No more excuses

A growing number of Filipinos believed the Philippine economy was in worse shape last year than it was the year before, according to a survey conducted in the middle of November by Pulse Asia. The survey showed that while 45 percent thought there had been no change in the country’s economic situation, 38 percent said it had worsened. That figure was more than double the 16 percent who thought the economy had become worse than the year before. In the same 2011 survey, 18 percent of the respondents said the economy had improved, down 12 percentage points from 30 percent the year before. The survey also saw approval for President Aquino’s performance slipping to 72 percent in November, or 5 percent less than his 77 percent approval rating in August last year.

What seems to be weighing down Mr. Aquino’s  approval rating more than anything else is the economic factor. While Pulse Asia noted that “disenchantment with the Aquino administration on selected national issues became more pronounced” in their last survey, the sharpest rise (in terms of percentage points) in disapproval pertained to its efforts at “reducing the poverty of many Filipinos.” Those who said the administration didn’t do well in this went up to 36 percent in November  from 21 percent in May of the same year.

The higher disapproval ratings also extended to other areas affecting the economic wellbeing of Filipinos. The percentage of people who disapproved of the government’s ability to create jobs rose to 21 percent from 11 percent. On controlling inflation, the percentage who disapproved rose to 37 percent from 21 percent. And on increasing workers’ pay, the disapproval rating increased to 25 percent from 14 percent.

It is also among the very poor that approval for the President is eroding fastest, with his approval rating among the Class E or the poorest of the poor dropping 11 percentage points from 86 percent to 75 percent, compared to 3 percentage points among the Class D (from 74 down to 71 percent) and the Class ABC (from 68 down to 65 percent). Administration officials should be alarmed by this sharp decline in approval among the very poor not only because it is among them that the President draws his strongest support, but also because they are supposed to be the main beneficiaries of everything that it is doing, including its determined drive to root out graft and corruption. That is the meaning of “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.”

While the new administration was settling in, people understood if the economy was not doing as well as the government promised. They could see the need to go slow on some projects to make sure their money was spent wisely. They also knew about the financial crises in various European countries and the economic woes of the United States and their impact on Philippine exports.

Very little has changed in the international economic climate since last year, but we don’t know if many Filipinos would be willing to accept that as a reason for further economic slowdown. We doubt if they would still look with patience as government dilly-dallies on its programs. After one and a half years in office, there should be no more excuses for the slow implementation of projects, whether done by government alone or in partnership with the private sector. Government has the money. Let it spend it in ways that will speed up growth, create more jobs and uplift the welfare of those who need help most. There are millions of poor Filipinos out there who cannot afford to wait.