By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
PARTIDO Demokratiko-Sosyalista ng Pilipinas standard-bearer Norberto Gonzales said the Philippines should draw lessons from the Russian invasion of Ukraine on managing tension in the West Philippine Sea.
Gonzales observed that Russian forces slowed down their advancement into Ukraine last week after seeing Ukrainian civilians also fighting alongside their military forces.
A day after Russian troops invaded the capital Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the general mobilization of its population. All conscripts and reservists were also instructed to wait for activation in the next 90 days to defend Ukraine.
The presidential aspirant said changing the mindset of Filipinos to be nationalist and willing to be trained to fight for the country can also be a good deterrent against foreign aggressors.
“Bago tayo humanap ng tulong sa kapitbahay o sa ibang bansa, palakasin muna ang character at quality ng ating sambayanan. I was advocating for a National Mobilization (program),” Gonzales said at the CNN Philippines Presidential Debate Sunday night at the University of Santo Tomas.
Gonzales said weapons alone will not win a war, but the “quality of its people,” citing the Vietnam War when the US lost the war from ill-equipped yet gallant Vietnamese people.
“Hindi tayo maghahamon ng gyera. Dapat ipakita natin, mga Pilipino nagsanay. Handang tumindig sa ating pinaglalaban. Kung China mahal nila ang kanilang bayan, tayo rin mahal natin ang ating bayan. Kung gusto nila mag-giyera, handa nating harapin yan kahit kulang tayo ng armas,” he explained.
If elected as the country’s chief executive in May 2022, Gonzales said he will initiate an overhaul of the 1987 Constitution in his first year in office.
His vision is to be consultative with all stakeholders in drawing up plans for the country’s future, starting with convening a body to review the political structures which he felt are the root cause of the country’s problems. He will be open to a change from presidential system to parliamentary, federalism and conversion of all regions into autonomous regimes.
“Ang pinakaimportante: makumbinse buong sambayanan para sa pananaw sa bukas. Lahat ng magagaling isasama natin,” he said.
The former defense secretary during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is opposed to the neutrality stance of the Philippine government to Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Small business
As for economic reforms, Gonzales wants the government to issue sovereign guarantees to small business owners who borrow money from financial institutions, and to give subsidies to farmers.
Capital, Gonzales said, remains elusive for micro-small and medium enterprises (MSME’s), with banks and other lending institutions reluctant to grant them loans for fear of defaults.
“Kung natatakot na hindi makakabayad ng malaking kapital, bigyan natin ng sovereign guarantee. Kung ang mga malalaking kumpanya nga may sovereignty guarantee, bakit di natin ibuhos ang ating pera para sa ating mga kababayan tulad ng mga nasa TODA,” he added.
However, a fact-check by Business Mirror showed that since 2018, there is a government agency providing guarantees to MSMEs—the Philippine Guarantee Corporation under the Department of Finance. As of February 2021, the amount of loans guaranteed by PhilGuarantee amount to P952.5 million to 8,839 beneficiaries—albeit still a long way to go to make an impact on 957,620 registered MSME’s.
Farmers’ plight
Gonzales likewise lamented the dismal economic condition of Filipino rice farmers and their families who are an essential link to the food security of the country.
“Garantiyahan natin na ang mga nagtatanim ng palay ay hindi nagugutom,” Gonzales said. “Kung natatanim ka ng palay, di ka dapat nalulugi.”
The Bataan native said one way to guarantee a steady flow of income for rice farmers is to give them government subsidies.
Agricultural crops such as rice that are critical for food security should be classified as “strategic crops” that need government intervention.
He did not expound on how this subsidy program for farmers will be different from the subsidy being extended by the Department of Agriculture to rice farmers. When Manila became a member of the World Trade Organization, rice farmers were given subsidies and preferential tariff rates to help them compete in the international market.
As for his platform against corruption, Gonzales did not offer specific measures to fight corruption. He said, though, that despite his long experience in the government, he was not offered any bribe, though he observed that corruption is systemic in the government.
The Department of National Defense (DND) was earlier tagged by the 2012 US State Department report as one of the most corrupt agencies in the Philippines.
Among government offices, Gonzales said he would prioritize cleansing the Bureau of Customs from corruption.