Inclusive growth: Unattainable with "trapos" at the helm

“Inclusive growth” has become a very popular term these days among economists and well-meaning politicians alike. Given more emphasis than economic growth, it has taken a new twist as far as defining real progress is concerned.

“Inclusive growth”, though more often interchangeably used with other terms, such as, “broad-based growth”, “shared growth” and “pro-poor growth”, distinctively focuses on the pace and pattern of growth.   While it also concerns about poverty alleviation, the difference between pro-poor and inclusive growth is that the “pro-poor approach is mainly interested in the welfare of the poor while inclusive growth is concerned with opportunities for the majority of the labor force, poor and middle-class alike”. 

Generally, there are two ways of alleviating poverty incidences. These are productive employment and income redistribution. Though a long term approach, productive employment can be addressed by encouraging new investments, both foreign and domestic.   On the other hand, income redistribution can be done through social spending programs. Unlike other measures, inclusive growth takes the long term approach by focusing on the productive employment. 

As business climate is primordial consideration before investors put in their hard-earned money, more often, our government focuses on income redistribution approaches. For one, we had the “land for the landless” program and the recently initiated conditional cash transfer program or the 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program). Despite all these sincere efforts, however, poverty has worsened. Why? This is because opportunism crawled in. Worst, those who have become or have been opportunists are mostly traditional politicians (trapos). These are trapos whose only selfish concern is to perpetuate their hold in their respective turfs or bailiwicks.

Take for instance, the “land for the landless” program, the nation’s oldest social spending program. We’ve called it many names since the time of Pres. Ramon Magsaysay. Yet, until today, we did nothing much except perpetually extending the program. Why? This is because most landowners are trapos themselves. Absolutely, they are in politics because they would like to protect their own wealth or even pad it.  

On the other hand, the 4Ps is the program they readily embraced. First and foremost, this is because they won’t be using their own wealth but that of the country’s honest taxpayers. Secondly, the beneficiaries shall find comfort in it and shall, therefore, become permanent mendicants. These are two scenarios that trapos find to be perfect ingredients for them to perpetuate their dominance in their respective turfs.

A typical example of this happened last week in the Municipality of Barili. Reportedly, 10 beneficiaries were injured in a stampede during the conduct of the 4Ps in the area. Obviously timed with Gov. Garcia’s own cash distribution, the venue was changed to Brgy. Guibuwangan. All these skirmishes are consequences of trapos’ ways of winning elections. Maliciously, they try to sway poor peoples’ perception that all these dole-outs are theirs or “through their efforts” so that beneficiaries/voters may owe them “debts of gratitude”.

As the law provides, the 4Ps shall be entirely implemented by the DSWD thru Landbank (or its conduits). Why in heaven’s name Judge Garcia’s CFI Cooperative (despite conflict of interest) was appointed as conduit only God knows. What we certainly know is, trapos don’t seriously consider programs that shall truly emancipate the poor from the bondage of poverty. They are leaning largely toward programs that shall truly make the majority of our countrymen their unequivocal parasites. Hapless parasites who are blindly ready to die for them as they continually satisfy their unquenchable thirst for power and perpetually hold their respective turfs.

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