RP can do better
President Arroyo’s seventh State of the Nation Address yesterday was a report card of what her administration has done in the previous year. That is what such annual speeches are supposed to be, but they are also meant to provide a blueprint of what lies ahead. Apart from asking Congress for electoral reforms and tougher penalties for those behind political killings, and warning anyone against standing in the way of “national interest,” there was a presidential wish for the Philippines to join the ranks of prosperous nations in 20 years.Getting there will require more than what the country has achieved so far in the six and a half years of the Arroyo administration. In her SONA, the President correctly emphasized the need for strengthening democratic institutions. This isn’t going to happen as long as laws are used for political harassment and too many murders and abductions remain unexplained.
The President has earned the right to brag about sustained economic growth since assuming office in 2001. She and the 13th Congress also deserve credit for the passage of unpopular but necessary measures to put the nation’s fiscal house in order. But economic growth has yet to be felt by the masses, and the country suffers when compared with the progress of its neighbors.
While the Office of the Ombudsman has been doing what it can to stamp out graft, the biggest corruption scandals hounding the administration remain unresolved, and are likely to be revived once again by the 14th Congress. As the President reported yesterday, airports are being renovated and airstrips built across the islands. But the administration still cannot open a much-needed new terminal in the country’s premier airport. The mess surrounding the NAIA-3 continues to scare away investors.
The Philippines is losing foreign investments to its neighbors, which can provide modern infrastructure without big-ticket projects getting bogged down in corruption scandals. Our neighbors can guarantee predictable business policies, an efficient regulatory environment and a level playing field for both foreign and local players. This has been the state of the nation for several years now. It isn’t doing badly, but it can do better.
