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MALACAÑANG is being bombarded by a slew of advice on how
to meet the national crisis brought about by the larger
world crisis in oil and food, the latest including
amendments to the Labor Code to spur productivity.
Sen. Mar
Roxas II, whose advocacy to suspend the value-added tax
(VAT)on oil products to put more money directly in
people’s hands has been opposed by the administration,
told the Palace to stop being in denial. “Fiscal
discipline means being up-front. Pretending that things
are normal, and the economic solutions before the oil
crisis hit should still remain as is, is not only
foolish but patently unfair and a great disservice to
our people.”
Therefore, he argues, “We need to reassess priorities
and ensure that resources are spent for optimal results.
We must also put money back in the people’s pockets when
they need it most, through suspending the 12-percent oil
VAT.”
On
Monday, Sen. Edgardo Angara joined the many voices with
his own suggestion to relieve the working man of the
heavy burden of the crisis, especially in food. He
practically told President Arroyo to certify a bill for
Congress to immediately amend key provisions of the
Labor Code in order to increase national productivity
and employment.
As Roxas
and Angara separately expounded on their ideas, Albay
governor Joey Salceda, an economic adviser of President
Arroyo, said he supports a review of government’s
economic policies to better gear up the country against
“emerging and evolving” global conditions.
The
package of amendments he proposes includes a compressed
workweek or flextime, revision of the doctrine against
the elimination/dimunition of benefits under certain
conditions, restructuring of the visitorial and
enforcement power of the labor secretary to allow for
self-regulation, and exception from the night-work
prohibition on women in such industries or
establishments operating on a continuous 24-hour
schedule.
Roxas,
on the other hand, said Malacañang should suspend
big-ticket capital expenditures because “most of the
funds spent here go to right-of-way purchases which do
not filter back to the local economy and instead go to
foreign banks or luxury cars.”
He
warned the government that sticking to economic policies
drawn up “way before the prices of oil and food hit the
roof” would only send the poor spiraling deeper into
poverty. “Only a fool doesn’t change tack when
circumstances change.”
“By
saying that it won’t change or even review its policies,
the government seems to be throwing up its arms in
surrender and telling us to just bear with it, which is
a mockery of what public service and good governance are
all about,” he added.
Then he
touched on a very sensitive—to legislators—matter—that
President Arroyo defer disbursements of the pork-barrel
allocations for the pet projects of Malacañang and
members of Congress. “Forget Kilos-Asenso and other
pork-barrel projects—let’s focus on giving our people
food to eat at affordable prices and jobs that would
make them productive, self-sufficient and hopeful amid
this crisis.”
It seems
that is also the aim of Angara—make the people
self-sufficient and hopeful with his Labor Code
amendments. “With these amendments, it is expected that
businesses will become more efficient, competitive and
flexible in responding to client needs and, at same
time, protect the interest of the work force by
providing for an enhanced work-life balance.”
Angara argued these amendments have become imperative with the
liberalization of international economic trade that has
led to the advent of a global economy that is
fast-becoming one integrated unit.
“As a
result of better communication and transportation
facilities, business opportunities abroad are now within
closer reach of local business entities. However, these
opportunities may be lost if the local economy fails to
adjust and cope with the new demands of the
international market,” he said, insisting the government
must create a business environment that allows the local
economy to be more competitive in the global market.
He
pointed to the “dramatic changes brought about by
technological strides and outsourcing, and the
challenges brought about by globalization on the
workplace” to further buttress his argument for the
overhaul of the Labor Code.
Angara added the old standard of an eight-hour workday for a
40-hour workweek “is becoming obsolete. We now have a
24-hour, seven-day-a-week schedule, mostly employing
hard-core of basic information-technology skills; more
women work at night and the bulk of OFWs are now women.
Some work at home with flexible schedules.”
At the
same time, Roxas recommended that the government embarks
on an “Agrarian Renaissance Program” by prioritizing
agriculture and food security. “Let’s help out our own
farmers, instead of those from Thailand, Vietnam or the
US benefiting from our importations of rice; this way
our money circulates within the economy.”
He also
wants to accelerate maintenance spending for those which
have a high labor component, “especially fixing up
irrigation canals and classrooms” and sought to suspend
the expenditures using the road users’ tax—“where there
is little accountability and benefit”—and realign it to
food-for-work or for-school programs.
Salceda
supported a review of current economic policies, but he
got right into the gist of Roxas’s advice, saying the
government should be wary of the repercussions of a
suspended VAT on oil.
His idea
is that a review of economic policies should lead to
increased direct subsidies to the poor, a reassessment
of the administration’s balanced budget doctrine
“without compromising” the Medium Term Philippine
Development Plan (MTPDP), and a shift to a more
economically sound population policy, among others.
“Keeping
the status quo is grossly insensitive; worse, negligent;
nay, imprudent matched only by the captain of the MV
Princess of the Stars,” Salceda said in clear agreement
with the “unsolicited advisers” of the President.
He said
any review must address “the 4- percent decline in real
per capita income, the increase in 477,000 poor
households, the deterioration in poverty from 24 percent
to 27.4 percent, fall in household share in national
income from 54 percent to 46 percent aggravated by
178,000 job losses despite a 32-percent increase in
nominal GNP from 2003 to 2006.”
He also
noted the “current population policy is simply
indefensible in the face of resource depletion,” and
that the “interplay of climate change, food security and
energy independence will require new formulations of
strategic mix.”
Contrary
to criticisms against government subsidies to the poor,
Salceda advocates increasing it. He reported the Chief
Executive has approved his proposed “Noah’s Ark”
program, a social protection plan that seeks to increase
government subsidies by P316 billion over a three-year
period, but Palace officials could not confirm this as
of press time.
The P316
billion in increased public spending over three years
would translate into a deficit of 1 percent of GDP over
the period covered.
Budget
Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said he has not received
any instructions regarding the pursuit of Salceda’s
proposal, while Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said in a
news briefing he is not aware of it.
Reacting
to calls by Catholic bishops for the government to favor
long-term measures against rising living costs over
one-time doles, Dureza said that the government welcomes
all recommendations from all sectors related to a review
of economic policies. |
