Consumers Domain
By Ian Seruelo

Responsorial SONA (part 1)

“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something.
Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.”

—Pablo Picasso

This column would like to itemize, cannibalize, scrutinize and analyze the recent SONA of our beloved (#%@*!) Gloria. Let us try to see through the rhetoric of the president who is not quite in touch with reality and who may not be able to be there to deliver the 2006 SONA. This article gives a response to each of the main claims and assertions of Gloria, as shown by the quotations below.

“Ours is a country divided; the story of our nation is a tale of two Philippines…One is the Philippines whose economy, after long years of cumulative national endeavor, is now poised for take off. The other is the Philippines whose political system, after equally long years of degeneration, has become a hindrance to progress.”

Response: A more accurate description was articulated by the Patido ng Manggagawa Partylist (PM). Yes, indeed our nation is a tale of two Philippines – one is a fantasy that exist only in the mind of Gloria that despite of problems in the political system, our country is about to take off and another is the bitter reality that the economy is in shambles because of globalization and other policies sponsored by this trapo government.

“The story includes an economy that grew more than 6 percent last year and that has continued to work in the teeth of the biggest oil price hikes in history, while generating four million jobs in the last four years.”

Response: The fact is, compared to other Asian countries, the Philippines since year 2000 is always at the tail-end in terms of GNP growth. Creation of 4 million jobs? Did Gloria's statistician, err, magician, factored in the number of job losses too – those resulting from closure of factories, downsizing and retrenchment? And what kind of jobs? Government data regarding job creation always include casual and contractual labor. So a big chunk of that four million will be unemployed within the next 6 months. Further, trumpeting such “growth” will be awkward if placed side by side with the fact that for several years already unemployment level is at its worst reaching double-digit figures. Simply look at the ever-increasing exodus of Filipino workers abroad.

“The story includes marked improvements in tax collections, infrastructure housing construction, shelter, security for the urban poor and indigenous peoples, and rice productivity.”

“The story includes 69 million beneficiaries of health care insurance, including 30 million indigents, whose re-enrollment started early this year and is still ongoing.”

Response: These rosy but questionable claims hardly made a dent on the lives of the people particularly the poor. Looking at the budget appropriations for infrastructure, housing, health and education for 2003 to 2005 will not lend any credence to whatever data manipulation done by Gloria's statistical magicians.

For infrastructure, historical data on budget for capital outlay decreased in real terms by 27% from 2003 to 2004, and another 3% decrease from 2004 to 2005. In terms of housing and community development, from 2003 to 2004 there was a 2% decrease, and another 5.6% decrease from 2004 to 2005.

In the health sector there was a minimal increase of 2.2% from 2003 to 2004 and practically 0% increase for the year after. In education, budget decreased by 1.4% from 2003 to 2004 and another decrease of 3.3% by 2005.

And talking about rice productivity, simply compare the state of our agriculture to our South East Asian neighbors. With the government's brave but dumb trade liberalization initiatives in line with WTO, our agriculture remains in such a sorry situation.

“This story should work itself out as one about an economy… guided by a government that is able to pass a no-nonsense budget and make the tough decisions to put our fiscal house in order.”

“I specially refer to our recent titanic struggle to enact the three laws that comprised the biggest fiscal package in our history, the biggest revenue increase in a generation that will break the vicious cycle of financing development by borrowing and having to borrow again just to service those loans. This is the one reform that will snap the chain that has bound our future to a profligate past and the debt-burdened present. The Filipino's strong sense of family has given Congress a stronger resolve not to pass on today's debt, and bankrupt our children and grandchildren tomorrow.”

Response: This one is what irked me most. Gloria is very proud of the additional taxes the government will be extorting from the poor Filipinos who are already deep in poverty! In 2004 alone, an equivalent of 82% of government revenues went only to the payment of interest and principal for the country's debt. This year the figure will be more than 95%!

Now, even if we increase tax collection by two-fold, the root of the country's fiscal predicament will never be resolved as our resources are drained to the servicing of our debts – a big portion of it fraudulently acquired, behest loans that never benefited the Filipinos.

Since the debt crisis following the departure of Marcos, never has our debt situation worsened in such an alarming rate than during the short presidency of Gloria! This year alone, the country will be spending more than 52% of its resources (including new borrowings) to debt payments. So cut that crap about snapping of the debt chain! Cut that crap about the children and grandchildren of tomorrow!

“Abroad, the story continues. We've worked long and hard to restore our country to the prominent place it once held as co-founder of the United Nations and the Free World's first line of defense in the East. We won a seat in the UN Security Council, where we presided over the landmark resolution calling for democracy in Iraq. The Philippines chaired the historic conference on interfaith cooperation for peace at the UN, the fruit of a bold and creative initiative by your Speaker of the House.”

Response: How sad it is that people in Malacañang still subscribe to the Bush stupid idea that bombing Iraq, overthrowing Saddam and in the process killing thousands of Iraqi civilians will bring democracy in Iraq. Gloria seems to be blind to what is happening in Iraq now. But well, how the above initiatives matter in the lives of the Filipinos, I can hardly surmise.

“We've worked with the Organization of the Islamic Conference to forge peace with our Muslim brothers. Eighty percent of our peace talks with them have been completed. Permanent peace in Mindanao is within reach.”

Response: I just wonder how they arrived at the 80% figure. Did 800 out of 1,000 Muslim rebels, while the peace talk was ongoing, recite the Panatang Makabayan after they exchanged their M-16s and RPGs with lifetime worth of food coupons? Let's check the poverty and economic indicators in Mindanao especially in the ARMM areas. How can peace be within reach when the people of Mindanao especially our Muslim brothers and sisters continue even to be deprived of social and economic services?

I just don't know how the decades-old insurgency, deeply rooted to historical injustices, will be wiped out after an exercise of pure talk (also called peace talk).

(For comments and reactions send SMS to 0919-348-6337 or email to ianseruelo@yahoo.com.)