THIS REFERS to two letters—“Economic, social programs to crush drug menace” by Julie L. Po of Linangan ng Kulturang Pilipino (Opinion, 8/9/16) and “Duterte must break away from neoliberalism” by Vencer Crisostomo, national chair of Anakbayan (Opinion, 8/11/16).
The letters called attention to several issues, including the need for President Duterte to manage the government by going beyond the drive against drugs (which has resulted in more extrajudicial killings) and the tough talk against the oligarchy (which, he says, promotes neoliberal economics benefiting the elite few at the expense of the poor majority). The “beyond” may be reached into by undertaking a multipronged development approach that will significantly improve the lives of the vast majority of Filipinos. Its best manifestation would be the country’s poverty incidence reduced to a comfortable level within his six-year watch as president.
The gist of the letters is in accord with those that the general public expects the Duterte administration to accomplish. In fact, the respondents of the July 2-6, 2016, Pulse Asia survey would like the new administration to address certain issues within the first six months. The issues are considered determinants of poverty reduction: controlling price increases (68 percent), stimulating the economy through employment (56 percent), crafting new propoor programs (55 percent), and reduced criminality in the entire country (48 percent).
Based on the empirical data collected via the internet, almost all countries around the world, which have public sector employment of less than 2 percent of the population, are hardly able to attain a population poverty incidence of less than 20 percent. Hence, unless the “Duterte factor” can make a difference, it will be more of a myth than a reality to expect that the country, with a public sector employment of just 1.5 percent of the population, can attain a population poverty incidence of less than 20 percent, which was the target set in the Philippine Development Plan (2011-2016) of the Aquino administration.
—EDMUNDO ENDEREZ, eenderez@gmail.com