The Filipino at his lowest

A quarter of a century ago, the Philippine economy began a downward plunge, triggered by the assassination of Ninoy Aquino. A rapid period of decline soon followed, with the balance of payment deficits climbing up to over $2 billion. The peso experienced a series of devaluations, prices went up, industrial production began falling, higher unemployment levels seemed imminent, made even worse by capital flight (estimated at $1 billion) which began in August and continued until late 1983. As a matter of fact, interest rates even went as high as 43 percent, with the GNP declining in 1984 and 1985. It was the beginning of the end for Ferdinand Marcos, with people experiencing extreme pessimism because they felt the country was just moving around in circles on the road to nowhere.

The negative sentiment changed in 1986 which brought with it newfound hope, with everyone feeling optimistic about the future – only to be quashed by the consequent political instability, punctuated by a prolonged severe power crisis with 12-hour brownouts during the term of president Cory Aquino which greatly hampered economic growth. Today, Filipinos feel that heightened sense of pessimism once again as disclosed by surveys from Pulse Asia and the Social Weather Stations. According to the latest SWS survey covering June 27-30, a clear majority of Filipinos feel they are worse off today compared to last year.  The survey showed 62 percent saying their quality of life had worsened – the “losers” – as compared to the 12 percent who said their lives have improved, or the “gainers.” According to the report, these levels of pessimism are the worst since 1983.

Brazilian Ambassador Alcides Prates mentioned to us last Sunday evening that he was impressed with the economic numbers of the Philippines. However, he was rather surprised that despite the fact that the numbers appeared good, majority of the people seem to think otherwise. Last year, the Philippines was lauded as the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia with a GDP growth rate of 7.3 percent – the best so far in the last 30 years. The numbers are saying we are doing well financially, and yet people still feel extreme pessimism about the economy and their life in general.

So what does this tell us? Simply that these economic gains are not reaching the majority of Filipinos fast enough. It’s rather unfortunate that the steady economic growth over the past few years has been negated by external shocks brought about by a global economic crisis, complicated by unceasing political noises and the situation in Mindanao. If we are not careful, this country will be politically fragmented, economically marginalized and worse, even physically divided if the issue over ancestral domains is not satisfactorily settled among all the affected parties. The situation is a ticking time bomb whose grim consequences can bring the country into chaos.

No doubt the prevailing pessimism and political dissatisfaction are tied up to the economic situation, since many Filipinos don’t really care that much about politics if they feel that their life is good and getting better. Even in the midst of misfortune, Filipinos are blessed with the ability to laugh – but not when their stomachs begin to hurt. With the number of people steadily increasing, the prices of basic commodities soaring sky-high while resources continue to dwindle – it would indeed be hard for anyone to find any humor in the situation.

But as I always say, hope springs eternal. Filipinos need to see a semblance of hope to help them survive even the most appalling situation – and the key to that is to have credible elections where they can choose new leaders to give them a renewed feeling of expectant hope. Let’s face it, Filipinos can be rather impatient, and have a short attention span even with their leaders – which is a natural instinct especially when they feel that a person has been in power for too long.

People had all their hopes riding on EDSA I at the time with the restoration of democracy in the country. But repeating it was a terrible mistake because we tampered with a system that has yet to be settled fully into place. The Filipinos’ impatient nature and the mistaken notion that shortcuts and quick fixes can solve problems that have been festering for so long triggered the undoing of all the supposed gains of EDSA I. Democracy does not come cheap, and more often than not, it takes a long time for it to work. It took the Americans several centuries to perfect their Constitution which went through 27 amendments before it reached its present form. As a matter of fact, the Civil Rights Act that outlawed segregation and gave black Americans equal rights and protection under the law was only signed in July 1964 during the term of Lyndon B. Johnson.

Although our Constitution needs a lot of changes, pushing for Charter Change at this time will only do more harm than good. If Cha-Cha is ever going to happen, it should be done at a time when this country has a new president – whoever he or she may be – when the feelings of people are buoyed up and not when negativity, doubt and distrust dominate their sentiments. No doubt 2010 is going to be another turning point in the life of this country, with a new leadership that will bring with it a new sense of hope and optimism. Hopefully, the advent of a new leadership will lift the Filipino spirit up which currently – as the latest survey shows – seems to be at its lowest.

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