Conclusion
PEACE and security justify the strengthening the police and military sectors, but other implications make it a high priority. From an economic perspective, for instance, having a strong police and military is good for investment.
In 2014 foreign direct investments (FDI) totaled $6.2 billion, which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) described as an “all-time high,” and reflects a 65.9-percent increase from $3.7 billion in 2013.
The amount, however, accounts for less than 5 percent of the $128 billion total FDI that went to six major economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines—last year. In the last three months of 2014 alone, Vietnam reportedly received about $8 billion of FDI, more than the Philippines’s total FDI for the whole year.
The Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2012 to 2016, a report prepared under the Partnership for Growth between the Philippines and the United States, analyzed the key restraints to growth.
The report noted that armed conflict and the threat of international terrorism undermine prosperity and stability in the Philippines. The report said: “While violence remains scattered and relatively low‐level, its persistence discourages investment.”
Of course, there are other factors that investors consider when they decide which country to invest in, such as incentives, predictability of policies and regulations and the profitability prospects.
However, peace and security is one of the first issues that investors consider. What investor would put up a factory or start a project in a place where he does not feel safe?
Thus, it is no wonder that Metro Manila accounts for a large share of the country’s economy, estimated at 35 percent to more than 66 percent of the total gross domestic product. Despite the numerous street crimes in the metropolis, it is also the region where police visibility is high. A peaceful place is an attractive place for investments, so raising the capability of the police and military will also help in making economic growth more inclusive, as it will encourage more investments in areas far from Metro Manila.
Establishing and maintaining peace will boost tourism, whose main attractions like beaches and mountains are far from the cities, in the provinces. We all know that tourism is a great job generator, so this means dispersal of investments and income in the countryside.
Without peace, it will be difficult to solve the poverty problem. For instance, health workers will be reluctant to be assigned to areas with peace and security problem, so people in those areas will not be able to receive health services, resulting in malnutrition and less productive citizenry. Teachers also would be afraid to go to areas where they have to live in fear. So, who suffers? Of course, the children, who will be deprived of education, the key to their escaping poverty.
The poorest provinces in the country, where the poverty rate ranges from 41 percent to 68 percent, include Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Zamboanga del Norte and Northern Samar.
On the other hand, the least poor provinces and districts, where the poverty rate ranges from 3.1 percent to 7.6 percent, include the Fourth District of the National Capital Region (Las Piñas, Taguig, Parañaque, Pasay, Makati, Muntinlupa and Pateros), Cavite, Pampanga and Bataan.
Indeed, peace and security is one of the major reasons behind the poverty gap between these two groups. This is just internal threats. The Philippines is also facing external threats, such as the ongoing dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea.
In a lecture last month, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said in a lecture that China’s “nine-dash” claim over 85.7 percent of the West Philippine Sea have “grave implications” on the Philippines’s security, food and energy. He stressed that the government should strengthen the armed forces to defend the country’s territory and sovereignty, as it could not expect other countries to do the job.
As I said in the second part of this series, we will need hundreds of billions to strengthen our police and military. It is a price we have to pay if we want to sustain a strong economy and our sovereignty. Without a strong police and armed forces, there is no foundation for growth, and growth will continue to be one-sided.
For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail.com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.
1 comment
The police and military are weak not for lack of funds but for lack of good leadership. This actually applies to the whole government and by cause and effect to the whole Philippines. If the Philippines was led consistently by good leaders (just good not even great), it will be one of Asia’s most progressive country, as early as 30 years ago, highly respected and held as example like Singapore. Much time and opportunity have been lost but it appears that the people have not yet really learned their lessons. They still want to vote for some persons in positions of leadership despite a lot of stench emanating from their past and present administration of power. I don’t see anyone among the contenders who is convincingly good, but I’ll take my chances with Ping Lacson.