Giving substance to growth

Most everyone agrees that the announcement this week of a 7.1 percent growth in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP, or the sum total of goods and services produced by a country) for the third quarter was an unexpected surprise, one that bodes well for the Philippines’ short to medium-term prospects.

Or at least it should.

Every so often, it feels good to know that the Philippines really is going places. Being the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia is no small achievement for the government considering that other nations in the region (and the world) are still struggling after the global economic meltdown of a few years ago.

It is worth noting that the Philippines barely felt the effects of that meltdown as it was taking place. The country emerged from that dark period relatively unscathed, and has since been trekking the path of steady growth with nary a roadblock in its way.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that the heady economic growth is sustained for the next few years.

As expected, there will be those who will either question the GDP expansion—could it be a case of window dressing?—or say that there is still a problem of distribution of wealth and income. The wet blankets will insist that growth may be felt by a segment of the population, but there will be a greater segment for whom the supposed progress will be meaningless.

Certainly, there will be those who will be left behind. They will not feel whatever ballooning GDP or GNP (gross national product, which includes earnings from the millions of overseas Filipino workers) is achieved by the country. There will be those who will be born poor, live all their lives in abject poverty, and die with nothing to their names.

Critics of the administration will point to the E class and ask why not enough has been done to uplift their lot.

They fail to see that setting the stage for the business sector to thrive by providing more and more jobs is the government’s main job. It cannot take care of the individual needs of millions of poor Filipinos.

A government that looks at the macro-economic picture can do more than one that nitpicks the micro-economic issues, which is what politicians do to win votes. This is what past administrations have done. From the Ramos administration’s Mang Pandoy to the Arroyo administration’s paper boat kids, extending a helping hand to a few while conveniently ignoring the rest causes those who do not receive dole outs feeling bitter and frustrated.

Despite all the assistance thrown his way, the late Mang Pandoy still died a pauper. Others in his same dire straits who never received a single centavo from the government could not forgive him for wasting all the aid he received.

Hopefully, the present Aquino administration has learned from the experience of past governments. Even the poorest of the poor do not seek charity, but would much prefer that decent paying jobs be made available for them.

No one left behind

In the United States, there is a “no one left behind” policy which is used for education, as well as the military.

Simply put, the policy states that school children who have fallen behind in their studies should not be left to fail or to fend for themselves. All efforts must be taken to help them catch up.

US Marines also say that in the battlefield, no one should be left behind, no matter how seriously injured. Even the remains of those killed in action are to be brought home, as a matter of policy.

The Aquino administration could adopt a similar policy of not allowing the poorest of the poor remain that way. Existing programs can be tweaked and new ones crafted which would provide employment for everyone, even those who have not had any formal education.

It may seem like a pipe dream now, but who is to say that the E class of our society cannot be totally eradicated by providing jobs for all?

The only true damper to the 7.1 percent growth is the fact that the country still has a high unemployment and underemployment rate. Imagine how much higher our GDP can be if unemployment were to shrink to low single digits. Double digit growth of the economy can be attained, and in one generation the Philippines can become a fully developed nation.

We need only look to neighboring China to see that this can be achieved—at least in the coastal cities and provinces. We are aware that in China, the country with the highest rate of GDP growth, many of the Chinese in the hinterlands are also as poor as the poor of the Philippines and the rest of te world.

In the Old Testament, when God asked Cain where Abel was, the sibling replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

As a people, we Filipinos know the answer to that one. We are our brother’s keeper. We take care of those who have less in life. We cannot and must not leave anyone behind. –Sherwin V. Arnaiz, Manila Times