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The last eight years of the Arroyo
administration have resulted in record joblessness, deteriorating
quality of jobs, falling household incomes, increasing poverty, fiscal
crisis, unprecedented debt and debt service, social service cutbacks,
and deeper Philippine underdevelopment.
Economic growth has been relatively
higher compared to previous administrations. Growth in gross domestic
product (GDP) during the Arroyo administration (2001-08) averaged 4.9%
annually compared to 4.6% under Aquino (1986-91), 3.1% under Ramos
3.1% (1992-98) and 3.9% under Estrada (1999-2000). Yet the economy has
become even more distorted under the Arroyo administration and the
gains from this growth and economic policy in general have gone to a
few and not been felt by the largest number of the Filipino people.
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Targets from Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s State of the Nation
Address,
July 23, 2001 |
Actual
performance |
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“Our challenge is
clear: sugpuin ang kahirapan.” |
o
530,642 increase in the
number of poor families between 2000 and 2006 – to 4.7 million
poor families in 2006. (NSCB, using low official poverty lines)
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2.1 million increase in
the number of poor Filipinos between 2000 and 2006 – to 27.6
million in 2006. (NSCB, using low official poverty lines)
o
Meanwhile the net income
of the Top 1000 corporations in the Philippines increased 490%
between 2001 and 2007, from P116 billion to P686 billion. (BW)
o
In 2006, the net worth
of just the 20 richest Filipinos – including close Arroyo allies
Lucio Tan, Enrique Razon, Jr., Eduardo Cojuangco, Enrique Aboitiz
and others – was P801 billion (US$15.6 billion), which was
equivalent to the combined income for the year of the poorest 10.4
million Filipino families. (Forbes Asia, NSCB)
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“The way to fight
poverty is to create jobs, not destroy them.” |
o
The period 2001-2008 is
the longest period of sustained high unemployment in the country’s
history – the true unemployment rate averaged some 11.2 percent. (NSO,
IBON estimates)
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621,000 increase in
unemployment between Jan-01 and Apr-09 – to 4.2 million. (NSO,
IBON estimates)
o
1.9 million increase in
underemployment between Jan-01 and Apr-09 – to 6.6 million. (NSO)
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Combined unemployment
and underemployment increased 2.5 million between Jan-01 and
Apr-09 – to 10.8 million. (NSO, IBON estimates)
o
The quality of jobs has
worsened: merely part-time work increased by 5.9 million and now
accounts for 14.3 million or two out of five of all jobs.
Moreover, those “with jobs but not working” more than doubled and
increased by 489,000 to reach 839,000. (NSO)
o
The period 2001-2008 has
seen the most Filipinos forced abroad to find jobs in the
country’s history – deployments averaged 990,000 annually compared
to 469,709 (Aquino), 713,505 (Ramos) and 839,324 (Estrada); some
1.24 million were deployed last year or 3,400 Filipinos leaving
every day. (POEA) There are over 9 million Filipinos forced to
find work abroad. (DFA-CFO)
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"Dapat din tugunan ang
karaingan ng madla sa mahal na bilihin at kulang na sahod.” |
o
The gap between the NCR
minimum wage and the family living wage more than doubled to P535
in 2008 (NCR minimum wage P382, family living wage P917) from just
P257 in 2001 (NCR minimum wage P252, family living wage P509).
(DOLE, NWPC)
o
Nominal minimum wages
are stagnant and barely able to even just keep up with inflation.
While nominal wages in NCR seem to have increased from P252 in
2001 to P382 in 2008 – or a P130 increase – the true increase is
worth just P12 because of inflation. (DOLE, IBON estimates)
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“To reduce excessive
friction in labor and management relations, we will go the extra
mile to work for industrial peace.” |
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Since 2001, 62 workers
have been extra-judicially killed and 15 others forcibly
disappeared. (Karapatan). There have also been 1,478 cases of
trade union human rights violations with 116,356 victims. (CTUHR). |
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“With regard to the
fiscal sector, we will control the budget deficit by collecting
taxes vigorously and spending money prudently.” |
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The cumulative national
government deficit from 2001 to May 2009 is P1.29 trillion –
triple the deficits of the Aquino, Ramos and Estrada
administrations combined. (BTr)
o
The Arroyo
administration has paid P4.8 trillion in debt service since 2001 –
this is two-and-a-half times the P1.8 billion in debt payments
made over 15 years by the Aquino, Ramos and Estrada
administrations combined. (BTr)
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Yet government debt has
continued to rise to P4.23 trillion in March 2009 which is almost
double the P2.17 trillion debt inherited from the Estrada
government. The administration has effectively been borrowing an
additional P256.8 million annually since coming to power. (BTr)
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“A social bias toward
the disadvantaged to balance our economic development plan.
Pagkalinga sa mga bahagi ng lipunan na naiwanan ng kaunlaran.” |
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The Arroyo
administration (2001-09) allotted only 15.1% of the national
budget to education which is lower than under Estrada (18%,
1999-2000) and Ramos (16.6%, 1992-98). (DBM)
o
To health, it allotted
only 1.8% of the national budget which is lower than under Estrada
(2.4%), Ramos (2.5%) and Aquino (3.1%, 1986-1991). (DBM)
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To housing, it allotted
only 0.4% of the national budget which is lower than under Estrada
(1.0%), Ramos (0.7%) and Aquino (0.5%). (DBM)
o
In 2009, the Arroyo
administration is only spending P6 per Filipino per day on
education, P1 on health and 12 centavos – while paying the
equivalent of P21 on debt service. (IBON computations on DBM data)
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“Increase the chances
of Filipino children finishing school… [karunungan] para sa masa” |
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The number of
out-of-school children and youth increased by 2.45 million between
school year 2000-01 and 2008-09 – consisting of an additional 1.62
million children aged 7-12 years old and an additional 822,097
children aged 13-16 years old – to reach a total of 4.69 million.
