SOUNDING BOARD is an outlet for opinions on good and crazy things going on at home (wherever I may be). All are welcome. You are not expected to bring anything except your common sense & sense of humor.
'If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.'
-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Friday, September 05, 2003
_____________________________________________
Amend the Constitutution to boost investments?
Director General Romulo Neri of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Wednesday's Manila Times Internet Edition boldly came out in the open advocating for the need to '...amend the Philippine Constitution to rid it of protectionist provisions that have limited foreign investments in the country.' Vice President Tito Guingona was not very happy with the statement and therefore asked Neri to explain if his words 'constitute national policy and signal a 180-degree shift in President Arroyo’s declared neutrality and non-involvement in the persistent attempts to amend the 1987 Constitution' (Philippine Star 3 September 2003). Of course DG Neri's statements were entirely his and do not necessarily reflect NEDA's position, not even the President's. Are we missing something here?
Neri's position completely mirrors his mentor's --- Joe De Venecia. The great De Venecia 'dream' is to amend the Constitution. 'Plan 747', mouthed by both by JDV and Neri, catapulted Neri to his NEDA post. And where would De Venecia want to fly with his '747' and proposed Constitutional amendments? We could be gullible at times, but definitely not stupid.
Understanding where Neri's statement is coming from isn't that difficult if one remembers the circumstances when he was appointed as replacement to then NEDA DG Dante Canlas. As posted from 16 December 2003 edition of Sounding Board (a few days before the President declared she will not be running for Presidency in 2004):
Malacanang further rationalizes its motives behind the "resignation" of Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning and NEDA Director-General Dante B. Canlas, amidst the criticisms that the country's economic performance has nothing to do with it. Through Spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao, Malacanang even had to resort to saying "....Canlas wanted to go back to the academe because he was bored by his tedious work at the NEDA, which required more of his handwriting than his analytical skills" (INQ7.net 14 December 2002). Critics are not biting. Only Amando Doronila seems to have picked it up.
Romulo Neri, the new NEDA chief, outlines the "necessary" changes: "...refocusing of strategy from external sources of growth to internal sources of growth; shift from demand side stimulus represented by grand infrastructure programs to supply-side productivity and efficiency; and shift from macro-economic reforms to micro-economic reforms (INQ7.net 16 December 2002). Before we all get lost in these big words, maybe we should go back to some basic questions. Do we really have an "economic" problem as Malacanang desperately emphasizes? So why the sudden change and desparate rationalizations? Malacanang knows very well that the government's economic team has been practising a centrist economic management. It is as if Mr. Canlas is an extreme "demand-sider". It is as if Mr. Neri is an extreme "supply-sider". It is as if both are not for freer markets. It is as if we will see major policy shifts. It is as if we are that stupid.
And what about Mr. Neri's Plan 747? The President seems to have been terribly impressed by it despite the fact the the economy is doing fine. Plan "747" stands for a growth rate of seven percent for seven years. This is a recycled platform which nobody picked up when it was launched several years ago. So why the sudden interest from the President? This is the same President who reviewed and approved the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP), which is the country's socioeconomic plan until 2004. This is the same President who heads the NEDA Board, which subjected the MTPDP to a tedious consultation process - within government, across sectors and regions. This is the same President who wants to be with us even after 2004. Unless we do something about it.
We do not know yet if the President is not really running for 2004 elections. Her statements have been transforming from 'I'm not running...' to 'No comment' to 'I think I should stick to that decision'. And as I said before, she did not say she WILL stick to her decision. She said she thinks she should (stick to her decision).
What seems clear is the way Neri's position on charter change resembles that of De Venecia's. In fact, if you substitute JDV's name and position to that of Neri's, you wouldn't probably recognize the difference. But is it possible that Neri's statement reflects Malacanang's position on the issue, and Malacanang's hand is at work here? Again, we could be gullible at times, but definitely not stupid.
posted by Allan at 12:15 PM (GMT+8)
permalink (URL of this post) ::
