Noynoy Aquino « Victor Villanueva

Posts tagged with Noynoy Aquino

January 16, 2012

The dishrag calling the dustcloth dirty*

A few days ago, a paper written by ex-President Gloria Arroyo entitled “It’s the economy, student!” was released to the public. In the piece, the ex-President went on great length to champion her economic programs on one hand and to and bash President Aquino for failing to ‘sustain’ the gains she boasts to have accomplished on the other.

What really is the fundamental difference between economic policies of the two? Nothing. President Aquino merely continues the same economic policies of President Arroyo.

Both Presidents’ economic programs adhere to the same dogma of neoliberal globalization. It’s the economy, all right–the economy of big businessmen, foreign investors and their local counterparts. Whether or not ordinary Filipinos benefit from such economic growth is merely incidental. They have a phrase for it–”trickle down” effect. Numbers that proclaim economic growth are rendered meaningless by the fact that poverty has continued to worsen over the decade, so much that the government had to re-define and lower the poverty threshold. The vision of economic prosperity and survival is entirely dependent on foreign investors and all the economic programs of President Aquino and his predecessors are aligned with the agenda of these monopoly capitalists and their local counterparts.

Both Presidents have pushed for the further privatization of public utilities by selling contracts to roads and other public services to private profiteers. Both administrations have strengthened the deregulation of industries imbued with public interest and rejected clamors to repeal the laws that allow such deregulation, from the oil industry (Oil Deregulation Law) to power generation and distribution (EPIRA) to education (Education Act of 1982), which have resulted to public services that are increasingly out of reach to ordinary Filipinos and are increasingly profitable to private corporations.

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January 5, 2012

Taking the side of neither bully in the schoolyard *

[This is a statement I wrote for the Civil Law Student Council of UST with regard to the political noise of the Chief Justice's impeachment trial]

Our involvement with the issue of the Chief Justice’s impeachment must not degenerate into taking sides from among the warring political factions of the government, for we must remember that what truly matters is the people’s welfare. Beyond all the cacophony of this political circus, the truth remains that both contending ruling cliques have their own vested agenda. The Aquino and the Arroyo groups have taken advantage and exploited this feud in order to portray themselves as heroes and saints while neither of them genuinely address the basic pursuit of social justice in the country.

To take side with either bully of the schoolyard is not a choice, it is a false dichotomy.

On one hand, if we are truly for judicial integrity and independence, we should welcome the opportunity for the Chief Justice to defend himself against allegations of partiality in an impeachment trial. We should caution against those who portray the impeachment of the Chief Justice as an attack against the Judiciary as an institution and paint several personalities as martyrs. Impeachment per se is not a breach of judicial independence. Impeachment is a mechanism for Congress to fulfill its check and balance function as representatives of the people. It is not a mere surplusage in our Constitution. Our Supreme Court Justices, highly esteemed by some of us as they may be, are not infallible demigods who are immune from scrutiny and criticism, and they remain to be public officials who are accountable to the people.

We should also welcome the impeachment as a step in holding accountable the past administration of former President Arroyo, for it is undeniable that while the Chief Justice is in power, the integrity and impartiality of all Supreme Court decisions with regard the Chief Justice’s former principal, to whom he has served as chief of staff and legal counsel, will be put into question. Judging the pattern of decisions and opinions of the Chief Justice, indeed his impartiality is in doubt.

On the other hand, we should also caution our support for such pursuit of judicial integrity by refusing to throw all our weight behind the Aquino clique, for it is readily apparent that this is a machination to consolidate all branches of government at his disposal, after a consistent pattern of Supreme Court decisions that run against the present administration’s interests, the final straw being that of the decision regarding Hacienda Luisita. Removing an Arroyo-appointed Chief Justice opens the golden opportunity for President Aquino to install his own. In that regard, we should also remain vigilant in the common pursuit of a Supreme Court that is truly an independent entity capable of dispensing legal matters with fairness and justice.

