National Historical Commission publishes Dialogue among Marcos economic managers

The National Historical Commission recently released a book of discussions among the economic managers of the Marcos administration.

The conversations happened between 2012 to 2013.

In Dialogue: The economic managers of the Marcos Administration. The conversations took place in six different sessions that lasted around three hours for each session and spread over a period of five months.

The dialogue was among five economic managers who were Cabinet members at different time periods, but whose terms at some points coincided with each other’s service in the administration.

The participants were former prime minister Cesar Virata, who served as finance secretary/ minister; Vicente Paterno, Placido Mapa Jr., Jaime Laya, and this column’s author, Gerardo Sicat. During the 5th and 6th dialogues, Estelito Mendoza, who was former solicitor-general and later justice minister, joined in to explain the legal aspects and some consequences of martial law.

The conversations and their recording were undertaken at the invitation of the late Vicente Paterno, who also served in the Senate during the post-Marcos era. At the time of the conversations, he was in the process of writing his own autobiography and was already afflicted with early signs of physical illness.

The conduct of the dialogues also took place at about the time I was finishing the biography of Cesar Virata, which was published in 2014. The dialogues were noted in the bibliography of that book as “an oral history interaction of economic managers during the Marcos years.“

The National Historical Commission explains. In publishing the dialogues, the country’s chairman of the National Historical Commission, Rene E. Escalante, in his message to the publication notes: “The Marcos presidency is a period in Philippine history that continues to be both maligned and praised. It is condemned for the excesses (of) martial law. Equally, it is praised for its changes and innovations….”

The message continues: “There is need to undertake an honest and impartial appraisal of the Marcos administration. It is an assessment that does not whitewash the unsavory or negative aspects of the martial law period…. At the same time, one cannot simply overlook the good that has been accomplished….

“The persistent ruckus between the pro- and the anti-martial law forces has divided the nation. Interestingly, these groups – the uninformed, revisionists, solid supporters, staunch critics and oppositionists, historians, and students – have freely used the social media to publicize their causes or sides of the issues regardless of whether or not they have thoroughly scrutinized historical or evidentiary documents.”

Finally, in conclusion, the message says: “Respecting the opinions and varying opinions and perspectives of all sectors, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines presents opportunities for learners of Philippine history to examine the multidimensional representations of the Marcos administration as formed by the implementors, beneficiaries and victims of the regime. This particular book focuses on the vision of the Marcos government as recounted by his technocrats and economic managers. It is our hope that readers will continue the enlightened dialogue on and objective understanding of the Marcos presidency.”

Lessons learned from the period. Invited by the Historical Commission to write an introduction to the book, Cesar Virata, who stayed with the Marcos period as principal economic manager for the longest period and who is now the longest living economic official of that era, advances his own reflections and writes:

“After two decades or so, some commentators have said in hindsight that the quality of the Marcos Cabinet was first rate and that that there was a wide range of infrastructure projects undertaken, namely school buildings, hospitals and health facilities, roads and bridges, harbors and airports, hydropower plants for electrification, and dams for water supply and irrigation.

“A radical and comprehensive land reform law was instituted; the production of rice, corn, sugar and bananas, as well as poultry and livestock, was intensified and agricultural extension work was improved considerably….

“Arguably, the many achievements during the martial law era were stepping stones to further development. For example, the collective experience of the people in the construction of roads, bridges, seaports, dams and irrigation systems, and the delivery of health, social and their basic services produced seasoned and skilled workers and project managers who were eventually employed by other developed and developing nations….

“There is much to appreciate in the economic and infrastructural accomplishments of the period. These could be regarded as building blocks of nation-building. Discarding some of them (by the succeeding governments) was perhaps not wise.

“The consequences of dismantling the nuclear power plant, for instance, was the severe power outages that ensued, while the adopted short-term solutions resulted in high electricity rates that include the stranded costs charged to consumers up to this day.

“We have also lost a great deal of technical and operating knowledge about nuclear power plants so essential in addressing current environmental concerns. The non-integrated system (of urban transport) that stemmed from drastic changes of the LRT and MRT made transfers from one line to another difficult.”

Other managers of the period. Though not participants in the conversations, there were a number of other economic technocrats who helped to implement the economic programs of the Marcos government. Among them were Alejandro Melchor (executive secretary), Onofre Corpuz (education and development academy), Arturo Tanco (agriculture), Roberto Ongpin (industry), Alfredo Juinio (irrigation and public works), Geronimo Velasco (energy), and David M. Consunji (public works).

These officials were also responsible in bringing in or in recommending the appointment of deputies, assistants and other co-workers who were so chosen because of qualifications and merit. Such practice further enhanced the contributions they made to their own work in government. Many of these deputies, assistants and younger co-workers proved to be assets to future administrations in the country.

For archives of previous Crossroads essays, go to: https://www.philstar.com/authors/1336383/gerardo-p-sicat. Visit this site for more information, feedback and commentary: http://econ.upd.edu.ph/gpsicat/