the major member countries of the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) all of which are subjected to the same external vagaries the country is subjected to—like the debt crisis in Europe, the economic stall in the United States and Japan, the slowdown in China and all major markets. Indonesia grew 6.5 percent, Vietnam and Singapore 6.1 percent, and Malaysia 5.8 percent.

“We are again at the bottom of the Asia list,” grimaces former Senator Ernesto Maceda, now a columnist. “The bottom line: ineffective economic programs, slow government action, misguided cancellation of awarded contracts.”

The Philippines’ economic slump has been partly self-inflicted. The administration has refused to spend more than P140 billion in infra funds that should have been released for vital public works projects early part of 2011. Public construction spending declined a substantial 21.3 percent in the third quarter. The freeze, in my estimate, meant more than 300,000 jobs that should have been created.

The people have not made President Aquino account for the slow progress on the economic front. Next year, when the full impact of the Philippine economic slowdown, the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, the stalemate in the US economy, the deceleration in both Japan and China is felt in full force, the people should begin asking the President the question: Are we better off today than 18 months ago?