At the end of the day, while we are being made to watch this political circus the prevailing fact remains, President Aquino has no clear program of action to resolve the root causes of massive poverty and injustice in the Philippines but a rehash the same old bankrupt economic framework and political policies of his predecessors, including former President Arroyo. All President Aquino has to show for, laudable as it may be, is a smokescreen of anti-corruption rhetoric. Such is merely a staged showdown between his administration and Arroyo’s which does not address the basic problems of the people. After all, in the final analysis, how different are the two cliques from each other?

* with reference to former President Arroyo’s infamous line in response to critics: “I’m tired of chasing the bullies around the schoolyard!”

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May 10, 2011

Mayo Uno 2011, Labor Day in Manila (Part 4)

May 1, 2011. By past 5 in the afternoon, the protest march had reached the gates of Mendiola, the road that leads to the Presidential palace. The “Peace Arch” gates had been shut, and thousands of police from across Metro Manila and soldiers deployed from Southern Tagalog were ordered assembled behind barbed wires and barricades. An over-reaction and an exaggeration it was.

President Aquino refused to appear before the thousands of workers and supporters that day, even if he had earlier sat down with “moderate” labor groups and promised them some crumbs in consolation. In an insulting display of his real biases, a few days later, President Aquino indulged the national employers’ confederation and attended their banquet (similarly attended by representatives form the foreign chambers of commerce) and assured them that he will not support a substantial legislated nationwide across-the-board wage hike. In short, the President vowed to protect big businessmen’s greed for profits through the pressing down of wages.

Minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) is stunted at a mere P404 a day. On the other hand, the daily cost of living for an ordinary family is pegged at almost P1,000 a day, making it barely possible for an ordinary family in NCR to make ends meet even when both parents are working. In the provinces, minimum wages are even lower, and even much lower for those working in the agriculture sector, even if the prices of many goods including processed foods and petroleum are more expensive in the provinces. In a blatantly ironic and tragic manifestation of the grave inequalities that pervade in the Philippines, the government, through the social welfare department, announced two days later that it will dole out rice subsidies–to farmers!

A recent survey showed that incidence of hunger in the country is at its highest in twelve years, and that more than half of the population rated themselves as poor.

Meanwhile, the productivity rate of Filipino workers actually increased over the past years, creating wealth for investors and capitalists. Business papers consistently report record billions in profits for companies the past years. Government reported that the economy grew by more than 7% in 2010. A research group had earlier correctly debunked the retrenchment and closure threats of companies saying that “Government data show that establishments in the country with total employment of 20 and over had combined profits of Php895.2 billion” and that a P125 nationwide wage hike will only cause a mere 15% cut in profits.

The demand for higher wages is thus not merely a whim of workers, but a just and timely demand for social justice that has been consistently denied them for decades under the ruling system. A P125 wage increase will not be sufficient to equitably distribute the wealth that the country collectively creates, but it will at least provide economic relief to millions of Filipinos. The present government’s rejection, even just of this simple demand, is a manifestation of its real character as merely an institution that preserves the status quo that serves the interests of a few, and thus justifies the people’s struggle for genuine social change.

—

More reading:
* Filipino workers must unite to expose and oppose the anti-worker US-Aquino regime
* Labor day outrage and paranoia
* Biggest show of protesters in May 1 ‘Day of Outrage’
* Mayo Uno: Hudyat ng mas matindi pang paglaban
* P13.35 too small a wage hike, employers should fight oil price hikes – KMU

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April 27, 2011

Wage hike will cause bankruptcy, closures, retrenchment, unemployment?

Workers unload bags of cement from a truck at a construction site. Photo by A. Chris Fernandez, from The News Today - Iloilo City

That a wage hike is not possible and untimely because it will increase the cost of production in the country and will cause businesses to go bankrupt, to close shop, be forced to retrench employees, and that a wage hike will cause runaway inflation that will further increase the prices of commodities are big worn-out lies peddled time and time again by big businessmen, greedy investors and capitalists to reject any justified demand for an increase in wages and salaries. They are nothing but mere imagined threats and boogeymen.

