HOTSPOT
Tonyo Cruz
Big business, foreign chambers of commerce and foreign creditors cannot hide their glee over President-elect Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s choices for his economic team. They are so happy to see the names of Benjamin Diokno, Arsenio Balisacan, and Felipe Medalla.
One thing should stand out by now: Apart from traditional politicians as mainstays in cabinets since 1986, we have seen presidents get from the same pool of economic advisers.
Diokno, the incoming finance secretary, served as budget secretary for Estrada and Duterte. He is currently Duterte’s Bangko Sentral governor.
One of Diokno’s budget undersecretaries under Duterte, Amenah Pangandaman, has accepted the budget portfolio.
Balisacan returns as socio-economic planning secretary, the same post he occupied under Aquino.
Medalla, the incoming BSP governor, was Estrada’s socio-economic planning secretary. He is currently a Monetary Board member.
Duterte’s economic team is no different. Of course, Diokno is currently BSP governor after serving as budget secretary. Finance secretary Carlos Dominguez was agriculture and environment secretary under the first President Aquino. Karl Kendrick Chua, Ernesto Pernia’s replacement as socio-economic planning secretary, is an acolyte of Solita Monsod, Diokno and Medalla.
Big business, foreign chambers of commerce and foreign creditors trust them, less because of their perceived incorruptibility. They are very well taken care off in terms of compensation and sure employment after serving government. It is more because of the economic dogma that they promote and implement. Most come from the University of the Philippines School of Economics, and hold advanced economic degrees from American universities. The ties that bind them all? Neoliberal economics.
Whether one voted for Marcos or not, we would all be affected by Marcos’ intention to continue his predecessors’ neoliberal economics.
Yes, Marcos’ economic team means more neo-liberalism for all of us: More privatization, more deregulation, more liberalization, denationalization, lower wages, lower budgets for social services, more rice tariffication, more dependence on agricultural imports to the detriment of local agriculture, more incursions into ancestral domain, more crushing debt from unfair agreements with countries such as China and higher taxes in order to pay for the “build, build, build” and other big-ticket expenditures and alleged corruption of the outgoing administration.
Neo-liberalism is what consigns the minimum-wage earner and contractual worker to perpetual poverty. It is what keeps him up at night, wondering if he will keep his job and where he will work next. It is dogma that passes on to the worker the obligation to keep himself healthy and to pay for his own hospitalization if needed. It is the dogma that gives the middle-class the false belief that she can rise to the upper-class solely on merits but would contend with the reality of taxes and the undue advantages favoring the upper class.
Neo-liberalism is the dogma behind the planned obsolescence of the public mass transport system. It is deliberately starved of public funding to justify its eventual privatization on the grounds that the state is unable to run them. Late for work because of the rotten public mass transport system? That’s your fault! Wake up early! Meantime, neo-liberalism will portray vehicle manufacturers as saviors, promote car loans, and prioritize public infrastructure for exclusive use of private car owners.
Neo-liberalism is the dogma behind the education department passing on to teachers and students the heavy burden to guarantee they have computers, internet access and other requirements for blended learning. Bahala kayo sa buhay niyo. You’re on your own. If you cannot keep up, that’s your fault.
Nobody disagrees with fighting corruption. But problems begin when we substitute corruption for the other real ills of our country like neoliberal economics. The wide wealth and income gaps, the low wages, the lack of opportunities for growth, the shortage of state support for small businesses, and the mental health woes that many of our people feel over our socio-economic situation.
Actually, the P20/kilo rice is possible, but not under neo-liberalism. It can happen only with land reform, massive subsidies for farmers, the full abolition of land monopoly, and a stop to rice smuggling and importation. Tragically, neoliberal dogma wants us to be dependent on imported rice.
With Marcos signaling he’s not departing from neoliberal dogma, we have our work cut out for us. Apart from fighting corruption and tyranny: Raise workers’ wages. Protect and support farmers. Oppose the privatization of public utilities and social services. Demand higher state funding for health. Support entrepreneurs. Oppose new and higher taxes for ordinary people and instead pass a billionaire tax. Fight neo-liberalism.