Binay SONA: ‘Majority still poor, hungry, jobless’

MANILA, Philippines – The counter-State of the Nation Address (SONA) by Vice President Jejomar Binay debunked the brilliant, desirable economic figures President Benigno Aquino III shared in his last SONA.

He said the rewards of said growth remained “exclusive” to those already rich and those close to the President like his friends, classmates, and members of his political party, the Liberal Party, Binay said in Filipino in his “true SONA” on Monday, August 3.

“Ngunit hindi kayang pagtakpan ang umaalingasaw na katotohan na pilit itinatago at ipinagkakaila: pagkaraan ng limang taon, marami pa rin ang naghihirap, nagugutom at walang trabaho,” he said.

(But the glaring truth cannot be suppressed, the truth that has been hidden from and denied the Filipino people in the last 5 years: majority are still poor, hungry and unemployed.)

Smashing records not

For instance, Binay said that while country’s foreign direct investments (FDIs) exceeded P6 billion ($131.24 million) in 2014, Aquino did not say this is the lowest FDI among countries in Southeast Asia.

Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia had higher FDIs compared to the Philippines, the Vice President noted.

He said bulk or 21% of the FDIs went to financial and insurance activities, which did not generate enough jobs.

“Kahit na totoong record-breaking ang foreign direct investments noong 2014, hindi rin naman ito nagresulta sa trabaho para sa nakararami,” BInay said. (Even if the 2014 foreign direct investments are indeed record-breaking, they did not result in employment for the majority.)

The labor-intensive sectors, like manufacturing and mining, got only 6% of the FDIs, he added.

Binay also said that while the country’s upgraded credit ratings helped attract the interest of foreign investors, they did not translate into actual investment.

“They remained just that: an interest to invest and nothing else,” he said.

“Bakit? Dahil malaking balakid sa pagpasok ng FDI ang pagtutol ng administrasyon na amyendahan ang mga economic provisions ng saligang batas. Ito ang malaking balakid sa pamumuhunan ng  mga dayuhang investors,” Binay stressed.

(Why? Because the administration’s refusal to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution is a stumbling block for the entry of foreign investors.)

He added that if the economic provisions of the Constitution were amended, like the foreign ownership rule, the primary sectors of the country would be opened to foreign investors, resulting in increased jobs and employment opportunities for Filipinos. (READ: Monopolies, duopolies hamper PH inclusive growth)

Binay said that if such economic provisions are amended, public utilities will be opened up and will speed up formation of public-private partnerships and much-improved services and facilities for everyone.

Very low threshold

Binay also questioned figures flaunted by the President in last week’s SONA showing a decrease in the number of poor Filipinos.

“What the administration failed to tell us is that they used a very low poverty threshold. For them, a person who has P58 to spend in a day is no longer considered poor,” he said in Filipino.

The Vice President instead cited a Social Weather Station survey, which showed that 5 in 10 Filipinos said they are poor.

“That is more than 11 million people saying that up until today, after 5 years of traversing the ‘right path,’ they remain stuck in poverty,” Binay said.

The Vice President also criticized Aquino for saying that 3rd year college students are already being recruited for work.

“The question asked by thousands of fresh graduates that stand in line, whose feet have grown calloused from going to job fairs, is, ‘where and to whom do we apply?'” he said.

He said if such were only true for the majority, then the Philippines would not be the country with the most number of poor and unemployed in the ASEAN region.

Binay also questioned Aquino bannering that there are fewer overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) now because there are a lot of job opportunities in the country.

According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration itself, there has been an increase in the number of Filipinos wanting to leave the Philippines to find work in other countries – from 2,500 average daily deployment before Aquino became president, the number rose to 6,092 during the first quarter of this year, Binay said.

The administraion is also refusing to admit the real reason why OFWs are returning to the country, he said.

“There is the policy in Saudi Arabia where citizens are given priority over overseas workers. There is also the financial crisis in Europe, which led to the closure of businesses and massive layoff of workers. This happened almost at the same as the Middle East and African crises that affected numerous OFWs,” Binay said.

And while President Aquino enumerated his accomplishments, Binay noted he apparently forgot to mention a number of the said programs were started or were planned by previous administrations, as early as the time of President Fidel Ramos and merely continued or completed by the Aquino administration as required by government rules.

“Kinikilala natin na sa nakaraang limang taon, gumanda ang numerong pang-ekonomiya. Ngunit kilalanin din natin na may malaking ambag dito ang mga repormang nasimulan sa nakaraang mga administrasyon na ngayon lamang nagsisimulang magkabunga,” Binay said.

(We should also recognize that the past administrations contributed reforms that are now bearing fruit.) – Rappler.com