Noynoy hit for distorting history, state of poverty

WALLS, GLORIA BASHING ALL DONE TO IMPRESS ADB DELEGATES

Noynoy hit for distorting history, state of poverty

By Charlie V. Manalo

President Aquino was accused yesterday of distorting history and was criticized over his administration’s hypocrisy in building a wall to hide the country’s slum communities, all meant to impress the delegates to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) meeting that ended yesterday.

Aquino’s description of the country’s economy having improved before the annual meeting of the ADB board of governors was 100 percent accurate and happened not during his watch and the reality is that a slowdown in growth didn’t happen during the time of his predecessor, but is currently happening now under his watch, Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay said.

She scored Aquino for distorting history by claiming in his ADB speech that the Filipinos during the term of former President, now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo “were trapped in a downward spiral: no education, no work, no chance to improve their lot in life.”

Not only the speech was too predictable as it was made right after the Social Weather Station (SWS) survey came out showing that self-rated poverty has worsened by a full ten percentage points, but worse, Magsaysay said the vindictive fangs of the administration were again at their full throttle as it again pointed its finger at Arroyo, its favorite scapegoat for the country’s ills even after two years of the Aquino leadership.

A practice during the dark days of martial law when walls were built to hide impoverished communities whenever an international event was held in the country was also resurrected during the holding of the ADB event that prompted a protest from an international human rights group.

The giant boards were put up beside a road taking 4,300 delegates from the Manila international airport to the ADB meeting and the hotels where they were billeted, blocking the view of an open sewer and shanties.

The boards advertised Philippine tourist attractions as well as the high-level meeting, which proclaimed as its theme “inclusive” growth for Asia, home to some 902 million of the world’s poor according to the bank.

The government said it was merely trying to put its “best foot forward” but New York-based Human Rights Watch criticized the boards, saying it sent the message that dire poverty can just be ignored.

“Instead of trying to hide the poor, the Philippine government should be pressing the bank to tackle poverty head on,” said Jessica Evans, the group’s senior international financial institution advocate.

Union leader Josua Mata, of the Alliance of Progressive Labour-Centro, said the attempt to wall off the poverty was “embarrassing” and the government should turn its focus to creating jobs and building resettlement sites.

Malacañang insisted the effort was not an attempt to hide poverty, which the government says affects a fourth of the population of 95 million.

“It’s but natural to fix it (the city) up a bit and I don’t think we’re violating any human right by trying to put our best foot forward,” Presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said.

“We’re not trying to whitewash poverty, it’s very real,” another spokesman, Abigail Valte, said.

Carandang said the government was spending P39 billion this year in cash handouts to help three million poor families to escape poverty. The ADB lent the government $400 million in 2010 for the program.

ADB external relations director Ann Quon defended the hosts.

“We do not think it is the host country’s intention to paper over poverty in the Philippines,” Quon said.

“In fact, the government has placed poverty reduction at the center of its development agenda.”

Human Rights Watch said Philippine officials should instead “work to bring the voices of the poor to the bank” instead of setting up temporary walls to block them from view.

“No amount of high walls from the Philippine government can conceal poverty. The reality is that poverty is on the rise and cosmetic changes cannot hide this. The latest survey on poverty is a rebuke of the Aquino government and the ADB,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary Renato Reyes Jr. said.

A first quarter Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on self-rated poverty coming out in time for the ADB meeting showed some 11.1 million Filipino families consider themselves poor up from 9.1 million households in December last year.

“The (government’s) prediction of a five to six percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth (during the course of the ADB meeting) does not amount to much for the poor. The projected growth, assuming it will ever happen will not likely be felt by the poor. Wages remain depressed. Land reform is a sham. Prices keep going up. Joblessness is chronic,” Reyes added.

“It didn’t matter that the audience was the distinguished assembly at the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank. On an occasion when the country should have a show of national unity—now that the country is facing off against China—the administration reverted to its usual vindictive and divisive self, this time in front of the whole world watching,” Magsaysay added.

“What made it worse was that they were simply recycled the same old allegations against Mrs. Arroyo, even as this administration tried to claim for itself the economic achievements that the previous administration bequeathed to its successor. Let me cite just one of the outrageous statements: ‘(Under Mrs. Arroyo) our people were trapped in a downward spiral: no education, no work, no chance to improve their lot in life,’” the Zambales solon said.

“No education? Mrs. Arroyo increased the education budget by nearly four times—from less than P7 Billion in 2000 to over P24 Billion when she stepped down—and built a hundred thousand classrooms, more than her three predecessors,” Magsaysay noted.

With regards to jobs, Magsaysay said the unemployment rate was halved from a peak of nearly 14 percent before Arroyo took office, to an average of 7.5 percent by the time she stepped down with whole new industries were created on her watch, such as the Rolll on – Roll off (RoRo) system, business process outsourcing, and shipbuilding.

“No chance to improve their lot in life? Under the past administration, nearly 99 percent of barangays were connected to the national power grid, over two-thirds of waterless municipalities were provided water, and nearly 16,000 Botika ng Barangay outlets were opened to provide affordable medicine to the poor. And of course, it was under Mrs. Arroyo that the conditional cash transfer program first saw light,” Magsaysay averred.

The lady solon added it was rather unfortunate for the Aquino administration to boast about the recent credit ratings upgrades and the surge in capital markets when all those improvements were not resultants from the present administration’s rhetoric but by the solid work of the past decade.

