Philippine Economic Policies Should Be Reviewed

By Leonard Acosta
Philippine News Agency

An economic adviser of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday called for a review of the administration's economic policies amid the emerging global economic conditions that have made social re-balancing a most urgent and critical national issue.

Albay Governor Joey Sarte Salceda, one of the President's advisers, said he is strongly recommending that a review be made on the present policies that would help the country's economic managers draw appropriate new solutions and approaches.

He said the present economic policies do not stream thru the technocracy and bureaucracy, because these policies are not reflective in the budget, noting that "offhand, at the minimum, the country's budget does not reflect that."

He said to correct and review the country's current economic policies, there is a need for more state interventions on behalf of the poor. "Markets have miserably failed to lift the poor with the 5.3 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) versus job loss of 178,000 in the first quarter of this year," Salceda explained.

While the administration spends P156 billion for capital outlay for growth, the investment does not give direct subsidies to the poor, according to Salceda.

The current population policy is simply indefensible in the face of resource depletion. The country is now facing a population problem with 88.6 million people versus low natural resources and government resources in terms of education, social and health services, he explained.

The governor stressed that the interplay of climate change, food security and energy independence will require new formulation of eco-strategic mix.

He said the funding of new investments without compromising the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) would also require a review of the "balance budget" doctrine as the borrowing mix is a key economic decision of the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Salceda also cited economic indicators that need to be corrected, such as: the 4 percent decline in real capita income of Filipinos; the increase of 477,000 poor households; the deterioration in poverty incidence from 24 percent to 27.4 percent; the fall in household share of national income from 54 percent to 46 percent or P454 billion in peso terms aggravated by 178,000 job losses despite the 32-percent increase in nominal Gross National Product (GNP).