FDC Strat Paper

8/7/2019 FDC Strat Paper

1/9

HEnextfew yearswil l most l ikelybe a complexand volati lesett ingfor FDCwork. Nationally,thecrisisfactorsin bothpolit icsandeconomicswil l continueto challengethe new regime.Globally,thefinancial,energy,food and climatecriseswil l keepon sendingshockwavesto the polit ical,economicand socialsystemof the country.REGIMECHANGE,POLITICSSTILLIN CR's'SThe May 2010elect ionshas broughtabouta regimechange.Benigno" Noynoy" Aquinol l l ,leadOppos i t ioncandidate,won the presidencyby a big plural i tyoverthree major r iva ls . Giventhe cent ra lro leand vastp6wersof the Presidencyin the Phil ippinepresidentialsystemof governmentandina polit icalsystemrifewitheli tefact ionalism,mil i taryinterventionismand extra-legalpeoplepowerrevoltsl ikeEDSAll andEDSAll l , achangein Presidentsistantamountto a regimechange,not merelya changein administrat ion.Theelect ionofa new pres identis usual lyfo l lowedby a changeofmajorityin Congress,regardlessof partyaffiliationsinthe prev iouselec t ion,and a sh i f to f loya l t iesin thecourtsandthe mil i tary.Noynoy'svictoryin a peacefulelect ionis saidto be aresolut ionof the crisisof governancewhichhittheGMAregimein 2005whichwas occasionedby the " HelloGarci" scandal.Butthisresolut ioncannotbut beseenas temporaryin l ightof the deep-goingcrisisof thepolit icalsystemthat wasset up in 1987afterthe EDSAI civi l ian-mil i taryuprising.At the coreof this crisisisthe massiveand pervasivecorruptionat al l levelsandin a l l branchesof government ,the fa i ledsystemofpublicaccountabil i tyandchecksandbalancesbetweenthe branchesof government,the inordinatepowerof

the mil i taryin government,and a partysystemthatremainsa bigjoke.TheEDSAConstitut ionor the Constitut ionof 1987haslegit imizeda " democrat icspace" for the exerciseofcit izenpolit icalandcivi lr ightsandcit izenpart icipat ioin governanceaffairs.Thisis in recognit ionof the roleof popularforcesin the PeoplePowerRevoltof 1986However ,the po l i t i c a lo l i ga rc hyhas e f fec t i ve lr eoc c up iedmuchof thesespacesfas te rt han t hegrassroots-basedmassmovementscouldandwouldl iketo claim.After 25 years,inclusionis for al l ol igarchand l i t t l e fo r the w ork i ngpeop le ,the ind igenoupeoples,the womenandevenfor the middleclass.Examplesof const r ic t ionof po l i t ica lspacesfor thepeoplearethe emasculat ionof thepartyl istsystem,theprevalenceof moneypolit icsand dagdagbawasin theelectoralsystem,the continuingdenialof localsectorarepresentat ionin the localgovernments ,the useofextra-judicialki l l ingsagainstprogressiveactivistsandm ed ia pe rs ons , t he u t i l i z a t i on o f ram pancont rac tua l izat ionto defangt rade unions,and theout r ightk i l l ings ,harassments ,and bureaucrat icrun-aroundsto defeatfarmerclaimantsto CARPand IPRAThemediaestablishment,thoughmoreopenandliberacomparedto pre-1986per iods ,has only smal land


2/9

oftent imesinsignif icantspacesforrad i c a la r t i cu la t iono f s oc ia landpolit icalchanges.Peacetalksandotherinit iat iveswithMILFand the CPP-NPA-NDFhavef a i l ed pa r t l y bec aus e o f t hegov e rnm en t ' slack o f i n t en t andsubstant ia lagendaof re form.Theear l ierpeaceagreementwith theMNLFcrumbled.

FAILEDECONOMICSOF EDSAAccompanyingthis poli t icalcrisisisan ec onom icf a i l u reo f c o los s a lpropor t ions .N ine mi l l ionF i l ip inos ,a b ig p ropo r t i ono f t he s k i l l ed ,educatedand enterpr is inglabor force,havegoneabroadfor lackof opportunit iesat home.Mostof themleft the countryafterEDSAI (GraphL).Thephil ippinesisnow the most unequalcount ryin SoutheastAs ia(Graph2) . l t s Gin iindexof inequal i tyhas r isenby 3pointss ince1985.A vast eros ionof indust r ia landagriculturalproductionhastranspired(Graph3, nextpage) .Unemploymentstat is t icswhich inc ludeown accountandunpa id f am i l y l abo r has on l ybe t rayed a cons is ten t l yh i ghunemploymentthroughthe years(Table1, nextpage).A regimeofcheaplaborand cont rac tua landinformallaborhasallowedprof itex t rac t ion and the ra te o fexploitat ionof theworkersto rise,and thei r r ightsto organizeandco l lec t i ve ac t ion s ev e re l yundermined.Povertyincidenceis2L percentand subsistencerat ioi s 8 pe rc en t ac c o rd ing toimpover isheds tandards .Se l f -ratedpovertyshow5L percentaspoorand 40 percentasfoodpoor

orsubsistent.Womensuffermostinpoorfamil ies(Table2 &3, page4) .And ye t , i t i s a l l i n the nam eof dev e lopm en tandovercomingpover tythat gargantuanexternalanddomest icdebts have been incurredby success ivgovernmentssince1986.By end 2009,the country,sconsolidatedpublicsectordebt amountedto p 5.69G

