A Lesson Well Learned: It’s The Economy, Stupid
Indeed it’s about the economy, as American political and communications strategist James Carville hammered into the Clinton team as they successfully battled George H. W. Bush in the Presidential election of 1993.
This vital lesson in governance similarly applies to us.
We are heartened by the fact that the Aquino government sees a realizable pathway to growth that will cut poverty.
It is leveling the playing field and recognizes that our overseas Filipino workers are its partners in development and firmly grounded economic growth.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano W. Paderanga, Jr.:
We are still cueing for cumulative growth
of 5-6%, but we are trying to see if we could
raise this to a little bit of a higher target,
We know that the general directions we would like to see would be higher, but we will have to work on what we need to do in order to attain a growth rate which is higher than that, maybe somewhere in the 7-8% [range].
If not by 2010, it’s probably best to look at it in 2011 onwards.
With better infrastructure, the stimulus given by the higher demand from OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittances, we feel we have not gotten the full benefit and we hope we will get more of that.
One of the most important things is a level playing field that will improve access to infrastructure, credit, land, technology, and other productive inputs.
Some 9 million overseas Filipinos, practically a tenth of the Philippine population of around 92 million, send home about $1.5 billion monthly that fuels domestic consumption and home construction activity in their provinces.
New estimates are pointing to their remittances growing 8% this year from a record level of $17.3 billion in 2009.
The statements from NEDA are happily in lockstep with the SONA declaration of Prs. Aquio that he’ll make the Philippines more business friendly, fight corruption and encourage public-private partnerships to improve infrastructure.
Let’s all put our shoulders to the millstone, shall we?