“I’m talking about nearly 40 quarters of uninterrupted economic growth through the worst postwar global recession, fiscal consolidation through a larger tax base, a resilient economy no longer trapped in commodity boom and bust cycles, a peso even stronger at the end than the beginning of Mrs. Arroyo’s presidency,” said Magsaysay.

Fortunately, Magsaysay said, the baseless attack on the “nation’s collective achievements was delivered before the gathered finance and banking chiefs of Asia, who definitely know the real score. As the ADB itself reported, during the Arroyo decade, the Philippines rose from being laggard among ASEAN’s major economies to one of its top performers.”

The solon recalled that in 2007, only Singapore’s 8.8 percent topped the Philippines’ 6.6 percent real GDP growth; In 2008, Thailand and Singapore trailed the Philippines’ GDP growth of 4.2 percent’ In 2009, all economies contracted except Indonesia and the Philippines; And in 2010, the country’s 7.6 percent expansion beat Indonesia and Malaysia, and matched Thailand.

“But after two years under this administration, growth is down, and poverty, hunger, unemployment and prices are up, and all that he can do is vilify the past to cover up for his failings,” Magsaysay lamented adding that the Aquino administration’s “heedless belligerence have been repeatedly displayed before, with the instigation of the impeachment of the Chief Justice over the Hacienda Luisita ruling, baiting the Chinese with threats over Scarborough shoal that are turning out to be empty, and ignorance the wishes of Mindanao citizens on the power issue.”

“Now, the rest of the world is discovering what Filipinos have already realized: an administration which is long on threats and promises but woefully short on action and achievement,” she said.

Aquino’s speech before the ADB, Magsaysay said, summarizes what has happened to the country under the Aquino administration’s first two years, with poverty getting deeper, prices going up, peace and order deteriorating, economic growth slowing down, long-promised infrastructure remaining unbuilt and a real war threatening outside the country’s borders.

“And all these while the President protects his kaklase, kabarilan and kaibigan (KKK) (classmates, friends and shooting buddies) and wages his incessant vendettas within. It is high time now for the President to start showing real results. Of his own, not someone else,” Magsaysay said. “It is time for him to act instead giving empty rhetorics,” she said.

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, meanwhile, expressed optimism that the Philippines will receive more assistance from the international community after the country’s hosting of the ADB meeting.

Binay also said he hoped the four-day event showed the bank’s key officials that even conferences are “more fun in the Philippines.”

“We are at an important juncture in our nation’s grand narrative. After weathering deeply ingrained corruption, we are now moving with swiftness to reform our government and make transparency and integrity a cornerstone of leadership and governance,” Binay said.

The Vice President noted the relentless efforts of Aquino to fight corruption and his dedication to serve the public.

“We know that by ourselves, it would be challenging, if not difficult, to bring our nation back the road to inclusive development within our lifetime. I am quite optimistic that after their brief stay, they will have been convinced that our efforts are sincere and worthy of assistance,” he added.

Meanwhile, Binay also said he hoped the ADB’s board of directors had enjoyed their brief stay in the country.

“I hope that however busy they have been, and however short their visit to the Philippines has been, they have enjoyed the celebration of the senses within their grasp in the metropolis,” he said.

“I am confident that when they get back home, they will tell their family and friends that even conferences are more fun in the Philippines,” the Vice President added.

The ADB officials had been treated to a cultural show Friday night at the SMX Convention Center.

The high-caliber meeting ended yesterday after gathering a record number of more than 5,000 registered delegates including finance ministers and other key policymakers, business leaders, and academics. Civil society representatives and media also attended in record numbers.

Key issues tackled during the meeting included what Asia must do to adapt to the global economic downturn, build resilience in urban centers, promote green growth, ensure regional food security, and grow trade between Asia and Latin America.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of an Asia and Pacific region that has seen steady growth and is leading global recovery, but is vulnerable to growing inflation, spikes in fuel prices, austerity measures in the eurozone, and worsening impacts of climate change.

The region must update its growth model to accommodate a “new normal” of prolonged economic restructuring in advanced economies, and remove obstacles to sustained and equitable growth in developing Asia, according to the How Can Asia Respond to Global Economic Crisis and Transformation? monograph presented at the Governors’ Seminar

The theme of “Inclusive Growth through Better Governance and Partnerships” provided a platform to discuss one of the region’s most pressing issues: how to bring the benefits of Asia’s rapid growth to all levels of society, especially the poor. Determining how best to pursue inclusive growth can lead to sustainable growth, support greater levels of trade, and generate growth in tourism. Conversely, a weaker Asia presents a host of threats to global growth and prosperity.

ASEAN+3 also announced a doubling of the funds available under the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization, a pool of emergency liquidity for use in times of economic crisis, and the establishment of the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund, with an initial equity of $485 million to finance the development of regional road, rail, power, water and other critical infrastructure needs, which are estimated at about $60 billion a year.

ADB also announced that it secured $12.4 billion for its concessional Asian Development Fund, a 9.5% increase over the previous four-year period. The funds will be used to promote gender mainstreaming, good governance, food security, private sector development and the formation of a Disaster Response Facility.

The Board of Governors is ADB’s highest policy-making body and the annual meetings are statutory occasions at which Governors can provide guidance on ADB’s administrative, financial, and operational priorities. Next year’s meeting will take place in Delhi, India from May 2 to 5, 2013.