It has been two years since BS Aquino was sworn in as President of the Student Council… este… Republic of the Philipplines on July 2010.
So, what has transpired two years since then? Is the Philippines and the Filipinos any better off? That will be the job of the comm group, to weave the tale of BS Aquino’s “achievements”.
Based on the string of headlines during the past couple of weeks, certain themes were emerging. These themes were based on sovereign debt ratings upgrades, the much-hyped GDP growth, the warmongering in the Spratleys, increased government spending and the impeachment of CJ Corona.
The masses will be subjected to the “shock and awe” of sovereign debt ratings upgrades by the same agencies which rated the bankrupt Euro welfare states as investment grade.
The story will be that these ratings upgrades will help the government undertake infrastructure projects and undertake “poverty reduction” measures. How much of the funds actually get to where they are intended? And whose gonna pay the debt incurred?
The case will also be made for the expansion of the scam-ridden tax-wasting CCT subsidies (which was started by Arroyo by the way) as a pathetic way to meet the MDG goals. Whose poverty is being reduced really? One thing for sure – whether the DSWD delivers P500 (out of the budgetted P1500) or hands it to rich CCT beneficiary, Globe Telecom and BPI – will earn from every disbursement of the CCT – those mobile padala or CCT cards via BPI are cash registers – from taxpayers to Makati. That’s not laissez-faire free market capitalism – that’s corporatism. As in Benito Mussolini, not Adam Smith.
Mister BS Aquino, not only is the CCT broke but it stinks of plunder. Not only should it be “fixed” – it should be eliminated – and taxes reduced based on the elimination of allocation to the program. Ever heard of the adage “don’t give fish but teach how to fish” ? It’s one stinky fish – bilasang isda, isdang dubok.
The much-hyped GDP growth driven by public spending is not something to brag about – it is something to worry about. The lessons of Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain have shown that public spending on welfare programs is not sustainable. Filipinos are far too reliant on the Pinoy-style welfare state of kamag-anaks, kakilala, ka-eskwela, kabarkada.
Even as BS Aquino’s make up is being applied, investments are moving out of the Philippines. Of course, the government will talk about its $10B target. It will project the PPP projects it will undertake and count those as investments. Another American adage for BS Aquino – “Don’t count the chicken before the eggs hatch”. The continuing implosion of the Eurozone, the coming hard landing of China, and the possiblity of another US recession wil hit the vaunted OFW remittances – don’t think the Philippines is “insulated” – it isn’t. “Insulating” it doesn’t work either as consumers wind up subsidizing the inefficient domestic businesses. The lack of open competition with the global market has also “insulated” the Filipinos from innovation, superior customer service, flexible financing plans, product afer sales support.
An insular government, will give an insular speech, to an insular audience of pinoy batibots. It will speak of the insular hacienda economy in yellow glowing terms while the yellow skin of children with hepatitis B in the squalid slums of Manila eat their only meal of the day – made of pagpag.
But don’t take my word for it.
Let’s not only look at the Philippines in itself – but how it also compares to its neighbors.
Too many of our countrymen have left for the proverbial “greener pastures”. It used to be that OFWs can be found in the Middle East only – and being OFWs in ASEAN was unthinkable. Today, OFWs can be found in ASEAN as well. It’s not that the grass is greener in our neighbor’s yard, it’s that we barely have grass, and what’s left of it is dying – while we pay for “fertilizers” that wind up killing the grass in the long term by destroying the very soil upon which the grass grows.
Why don’t we let numbers do the talking.
The table below presents how the Philippines has fared since BS Aquino took office using the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from various ranking agencies that where the Philippines is included.
These kind of KPIs are not useful to BS Aquino – because it does not tell the story he wants to hear. So he just settles for ratings upgrades – boasting about sound fundamentals. Really? Let’s see what this fundamental KPI’s have to say:
Corruption
Based on the Corruption Perceptions Index, the good news is – corruption has reduced, from 134 to 129. The bad news is our neighbors have less corruption than we do – Philippines is still the most corrupt among the ASEAN 6.
Even if corruption has increased in our neighbors, they are still ranked “cleaner” by at least 10 points – Vietnam being ranked 112 against the Philippines’ 129. From corrupt to clean: Indonesia – 100; Thailand – 80; Malaysia – 60; Singapore – 5;
Yes – corruption has reduced, but the Philippines remains the MOST CORRUPT country among the ASEAN 6.
Competitiveness
The good news is that competitiveness has increased from 87 to 75. Our neighbors also enjoy the same good news because for most – their competitiveness also increased. And even if Thailand’s competitiveness decreased, it still led the Philippines by 36 points.
Our neighbors are still MORE COMPETITIVE than the Philippines. From least competitive to most competitive: Vietnam – 65; Indonesia – 46 Thailand – 36; Malaysia – 21; and Singapore – 2
Even if the Philippines competitiveness increased – it is still the LEAST COMPETITIVE among the ASEAN- 6.
Economic Freedom
The good news is there has been a slight increase in Economic Freedom – from 109 to 107. Our neighbors had increases in Economic Freedom too. Vietnam moved from 144 to 136.
While the Philippines has more Economic Freedom than Indonesia – 115 and Vietnam – 144. It is ranked further from Thailand – 60; Malaysia – 59; and, Singapore – 2.
The bad news is – the Philippines remains a highly protected economy.
GDP Per Capita
The good news is GDP per Capita increased from $2,140 to $2,370. And so did our neighbors.
While the Philippine GDP per capita increased by 40% from 2007 to 2011. Vietnam’s GDP per capita increased by 67% during the same period. At the rate it’s going – need I go on?
FDI Net Inflows
In terms of FDI Net Inflows, it’s bad news – net FDI inflows decreased while our neighbors – remained easily four to nineteen times more than the Philippines.
It will not be mentioned that the BSP has already adjusted its FDI targets to lower figures for 2012 – from $1.5B to $1.2B.
Time Required to Start a Business
In terms of Time Required to Start a Business, the Philippines reduced it from 36 days to 35 days. That’s “Noynoying” for you.
While it takes longer to start a business in Vietnam (44 days) and Indonesia (45 days), it’s faster to start a business in Thailand (29 days), Malaysia (6 days), and Singapore (3 days).
Summing it Up
Now, let’s see what this all adds up to.
The good news is there have been improvements in corruption, competitiveness, economic freedom, GDP per capita since BS Aquino was sworn into office two years ago.
The bad news is these improvements in performance are not enough because the Philippines remains the MOST CORRUPT, LEAST COMPETITIVE, and SECOND POOREST among the ASEAN 6.
That’s on top of the fact that Filipinos remain jobless if not underemployed – and BS Aquino and the parasitic BSP is left bragging about OFW remittances raised on the “proverbial blood, sweat, and tears” of husbands, wives, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, and cousins who will keep the cash registers of Shoemart, Globe, Meralco, PLDT, BPI, San Miguel, and Petron ringing, to the cheers of the PSE and the Makati Business Club.
But no worries – the telenovelas about the suffering of OFWs, the boxing exploits of Manny, the singing prowess of Charice and Jennifer, the curves of Charmaine and what not will provide entertainment (and ad revenue) to these nation of pinoy batibots – after Aquino delivers his SONA.
All is well in the Philippines – Situation Normal – All Fucked Up.
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