Habito being revisionist on Arroyo’s achievements

MY FRIEND Ciel Habito is too unkind with his one-paragraph dismissal of former president Gloria Arroyo’s economic legacy (“Presidential economic legacies,” Opinion, 11/3/15). To correct this revisionism, let me remind him of some of her achievements, which for the sake of brevity I will limit to just 10:

1. The value-added tax rate she “only” increased to 12 percent set the stage for fiscal reforms that fundamentally strengthened government finances and eased the way for sin tax reforms under the second Aquino presidency.

2. The roll-on, roll-off nautical highway she “only” introduced now allows Manila housewives to buy fresh produce at virtually the same price and quality as when they were harvested in Mindanao.

3. The conditional cash transfer program she “only” launched is now touted by the present Aquino administration as its flagship anti-poverty initiative.

4. More roads, bridges and classrooms built during her nine years than her predecessors in their combined 16 years, including game-changers like SCTEx and TPLEx.

5. Whole new industries created from scratch, like business process outsourcing (from a few hundred to half a million call center agents) and shipbuilding (we’re now among the world’s top five).

6. Overseas work opportunities expanded as an alternative for the country’s growing labor force (not to mention a durable source of remittances), pending basic productivity and investment climate reforms that should have been on the agenda of the second Aquino administration.

7. Unprecedented industrial peace, with labor strikes down to literally zero in some years.

8. A remarkable 37 straight quarters of uninterrupted economic growth, even in the depths of the 2008 global recession.

9. A stronger peso when she stepped down (P46.3:$1 in June 2010) than when she started her terms (P50.9:$1 in January 2001, P55.9:$1 in June 2004), unprecedented among modern Philippine presidents. Not the best thing for exporters and OFWs, true, but strong currency demand among investors and traders testifies to positive economic fundamentals.

10. Because of all the above, reversal of the country’s “BB/Ba” credit ratings. These improved from “negative” to “stable” to “positive” outlooks during her term before breaking into “BBB/Baa” investment grade starting in November 2010, shortly after she stepped down.

—GARY OLIVAR, [email protected]