How did GMA fare on her 10-point development agenda?

Successes 5, good WORK 2, FAILURES 3

IN 2004, President Gloria Arroyo announced her 10-point Development Agenda to be achieved before she leaves office in June 2010. These are:

1. The creation of six million jobs in six years via more opportunities given to entrepreneurs, tripling of the amount of loans for lending to small and medium enterprises and the development of one to two million hectares of land for agricultural business,
2. The construction of new buildings, classrooms, provision of desks and chairs and books for students and scholarships to poor families,
3. The balancing of the budget,
4. The “decentralization” of progress around the nation through the use of transportation networks like the roll-on, roll-off and the digital infrastructure,
5. The provision of electricity and water supply to barangays nationwide,
6. The decongestion of Metro Manila by forming new cores of government and housing centers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,
7. The development of Clark and Subic as one the best international service and logistic centers in the region,
8. The automation of the electoral process,
9. A just end to the peace process, and
10. A fair closure to the divisiveness among the Edsa 1, 2 and 3 forces.

The Manila Times, on examining the available evidence—data from government as well as private sector sources—finds that the Arroyo administration should be commended for achieving great successes in five of the points, for doing good work though not entirely succeeding in two points and failing—not entirely owing to its fault—in three of the points.

The successes are in the automation of the election process, the transport and physical infrastructure part of the effort to decentralize progress, the electrification of 99 percent of all our barangays and building of water access in most of the barangays, the development of the Subic-Clark Corridor as a major logistical hub in the region, and the creation of between six to 10 millions jobs.

The last one—employment—is, however, disputed by critics of the Arroyo administration.

The good work-done points in which only limited success has been reaped are:

(1) The Education for All programs, which includes not only the building of schoolhouses and classrooms, the hiring of more teachers, but also the raising of the school participation rate among the poor and the reduction of the dropout rate in elementary and high schools.

(2) The efforts to reunite opposed forces in Edsa 1, 2 and 3.

The failures are in: (1) Balancing the budget, (2) Decongesting Metro Manila and dispersing government leadership activity to the regions, and (3) the end of the New Peopl’s Army and Moro Islamic Liberation Front insurgencies.

One item in which the Arroyo administration must be congratulated and emulated is in having caused the gross domestic product (GDP) to grow for 30-straight quarters. One can only wish the impressive GDP growth also translated into palpable poverty reduction. –Manila Times