The matter is quite simple for millions of ordinary wage earners. The minimum wage (P404 at the National Capital Region/NCR, much lower in other regions) is a wage that is far from enough to meet the basic demands of the family (average cost of living for a family of six in NCR is almost P1,000 a day), not even when both parents are working. It is a wage of starvation.

But since dogmatic neoliberal economists and the present government insist on harping bankrupt economic doctrines to frustrate any demand for wage hike, let us indulge in them in some rebuttals and statistics:

(1) Businesses in the Philippines can afford a P125 wage hike without going bankrupt nor having to resort to lay-offs or shutdowns

You only have to read the business section of newspapers to see how profitable big businesses in the Philippines have become the past years, earning record billions of pesos year after year. You only have to read the papers to realize how the government harps on economic growth and progress every quarter (Government even claimed that the economy grew by more than 7% last year). If such is the case, why are the masses getting poorer and hungrier (read: Hunger incidence up – SWS)? Where is the wealth going? Your guess is as good as mine.

Here are some facts from research group IBON:

IBON noted that the economy actually has more than enough profits to support workers’ call for a Php125 wage increase. Government data show that establishments in the country with total employment of 20 and over had combined profits of Php895.2 billion and 2.74 million employees, according to the preliminary results of the 2008 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) of the National Statistics Office (NSO). (from: IBON: Wage increase justifiable, possible)

Here are another set of facts from former Presidential economic adviser Joey Salceda:

[The Philippines' top 1,000 corporations'] total earnings amounted to P3.1 trillion of which P2.1 trillion were pocketed as dividends or earnings of the stockholders and only P1 trillion were re-invested (from: Economic growth in 9 years did not touch poor)

Economic growth is not immediately felt because the proceeds are held by corporations, [Salceda] said… “Whew! They never had it so good. All the while I thought the primal reason for business is to provide for the nation” (from: Salceda cites GMA term as most pro-business)

Companies are, indeed, far from being bankrupt. It is their excuses which are bankrupt!

(2) Companies only have to yield a cut in their profits to avoid the imagined threat of runaway or spiraling inflation

Granting an across the board wage hike of Php125 means workers will receive an additional PhP3,802 per month, and that employers will spend an additional Php49,427 per employee per year (assuming 13 months of pay). The total cost of the proposed wage hike will only be Php135.6 billion which, subtracted from total profits, will still leave establishments with Php759.6 billion in profits. This is only a 15.1% cut in their profits. (from: IBON: Wage increase justifiable, possible)

All businesses have to do is to accept a meager 15% cut in profits to prevent inflation. Inflation will only be caused if capitalists pass on to consumers the wage hike and the cut in their profits. There is no need for them to increase the prices of their products or services if they simply yield. (It’s not as if they will go hungry. Probably one less overseas vacation for their families, but it definitely won’t hurt them.)

This is essentially giving back to the workers the wealth that they create. No Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) gimmick can beat the just and equitable distribution of the wealth. Workers are not even asking for the dismantling of the capitalist exploitation inherent in the privatization of the collective mode of production. The immediate demand is simply a P125 across the board nationwide minimum wage hike which will provide economic relief to millions of families and which employers can very well afford.

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March 13, 2011

On the oil price hikes and the shameless exploitation by the oil cartel

A student spray paints the words "Stop Oil Price Hikes" after throwing red paint and rotten tomatoes at the Petron office building in Makati during a rally against the rising cost of gasoline, diesel and other oil fuels, Friday June 20, 2008 (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

The recent and unabated spikes in the price of gasoline and other petroleum products characterizes and manifests the decades-old national exploitation by the oil cartel and the inutile and subservient character of the present Philippine government to the whims and caprices of foreign and local profiteers.

