At the Business Consultation Workshop held in Davao in June, a number of actionable recommendations were put forward. Among those I consider most likely to promote inclusive growth and soonest are a few that can be acted on quickly.
The first is the need to review the Conditional Cash Transfer Program, which, from the very first time it was established during the previous administration, I found most unnecessary and subject to abuse. For one, I felt that this program promoted excessive dependence on the government as a dole-out (which taxpayers had to fund). This reminded me of the prayer that some took literally from the Our Father, i.e., “give us this day our daily bread”, without making any effort to work for it. We also know the adage that says teach them how to fish instead of just giving them fish. So, I feel that the best protection for the poor is to give them the opportunity to learn skills so they can get a job…and be productive for themselves and the community. Examples of intervention along this line could be giving cash for work, such as livelihood projects, or perhaps providing supplemental lunches in public schools, or helping provide loans or capitalization for small industries that the poor can easily enter into. The point I make is that the CCT gave dole-outs that did not really help to alleviate the needs of the poor and were even abused, like being used for drinks or drugs.
Apropos to this, I would consider that support services should be given to farmers, on whom we all depend for food production. The contribution of the agricultural sector to the economy has not been properly recognized by the government planners, and it is no secret that farmers have poor access to credit and support services. Their problems include expensive inputs, high costs of transporting their goods to the urban centers, and the land-reform program, which was, in my opinion, put on hold by landowners. Farmers also need to be provided with a support system that includes financing and government guarantees for loans, microinsurance, technology and farm-to-market road infrastructure.
In this connection, I wish that transport networks throughout the country be improved—airports and ports (utilizing airports outside Metro Manila such as Clark and Subic airports, and even military airports; Batangas and Subic ports to decongest the Manila port area); railway projects and roads and mass-transport projects; and improving other access roads to decongest Edsa and C-5 (C-6 is a disgrace), and rapid transit and infrastructure improvement in Cebu and Davao.
I suppose being a mining engineer’s daughter, I am in favor of exploiting our mineral resources, but certainly with responsibility. I abhor irresponsible environmental practices, but do not agree with a total ban on mining. I favor eventually eliminating the export of raw material ore, and suggests that assistance and support by government and the private sector be given to the establishment of value-added domestic processing, which would not only improve our industrial sector but provide higher income to the economy.
Finally, I fully agree with the Department of Finance’s eventual rationalization of taxation—we have the highest taxes in the Asean region for individuals and corporations. Lower individual income taxes that burden the ordinary taxpayer would increase the disposable income of the ordinary worker, which they would use to purchase consumer goods, thus, encouraging the growth of production and business investment, which, in turn, would improve the overall economy. Needless to say, increased collection, the promotion of voluntary compliance, and a crackdown on corrupt examiners who fleece small taxpayers but let high-income earners get away with minimal taxes, if none at all, for a fee, is what we ordinary Filipinos would like to see.
The foregoing ideas, which were among those discussed at the business consultation in June, if acted upon soonest, would go a long way toward the inclusive growth that we would like to happen in our country.
merci.suleik@gmail.com