Consumers Domain
State of the Nation
"There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality."
--Pablo Picasso
Today, Gloria Arroyo will be delivering her State of the Nation Address or what we call the SONA. Just like this author, I know most of you are tired of listening to fantasy speeches. Arroyo's SONA will surely be a rehash of her old SONA speeches that are all nothing but manipulation of data to project a positive picture of the economy or how she improved the lives of the ordinary Filipinos.
Of course we can expect again the usual tact of Malacañang that the country's woes are all the effect of the works of the opposition and the Left. Remember her 2005 SONA about the fantastic tale of two Philippines where she is the superhero who carries the economy up upon her shoulders despite the works of the opposition villains who sow political chaos.
Expect Gloria to highlight on the "evils" of the different efforts that threaten her fake government, the continuing call for her ouster, the never-ending coup attempts and the filing of impeachment against her. But, surely she will be silent on the very causes of such actions, which are the evils of her own doing -- her Hello-Garci operations in the 2004 elections, massive conjugal corruption and violations of human rights and the Constitution among others.
Now, this column would like to advance some important points and hard facts in anticipation of Arroyo's dreamland speech. Well, I know that Filipinos are not that dumb to be carried away by another fantastic tale.
On Prices of Basic Commodities
Now here is the true state of the Filipino's pockets. From year 2001, when Arroyo assumed the presidency to July 2006, data from Bureau of Agricultural Statistics and the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) shows the following undeniable facts:
- Power rates: from P5/kwh in 2001 to P9/kwh in 2006
- Fuel (diesel): from P18/liter to P37/liter
- Cooing oil (long neck): from P23 to P36 -- P40
- Cooking oil (lapad): from P11 to P18 -- 20
- Sardines: from P8.50 to P12 -- P14
- White sugar: from P28 to P40
- Brown sugar: from P23 to P P34.00
- Chicken: from P90 to P110 -- P120
- Pork: from P115 to P140 -- P145
- Beef: from P160 to P160-P180
- Minimum fare: from P4 to P7.50
On State of Education
Now lets go to the state of the youth and of the education sector. Proof of the dismal state of our educational system are the following facts I borrowed from the statement of several youth and student organizations under FDC.
- 1 in 10 Filipinos has never gone to school (6.8 million)
- 1 in 6 Filipinos is not functionally literate (9.6 million)
- 4.1 million are illiterate
- 11.6 million youth are out-of-school
- More than half (51 percent) of Filipinos had at most elementary education
- Out of 1000 Grade 1 pupils, only 688 will finish their elementary education and only 7 will acquire the required competency skills
- Of 100 students that enroll in Grade 1, only 13 will finish college.
- The Philippines has one of the most crowded classrooms in Asia. Class size is, at least, 55 to 56 students per classroom.
- Classroom shortage is more than 44,000 despite Mrs. Arroyo's recent pronouncement that there is no classroom shortage.
- Textbook shortage is pegged at 25 million.
- Public school teacher shortage is close to 50,000.
- 8.5 percent of schoolchildren are malnourished. Public schools are lacking in a comprehensive school-based, institutionalized child nutrition program.
On state of the workers
Now what is the real state of employment and of the working sector in the country? The points below are courtesy of Wilson Fortaleza, National President of Sanlakas, in his paper entitled "Undelivered".
- Only a total of 2.939 million jobs were generated from April 2001 to April 2006 or an average of 489,833 a year. (Remember Gloria's promise in her 2004 inaugural speech that her administration will create 6 to 10 million jobs for the next five years which is equivalent to creating at least one to two million jobs a year.)
- Even the agricultural sector, which was identified as one that would generate more jobs, was only able to create an additional 167,000 new jobs from 11.253 million in 2001 to 11.420 in April 2006.
- The number of unemployed persons fell from 4.461 million in April 2001 to 2.930 million in April 2006. But this was mainly because of the introduction of the new definition where more than a million (1.503 million) unemployed persons were removed from the list beginning April 2005. Using the old definition, the unemployment rate today is at 11.8% rather that 8.2%.
- Underemployment rate rose dramatically from 17.5% in 2001 to 25.4 in 2006 which is reflective of the kind of jobs that were generated over the period of time.
- According to economist Maitet Diokno-Pascual in her "Unmasking the Myth of 'Arrovonomics'," only 59% of working age population is employed. Jobs are less permanent, seasonal/part-time, low waged or unpaid or low-skilled.
- Like the past administrations, the saving grace of Mrs. Arroyo today in keeping the unemployment rate to a manageable level is the heavy outflow of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to almost all destinations abroad. In 2005, OFW deployment almost reached a one million mark at 981,677.
You know what? I can't wait to read the full text of Arroyo's SONA. Maybe she will outline a new route towards another Enchanted Kingdom.
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