OFW Remittances Hit $1.7B in April 2012: So What?

The song being sung by the Aquino administration sounds like, walks like, quacks like a rehash of Arroyo’s super maids program.

SO WHAT IF THERE WAS $1.5B REMITTANCE IN APRIL – IT ALL WENT TO EXPENDITURES IN ELECTRICITY (MERALCO), TELECOM (PLDT), FOOD (AYALA COJUANGCO), ENTERTAINMENT (HENRY SY)

The remittance based economy is an acceptance of the failure of the Philippine’s protectionist economic policies to generate jobs at home.

It does not make sense that the Philippines keeps foreign investors limited to own only up to 40% of a locally registered company. It does not make sense that we keep foreign companies which provide jobs, out – then we send Filipinos overseas to work in foreign lands.

Then the Philippines takes “pride” in the “sacrifices” of Pinoys who had to endure hardship in order to make money. Really makes for a good soap opera on ABS-CBN or a justification for junkets by party list Congressmen.

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In another development – DSWD’s Dinky Soliman has been lobbying for more CCT funds – increase its budget from P34 billion to P45 billion.

In a story carried by the Business Mirror

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad on Monday said the 30-percent increase in CCT budget next year represents two-thirds of the overall budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The DSWD is proposing a P67-billion budget next year, of which P45 billion will be spent for CCT. The increase in CCT fund will enable the department to support an additional 700,000 poor families all over the country, according to Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman. The program has been the subject of numerous complaints, including issues of corruption and political patronage.

What are the facts? Has poverty reduced since the introduction of CCT? The polling body owned by BS Aquino’s relatives – SWS reported an increase in poverty and hunger. In a story carried by the Manila Standard

The SWS poll, conducted on March 10 to 13, found that 55 percent of the respondents, or about 11.1 million families, had rated themselves poor. That was 10 points higher than the 45 percent or 9.1 million households who rated themselves poor in December last year.

The SWS said the latest poverty figures were the highest to date for the Aquino administration.

It can be recalled that in May 2011, as reported by the Daily Tribune

the DSWD had increased its approved budget for CCT of P21 billion by P2 billion to P23 billion, without passing through Congress and with Malacañang admitting that Budget Secretary Butch Abad was looking for funds to add to the DSWD budget.

To summarize – the CCT fund releases are as follows:

2011- P23 Billion

2012 -P34 Billion

2013 -P45 Billion?

ANG PAGPAPATATAG NG ECONOMIYA NG PILIPINAS AY NASA KAMAY NG BAWAT MAMAMAYAN. HINDI NG GOBYERNO O NG ANUMANG REGULASYON. ANG TRABAHO – MANGGALING MAN SA PINOY O DAYUHAN – AY PAREHONG NAGDADALA NG PAGKAIN, EDUKASYON, KALUSUGAN, KATIWASAYAN SA BAWAT MAMAMAYAN. WALANG KARAPATAN ANG PAMAHALAAN NA SUGPUIN ANG KALAYAAN NG BAWAT MAMAMAYAN NA PUMILI PARA SA KANYANG SARILI KUNG ANO ANG MAS NAKAKADALA NG KALIGAYAHAN SA KANYA. ANG BAWAT BATAS NA TUMATABOY NGA MGA TRABAHO PARA SA BAWAT MAMAMAYANG PILIPINO AY HINDI DAPAT HAYAANG MANATILI – SAPAGKAT SA BAWAT ARAW NA DUMARAAN AY LALONG UMIIGTING ANG PAGHIHIRAP AT PAGHIHIKAHOS NG MGA MAMAMAYAN. WALANG SAYSAY ANG KALAYAAN SA POLITIKA KUNG IKAW AY ISANG ALILA SA SARILING BAYAN.

The CCT is supposed to be a poverty alleviation measure. Let’s see what happened to poverty during this same period in 2011.

In April 2011 – The Manila Times quoted Noynoy’s reaction on the latest SWS Survey that showed the number of Filipinos who were experiencing hunger hunger and considering themselves poor went up

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd on Friday said that results of a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on hunger incidence would be different if the poll covered respondents who had benefited from the government‘s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program.

The recent SWS survey showed that 20.5 percent of Filipinos, or about 4.1 million experienced hunger at least once in the past three months. That figure was up from the 18.1 percent recorded in November 2010.

Reacting to the SWS survey, President Aquino said that sometimes he “could not reconcile” the results of the poll with reports submitted by government agencies.

Well, a year after the CCT was released to Dinky to subsidize the hakot crowd against CJ Corona among others – how has the Philippines fared? Has poverty and hunger gone down? It’s a big resounding NO. Joblessness, poverty, and hunger has increased despite an increase in CCT by 30% from 2011 to 2012. What makes Aquino, Soliman, and Abad think that pouring good money after bad will reduce poverty?

Unless of course, the poverty they are addressing isn’t the poverty of the citizens – but the “poverty” of the oligarchs and the legislators which allow the oligarchy to maintain its protectionist hold on the economy.

In Dec 2011, I reiterated the CCT’s uselessness

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More subsidies and more protectionist regulations will not reduce poverty – the outcome as shown by empirical data – is an expansion of poverty.

More impeachments, more new faces – with the same FAILED economic policies have only served to decrease the competitiveness of the Philippines and increase the misery of the Filipinos amidst an Asia which is facing an economic boom.

Oh well waddya expect from the Pinoys who think foreigners are “evil” – then line up in embassies to apply for jobs overseas, to be “heroically” employed as a tsimay in Dubai or Jeddah or Hong Kong and dream of becoming the next Manny Pacquiao, Jessica Sanchez, Shamcey Supsup.

As Gat Jose Rizal once said – “like people, like government”.

BongV has written 386 stories on this site.