NEDA blames politics for economic woes

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Too much politicking is bringing the country down economically and this is why political reforms should be institutionalized, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director Romulo Neri said yesterday.

Neri told reporters Saturday there is an urgent need to change the country’s political system because the present setup is making it difficult for the economy to grow, as the whole political structure is unfriendly to economic progress.

"We realized that it’s hard to bring the economy forward unless we undertake political reform," he said. "There’s too much politicking in our country because of the very short nature of our political system — we hold elections every three years."

Neri said some policies tend to favor certain investment groups that finance the elections. Politicians also do not take a "single direction" as far as advocacies are concerned, he said.

Meanwhile, political ana-lyst and STAR columnist Alex Magno cautioned the electorate against poll fraud, saying that a failure of elections will completely undermine investors’ confidence in the Philippines.

He urged Filipinos to choose a leader "who will be capable of holding things together" to prevent capital flight.

"The last thing we need is a laughable leadership," he told reporters after speaking at the Mindanao Economics Students’ Convention organized by the Xavier University Economic Society.

To prevent this, he said the electorate should set the standards for their leaders.

Magno is the presidential adviser on economic affairs and a board director of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). He also teaches political science at the University of the Philippines.

Magno urged the electorate to go for candidates who have clearly proven track records and to reject those who have no clear program of government.

The country has been rocked recently by a series of political upheavals, from the showdown between the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court over the initiation of a second impeachment case against Chief Justice Hilario Davide, to the political circus of candidates shifting party loyalties in the run-up to the May 10 national elections.

Vice President Teofisto Guingona and Sen. Loren Legarda bolted the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party last October.

Guingona now heads the advocacy group Bangon, while Legarda is the vice-presidential candidate of the opposition Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino.

Six contenders are vying for the presidency, including President Arroyo, who had promised on Dec. 30, 2002 that she would not seek a full six-year term of office.

Running against Mrs. Arroyo and the other contenders is Jesus is Lord (JIL) movement leader Eddie Villanueva, who was once a staunch ally of the President.

The united opposition, on the other hand has two presidential contenders, Poe, who has the endorsement of Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) chairman Sen. Edgardo Angara, and Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who is running on the endorsement of LDP secretary-general, Makati City Rep. Agapito Aquino.

Neither Poe nor Lacson are backing out of the presidential derby, despite their "gentleman’s agreement" to settle the matter between themselves and come out with only one standard-bearer for the KNP, of which the LDP is part. This has resulted in a deep rift between the two factions of the LDP, the country’s largest opposition party.

Also running for president are Alyansa ng Pag-asa standard-bearer Raul Roco and businessman Eddie Gil.

Last year, the mudslinging began early, with Lacson accusing First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo of ownership of the controversial Jose Pidal account, while the eight-year-old Kuratong Baleleng multiple murder case was reopened, with Lacson the principal accused.

Lacson claimed the reopening of the Kuratong Baleleng case was merely political persecution, while the First Gentleman said the Jose Pidal scandal was motivated by politics.

On the local level, since the electorate selects a new mayor, city council and other local officials every three years, elections often spell a lack of continuity for projects begun by a different set of local officials than those who win the balloting.

This often results in many half-baked projects and realignment of local government unit (LGU) funds to other projects.

In cases where the local executives do try to continue their predecessors’ projects, the momentum for these projects’ completion is lost.