LEGACY OR Fallacy?
This was the question posed on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration. Patrick Lim (AB Eco & AB DS ’05), a program specialist for advocacy in the Caucus of Development Non-Government Organization network shared his insights in an event organized by the Ateneo Economics Association (AEA).
Titled “Arroyo Economics: Legacy or Fallacy?”, the event was part of KamalAEAn, an event which serves as a venue for Ateneans to discuss economic issues.
“There is value when looking at a certain topic from different angles so what we want for people is to have an open mind, to share thoughts and what they have in mind,” said AEA President Karen Magtubo in her opening remarks.
“It’s good to see the specific legacies left as well as the specific things that are not pleasing and are best to be forgotten. Looking at this would help in terms of moving forward because we would know what should be and should not be,” Lim said in a mix of English and Filipino.
It was held on August 20 at the Case Study Room.
One step forward, two back
According to Lim there was moderate economic growth in the country and this was one of the things the Arroyo administration was proud of.
Lim stated that in the print advertisements, the Aquino administration achieved an average growth rate of 3.3%, Ramos 3.6%, Estrada 4.7%, and Arroyo 4.97%— relatively higher than her predecessors and her successor.
He added however, that in comparison to other Asian countries, the Philippines still has a lower growth rate, citing as an example Vietnam which was ahead of the country by 7% despite being war-torn for several decades.
He also quoted Michele Javito, who described the growth rate of the Arroyo administration as narrow, shallow, and hollow.
Lim agreed and said that there were only chosen sectors which benefited from it. “These are the semi-conductor industry, communications, business process outsourcing, real estate, retail, and trade,” he said.
The issue of self-rated poverty was also discussed. A survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations, where the masses are asked if they think they are poor, showed a decrease from 56% in 2001 to 46% in December 2009.
However, Lim added that another interesting thing was how the rate of self-rated hunger has increased, “but as stated by the same constituents, they do not consider themselves poor.”
He further supported this statement by revealing that there were 4 million households which reported that they experienced hunger but out of the 4 M, only 2.6 M have rated themselves as poor.
Meanwhile, Lim also showed data which revealed an increase in tourist arrivals and on Overseas Filipino Welfare (OFW) remittances during the Arroyo administration.
According to him, tourist arrivals grew from 2 M in 2000 to 5.2 M arrivals in 2009. OFW remittances have more than doubled from 6 billion in 2000 to 15.78 B in 2009.
Political survival
“GMA already [had] legitimacy problems that were magnified even more after the different scandals. Her policies [were] based on political survival rather than [on] what would be good for the country,” Lim said.
“The result of this [is that] a lot of our institutions have been greatly weakened like the Ombudsman, the Supreme Court, Civil Service, and the Catholic Church,” he added.
Mixed opinions
“I think it’s a fallacy because she focused more on the response of the people so that she could cover up the scandals. She did not really focus on the economic development,” senior Ernest Barreiro said.
Sophomore Maria Beatriz Bataller, meanwhile, felt otherwise. According to her, the outlook on the Arroyo administration is harsh. GMA contributed some things, but she still has to face her scandals.
Despite the achievements and mistakes of the Arroyo administration, Lim said that he is hopeful that these issues in terms of governance will be solved because the new administration is projecting itself as a strong and anti-corrupt government.