Consider these:

(1) Oil companies are making a killing, reaping billions in profit every year
The pump price of diesel has already increased by P6.75 per liter since January; kerosene, P6.50, and gasoline, P6. Petron posted a 59% increase in profits, or P5.4 billion, for the first nine months of last year. In 2009, the same oil company posted a profit of P4.3 billion. Pilipinas Shell posted a P7.6 billion profit for the first nine months of 2009. It posted P5.07 billion in profit in 2008, the year when oil prices jumped to its highest in recent history. In the Top 1,000 corporations in the Philippines in 2009, Petron placed first with gross revenues of P288.8 billion in 2008. Pilipinas Shell was second, and Chevron Philippines (Caltex) was fifth.

(2) There is no shortage in supply
None of our oil comes from Libya, and yet oil companies invoke the Libyan unrest as if it’s causing a major disruption in the global supply of oil to justify price hikes in the Philippines. Libya accounts for less than 2 percent of global oil output and yet oil companies are invoking the unrest to jack oil prices in the same levels as in 2008. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries have repeatedly stated that whatever production shortfall is happening in Libya is being compensated by increased output in OPEC countries. Clearly, there is no real shortage.

The oil price hikes allegedly due to the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East is clearly another product of speculation and wanton profiteering. Rep. Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna said that the crisis in the Middle East is such that “it has become a cash cow for the Big Three.”

While a reasonable profit and return of investment is expected from oil companies, their greed should not be satisfied at the cost of exploiting the Filipino people. Clearly, the exploitation of oil companies has been exorbitant and shameless.

(3) Shameless overpricing by as much as P7.50 per liter
Arnold Padilla of BAYAN claims that “from 2008 to January this year, oil firms have implemented price hikes that were bigger than what changes in global prices and foreign exchange warrant. Similarly, they also implemented smaller rollbacks. The net result is an overpricing of around P7.50 per liter.” Oil companies squeeze an estimated P370 million everyday in extra profits from overpricing.

Indeed, oil companies have always been slow in rolling back prices when the cost of petroleum in the world market drops but are always quick to hike when the cost of petroleum in the world market increases. The Oil Deregulation Law has only given oil companies the right to manipulate oil prices that leads to arbitrary pricing and other illicit schemes to unjustly profit.

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March 1, 2011

Youth protest against price hikes (February 28, 2011)

Some four to five hundred students from various schools and universities, and out of school youths from different communities in Metro Manila trooped to Mendiola this afternoon to demand that the government take action to protect the youth and the people from another wave of tuition hikes that’s happening alongside spiraling prices of basic commodities, public utilities and social services, from train fares to electricity rates. These are happening in the context of massive unemployment and poverty and stunted minimim wages.

Manila youth protest against tuition hikes and other price hikes

Kabataan Party-List Rep. Palatino at Manila youth rally

WHAT CAN THE PRESIDENT DO
The usual hecklers and Malacañang apologists claim that the President has no power to control prices, as these are at the mercy of “free market” forces. Remedial solutions, however, are well within the powers of the President. With regard to tuition increases, for example, the President only has to order the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to exercise their regulatory powers and regulate the implementation of tuition hikes in schools and universities across the country, if not impose a moratorium altogether. The Price Act (Republic Act 7581) allows him to put a price cap on basic necessities. He can suspend the collection of VAT especially on oil products and electricity. He can order the audit of profits and stocks of oil companies to stop its overpricing (by as much as P8.00 per liter) by private profiteers. He can withdraw the implementation of fare hikes in Metro Manila’s mass transit railways, and the toll hikes in the highways as these are well within the regulatory powers of the Government on public utilities and services.

Truly, a government that willingly refuses to wield its police power to provide the people relief from the onslaught of price hikes has no business telling them they can’t expect any wage hike. With P404.00 a day as minimum wage in Metro Manila, how do you expect a family of six to survive when the cost of living for such a family in the capital is P957.00 a day? (Un-updated estimate of cost of living, might be beyond P1,000.00 today).

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Taking the side of neither bully in the schoolyard *

Victor Villanueva

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