What's new

Closed How Much More Can The Philippine Economy Endure From Rodrigo Duterte?

Status
Not open for further replies.
...the Duterte era has waged a war against drugs that went beyond just targeting the dealers and users. He’s made threats against anyone who gets in his way from You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. to corrupt cops to “You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..” But little did supporters suspect that the real thing Duterte would end up shooting is the economy.

Granted, Duterte dreams of inflicting harm by other means, too. He talks of dropping corrupt officials from helicopters and a desire to get rid of “You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..” Yet this rhetoric distracts from the real costs that three and half years of Duterte is doing to what was one of Asia’s most impressive economies when he took power.

The You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. the Philippines clocked in 2019 helps Duterte deflect from his own economic blunders. Here are three worth exploring.

One: Manila’s sliding corruption ranking. Berlin-based Transparency International might now be in Duterte’s crosshairs, too, as it downgrades his policies toward graft. Between 2018 and 2019, Manila’s standing in the group’s corruption perceptions index tumbled You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.. That equates to nearly 1.7 points of lost ground for every month over the last 12. All told, the Philippines lost 18 rungs on Duterte’s watch, putting it on par with Kazakhstan and Zambia.


Two: a botched infrastructure push. Duterte hit the ground running with a $180 billion “Build, Build, Build” campaign to raise competitiveness. And indeed, better roads, bridges, ports and power grids are urgently needed if the Philippines is going to win business from Apple, Samsung, Toyota and other multinational giants. Aquino’s process, he complained, was too slow and dogged by regulatory speed bumps.

Yet Duterte’s haste to green light giant projects removed many of the good-governance and sustainability safeguards. His financing model sidelined Aquino’s public-private partnership strategy. Duterte favors government-led deals. The upshot, critics worry, is the return of the graft and excessive debt of the past.

Oddly, though, even Dutertenomics is getting You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. in bureaucracy, poor planning and a level of incompetence that seems a far cry from his get-things-done reputation. That helps explain why the economy in 2019 grew at the slowest pace in eight years.

Again, a nearly 6% pace is nothing to sniff at amid a global trade war. It means, though, that the we’re-growing-faster-than-China buzz of the Aquino years is giving way to stark sobriety.

The Philippines, though, doesn’t just need to grow faster. It needs to grow better to spread the benefits of expanding gross domestic product to tens of millions of families struggling to move from low-income to middle-income status. That means creating enough good-paying jobs so that more than 10% of Filipinos don’t have to work aboard and remit cash home.

Three: a disturbing media assault. This is another Trumpian parallel, but one Duterte is taking further by trying to shut down ABS-CBN. The media giant, which Duterte deems a foe, could see its 25-year-old franchise ended.

The last time Duterte’s anti-press campaign made global headlines was 12 months ago. That’s when Manila arrested You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., a former CNN correspondent running the Rappler online news portal. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, which Duterte views as too critical, has had its You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. with a president who loathes dissent.

Isn’t that the problem, though? Any leader who’s genuinely determined to root out graft should see investigative journalists as allies. These scribes can help police corrupt politicians and businesspeople, uncover impropriety in public bidding processes and inefficiencies that squander government resources.

A free and vibrant media could help Manila get anti-corruption efforts back on track and clean up Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” extravaganza. The Philippines, though, is 134th. Not a placement conducive with the orderly, efficient and competitive economy many voters hoped Duterte would craft. Instead, he’s shooting in the foot an economy that just four years ago was beginning to stand high.

Read (if you can) more here:
You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.

ESObT0wUUAAUbbt (Mobile).jpg
 

Attachments

Last edited:
hayyy naku just because you dont like the admin now.
ito ngayon ang pinapakita nyo. 50% of your opinion is true and 50 % of this is also a lie. half truth sya.
make sure to broad your explaination. yang build build build? saan bang lugar pinakamaling gastos?
yung utang nya na malaki saan ba yon napunta at paano natin yun nababayaran?
yang journalist na c maria ressa? sure kabang hindi yan bayaran at
sino nga ang nagmamay ari ng tinatrabahuan nya?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top