Tuesday, March 06, 2007 Ong: Take a look on its economic agenda By Ted Aldwin Ong Misreadings
IN A full-page campaign advertisement printed in a national daily, the "friends" of what they now called themselves Genuine Opposition explained "why the nation is worse off now than in January 2001" and criticized the economic gains of Mrs. Arroyo as self-proclaimed for the facts reveals in contrary.
As a campaign advertisement for the Genuine Opposition, it is understandable that its godfather Joseph Estrada was put in a higher pedestal as far as economic performance is concerned. It claimed that Estrada's stint from 1998 to 2000 was better as compared to the six years of Mrs. Arroyo.
Whether the ousted opposition leader was better off than the current regime is beyond debate. Joseph Estrada and his economic advisers could only criticize Mrs. Arroyo but it can no longer outdo the Arroyo regime nor stir to new heights its self-proclaimed superior performance.
The ads utilized economic data to shape claims and form a public opinion that our economy could have been better off under Estrada than the current regime. It proved a good point but whether these data is worthy enough to back up claims that the Estrada administration was a better performer than the current regime is a different thing altogether.
I do agree that the economic gains being peddled by the Arroyo regime is a product of what they say "spins" for the facts could be manipulated to paint a better picture that the country's fiscal health is improving and to put Mrs. Arroyo in better light in the international community and finance institutions.
The campaign material presented various points to prove its claims but it failed to present the crux of the problem - economic policies. It has good points in presenting worthy criticism against the Arroyo regime but it failed to advance alternatives. As it is, there is no point in claiming that we are better off under Estrada or our economy will be better off if the candidates of the Genuine Opposition will get elected come May elections because it did not discuss nor it presented an economic agenda.
Economic figures will differ from one administration to another depending on its economic agenda but what is recognizable between Estrada and Arroyo is not its distinct uniqueness but its evident similarities. This is the reason why at the end of the day, the same question lingers in the mind of our people, if our economy is better off then why we can hardly feel life is improving?
The answer to this question lies not on the performance of Estrada and Arroyo but on the kind of policies they both promote. The vicious cycle of poverty and deprivation goes on because our politicians remain adamant in confronting the source of our nation's economic woes which lies on our subscription to the neo-liberal agenda.
As a religious follower to the neo-liberal agenda agreed by advanced nations, I believe that the ousted leader of the Genuine Opposition could claim less that it performed better as much as the Arroyo regime could not claim more that it is better off than the rest.
As the elections are closing in, I would like to encourage our dear readers to scrutinize what kind economic agenda our candidates would like to pursue to determine their vision for our nation and people. (Comments to tao.ssi@gmail.com)