(DepED)
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The number of
elementary-age out-of-school children increased by 1.62 million
between school year 2000-01 and 2008-09 to a total of 2.04
million.
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The number of high
school-age out-of-school youth increased by 822,097 between school
year 2000-01 and 2008-09 to a total of 2.66 million.
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1.95 million of these
children and youth – consisting of 1.59 million of the
elementary-age children and 360,000 of the high-school age
children – are directly due to the deterioration of participation
rates during the Arroyo administration. (IBON computations on
DepED data) Elementary school participation rate dropped from
96.8% in school year 2000-01 to 85.1% in 2008-08; the high school
participation rate dropped from 66.1% to 60.7% over the same
period. (DepED)
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“There can be a
million new jobs in agriculture and fisheries [within the year]… I
don’t want the one million new jobs to come in the long term.” |
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Only an average of
258,200 agricultural jobs have been created annually in the last
eight years – from 10.25 million agricultural sector jobs in 2000,
the year before Arroyo came to power, to 12.32 million in 2008. (NSO)
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The agriculture sector
has fallen to its smallest share in gross domestic product (GDP)
in the country’s history – 18.1% (2008). (NSCB)
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“Sisikapin nating
magkaroon ng rice self-sufficiency.” |
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Rice imports increased
280% from 639,000 tons in 2001 to a record 2.4 million tons in
2008. (DA) |
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"Murang bigas at
masaganang magsasaka.” |
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The price of rice
increased 68% between 2000, the year before Arroyo came to power,
and 2008: of regular milled rice to P29.38 per kilo (from P17.59)
and of well milled rice to P32.71 per kilo (from P19.45 in 2000).
(DA)
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“Bawat taon, mamahagi
ang gobyerno ng dalawandaang libong ektarya para sa reporma sa
lupa: 100,000 of private land and 100,000 hectares of public land,
including 100 ancestral domain titles for indigenous peoples.” |
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The Department of
Agrarian Reform (DAR) of the Arroyo administration distributed an
average of 119,301 hectares annually (2001-2008) which is smaller
than under Estrada (121,274 ha., 1999-2000), Ramos (296,395 ha.,
1993-1998) and Aquino (169,063 ha., 1987-1992). (No equivalent
data available for land distributed by the DENR)
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“Information and
communications technology (ICT) will jumpstart our old stalling
economy and make it leapfrog into the new economy.” |
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The Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) industry rapidly grew from 5,600 employees and
US$56 million in revenues in 2001 to 372,000 employees and US$6.1
billion in revenues in 2008. (NEDA) But in 2008 the sector still
accounted for just 1.1% of total employment and only some 2% of
gross domestic product (GDP). (IBON computations on NSCB data)
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The manufacturing sector
has meanwhile shrunk to as small as in the 1950s – 23.1% of GDP
(2008). (NSCB) The sector lost 51,000 jobs between Jan-01
(2,885,000 jobs) and Apr-09 (2,834,000). (NSO)
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“Kumikilos ang
gobyerno upang mapigilan ang pagtaas ng presyo ng mga pangunahing
pangangailangan ng manggagawa. Binabantayan ang presyo ng langis,” |
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The price of diesel rose
220% between 2001 (average P13.96 per liter) and 2008 (P44.31) and
of gasoline by 180% (from P16.58 to P45.92). (IBON monitoring)
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The peso price per liter
of Dubai crude has increased by an average of P0.16 per month
since January 2001 – yet the pump price of diesel has increased by
an average of P0.26 per month, which is excessive even if the
effect of the RVAT law since November 2005 is factored in. (IBON)
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”Damihan ang
kategoriya ng manggagawang hindi na kailangang magbayad ng buwis.” |
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On average, every
Filipino 15 years old and over paid the government an extra P5,059
in taxes over the last three years (2006-2008). This is equivalent
to the additional P287.0 billion in taxes paid by Filipinos due to
the imposition of RVAT in Nov 2005. (DOF) (IBON computations)
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“Reduce corruption in
the executive branch… investigate and prosecute corruption in high
places… reduce corruption among elective officials… no one is
above the law.” |
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The total amount of
kickbacks, ill-gotten wealth and payoffs involved in just 16 major
corruption cases reaches as much as P20.9 billion (US$430
million). The amount remains substantial even if the interrupted
NBN-ZTE and Cyber-Education deals are excluded. (Pagbabago!
Research Working Group)
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“We will enhance our
relations with the United States, whose economic and military
power continues to make it important as a factor in the affairs of
the region and the nation.” |
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Since 2002 up to 500 US
Special Forces personnel have been permanently deployed in
Mindanao in a “forward operating base”, supported and participated
in combat operations, as well as built fixed facilities. In
addition over 40,000 US soldiers have come into the country to
Albay, Basilan, Batanes, Capiz, Cavite, Cebu, Nueva Ecija, Laguna,
Leyte, Masbate, Palawan, Pampanga, Bataan, Sorsogon, Sulu, Tarlac,
Quezon and Zamboanga for just the largest “exercises” such as the
annual Balikatan. This does not yet include scores of
other smaller exercises – there were for instance 163 exercises
just in 2008 – nor concealed operations. (IBON monitoring)
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Sources: Bureau of Treasury (BTr),
Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM),
Department of Education (DepED), Department of Foreign
Affairs-Commission on Filipinos Overseas (DFA-CFO), National
Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), National Statistics Office (NSO),
National Wages and productivity Council (NWPC), Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration (POEA), BusinessWorld Top 100 Corporations,
Forbes Asia, Center for Trade Union Human Rights (CTUHR), Karapatan
and Pagbabago! Research Working Group.
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