Philippine Economic and Political Situation, July 2010
Aquino Rising, Change Underway?
MIDYEAR 2010:
Midyear Briefing, July 15 and 16, 2010 UP Balay Internasyonal, UP Diliman Quezon City
IBON Foundation is an independent development institution established in 1978
2 IBON Economic and Political Briefing
15-16 July 2010
Aquino Rising, Change Underway? he start of a new administration after the May 10, 2010 national elections has raised public hopes of a break from the past. Various crises marked the last decade under the Arroyo administration: highest-level graft, corruption and electoral fraud, breaches of the rule of law, systematic human rights violations and political repression, and greater economic misery of the people. These were due to the Arroyo government, which is over, but as well to other deeper and more daunting underlying conditions. The Philippines faces serious challenges on many fronts: tens of millions in chronic poverty, extremes of social inequality, a recurring fiscal emergency, eroded long-term economic viability amid a still unfolding global crisis, severe political repression, weak and undemocratic institutions of governance, systemic corruption, armed conflict, and lack of national sovereignty. There could be an interlude of relative calm in the country especially compared to the persistent turmoil of past years as a new government coalesces around the Aquino administration with its fresh and solid mandate. Yet undercurrents of possible tension remain: intra-elite rivalries, fragile public finances, an unbalanced economy, and unremitting demands for social, political and economic justice. If new and significant directions are not quickly and decisively charted, the country could easily revert to its accustomed instability. It is only two weeks into the new administration but initial efforts of the Aquino government in this critical early stage, measured against the gravity of the accumulated problems, do not yet give reason to be optimistic over the long-term. There are
MIDYEAR 2010:
Midyear Briefing, July 15 and 16, 2010 UP Balay Internasyonal, UP Diliman Quezon City
IBON Foundation is an independent development institution established in 1978
2 IBON Economic and Political Briefing
15-16 July 2010
Aquino Rising, Change Underway? he start of a new administration after the May 10, 2010 national elections has raised public hopes of a break from the past. Various crises marked the last decade under the Arroyo administration: highest-level graft, corruption and electoral fraud, breaches of the rule of law, systematic human rights violations and political repression, and greater economic misery of the people. These were due to the Arroyo government, which is over, but as well to other deeper and more daunting underlying conditions. The Philippines faces serious challenges on many fronts: tens of millions in chronic poverty, extremes of social inequality, a recurring fiscal emergency, eroded long-term economic viability amid a still unfolding global crisis, severe political repression, weak and undemocratic institutions of governance, systemic corruption, armed conflict, and lack of national sovereignty. There could be an interlude of relative calm in the country especially compared to the persistent turmoil of past years as a new government coalesces around the Aquino administration with its fresh and solid mandate. Yet undercurrents of possible tension remain: intra-elite rivalries, fragile public finances, an unbalanced economy, and unremitting demands for social, political and economic justice. If new and significant directions are not quickly and decisively charted, the country could easily revert to its accustomed instability. It is only two weeks into the new administration but initial efforts of the Aquino government in this critical early stage, measured against the gravity of the accumulated problems, do not yet give reason to be optimistic over the long-term. There are