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Friday, January 16, 2004
Espinoza: More consumer spending after elections
By Fred C. Espinoza
NO ONE FIT. If we go by the guidelines on presidential elections issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), “no one is fit at all to govern the disputatious going-to-the-dogs nation.”
Former CBCP president Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz has said that with the qualifications of the candidates we have now, those demands may not be met by practically anyone.
On the other side, a research firm has ignored the ominous warnings of church leaders and settled on the pattern of consumer spending as the basis to determine the attitude of the people on the outcome of the elections in May.
Whatever the results of the May elections, the spending and consumption patterns of Filipinos are expected to remain the same, the international marketing research firm A.C. Nielsen Philippines reported the other day.
The firm has come out with a study showing that the growth of Filipinos’ food and non-food items has generally been “unaffected” by political upheavals or natural calamities since 1986.
To further clarify this point, Agnes Tayao, A.C. Nielsen director for retail services, said trends in the past elections showed that optimism is generated among Filipinos after a national election. This optimism, she added, is expected to spur more consumer spending.
She also revealed a significant “pike” in consumer spending after then president Joseph Estrada was elected in 1998.
This may be attributed to Mr. Estrada’s popularity among the masses, which comprise 90 percent of the consumer market. The AB market comprises only one percent and the C market nine percent, she said.
Any aspiring political pollster might make good use of the A.C. Nielsen study to determine how the candidates are faring on the campaign trail, and what the possible outcome of the elections would be, just by focusing on what’s going on in the DE class or the lower-income market.
But as far as the A.C. Nielsen executive is concerned, the businessmen have a bigger stake in the elections than the politicians. The wait-and-see attitude of investors, while anticipating the impact of whatever political event, may spell a loss of opportunity.
“Whatever happens in our country, our people will continue to thrive, albeit in difficulty,” she said.
What is left to be addressed for now would be the concern of the legislators in Congress who are apprehensive about the budget deficit problem after Congress failed to pass a vital revenue-enhancing measure, according to Rep. Hermi-nio Teves (Lakas, Negros Oriental). He was referring to the “indexation” of “sin taxes” on tobacco and liquor products.
(January 16, 2004 issue)
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