GraphI

Graph2

8,o84L- 7'9-24 ,r*ffi

I qFAnnual RemittancesofoverseasFr rrp rn o s-/ e .a-stockEstimateofoverseas Filipinos

e i e-Annual DeparturesofOverseasFilipinoWorkers

\oga

lr i!( ti i'tl s s s | 2 o o ol ' - . | 2 o o , 1 2 o o 3l , * o I ' m 5 | - o e l , * , 1 , " " a l , " e | _ -Estrada

20

r8

16

14

L2o3 t o.9i i 8

6

42

o

OverseasFilipinosWorkers,Deployment

source: commission an overseas FitiPinos, Philippine overftas Ehployhent Administrdtion (poEA), Bangko sentralng pjtpinas

aoooo

90OO

Sooo

TOoO

6o@

5OOO

4OOO

3OOO

2000

1@ O

o

RegionalComparison-GiniCoefficientIndonesia

Viet Nam

Cambodia

M alaysia

La oPD R

I nailand

Singapore

Phi l ipp ines


3/9

t r i l l ion( Departmentof F inance) Governmentc la imsthat the Phi l ippinesno longerhavea debt problemcrumblein the faceof the rapidlygallopingdebt andthe baske tcasetha t is the Phi l ipp ineeconomy.Inaddi t ion,around40 percenton the averageof theGraRh3

annualbudgetofthe nationalgovernmentgoesto debtservice,thanksto the AutomaticAppropriat ionsLaw.Theloancondit ionalit iesof the InternationalMonetaryFundandthe WorldBankforcedon the Phil ippinestheStructuralAdjustmentProgramof the early1-980sand

ReformAct (EPIRA)hasmadepowerrateslessandlessaf fordablefor the ave, rageconsumerand enabledmonopolieslikethoseof Lopez,Aboit izandSanMiguelto grow biggeragainstthe promisedlevelledplayingfieldof EPIRA.Waterfol lowssuit.

On t op o f a l l t h i s , t hePhi l ippineshasto face up toanotherandmorecatastrophiresultof the developmenttracktha t has been pursuedfo rdecades :a much degradedenv i ronment and humansett lementswhichcanil ladaptto cl imatechangeresult ingtob ig annua ll ossof l i vesandresources .TyphoonsOndoyandPepengalonecostusP207bi l l ionor 2.7percentof GDPindamagesto crops,proper tyandinfrastructure.(WB,2009)Thisisthe fai ledeconomythathasemergedfrom fivedecadesof a developmentpathfirstlaid

out by the legaciesof our colonialpast,then pursuedby massiveindebtednesswith IMF-WBcondit ionalit ieand acceptingglobaltrade regimessuchas the WTOwhich imposedon t he P h i l i pp inesa neo- l i be raparadigmof dismantl ingstate controland regulationovermore and more areasof the economyin favorofthe globalanddomesticcorporations.whichthe EDSAregimescontinuedto

acceptand deepen.Deregulationofoi l hasmadeour peoplethe help lessvict imsof a continuousrisein foodandotherbasiccommoditypricesandt ransportfaresowing to a generalincreasein productionandtransportcost.The l iberalizationof agriculturehas s tead i l y underm ined f oodsecurity,agrarianreform,ecologicalrecoveryand affordablefood for all.Theprivatizationof the powersectorthroughthe ElectricPowerIndustry

rgr&Sfl&rB|rtlnltoolEYSSEIOI(slrr.rlAgricuhure,Fishin&& Foresul|!du$tr'TManufactu.ing5'st lcesBYO.ASSOfWm(t|.r35lWage& Sabrvworkers

5X-fder!:e{UnpaldFamllyWorkers

30.635 3:;613 3?"313 31,635 13,560 34.sgtt 35,08r

IableI37 36 36 35 35 35 3416 16 lg ls ls 1s :51 0 1 0 1 . 0 9 9 9 8{s {s il8 ,3 5{ 30 51

503El2

52 50 5l37 t7 3?1 1 1 2 1 7

Statistics(2008);CurrentLabor

52 32 5336 35 3512 t2 12Statistics(April 2010)

GNPShare,by IndustrialOrigin(ino/o)

eAgriculture, Fishery,Forestry-tndudry-Services-Net FactorIncomefromAbroad

t { lt qt ' l tqFilvlarcos

Source: PhilippineIndustryYearbookof


4/9

Iable2

FoodThreshold(permonth,l n 97 4

FoodPoorMagnitudeSource:NSCB2009

GLOBALSHOCKSTheglobalcrisesin f inance,energy,food and cl imatehavesentandwil lsendmoreandstrongershockwavesto the Phi l ipp ines.Theglobalf inancialcrisiswith i tsepicentreinthe UnitedStateshas shat teredneo- l ibera l ismand has put toquestiononceagainthe futureof capital ism.Whenthehousingbubbleburstinthe USin2007,theUSeconomyp lungedin t o a deep rec es s ionwhose end i s s t i l lnowherein sight.Despitetwo massivegovernmentbail-outs- the US5152bi l l ions t imuluspackagein 2008underBushandtheUS5 787bil l ionst imuluspackageinit iatedbyObamain 2009,and the tr i l l ionsof dollarspumpedin by theFederalReserve,the prospectof a long and deep US

4,869

Chinaexperiencinga GDPgrowthslowdownandJapanundngoingan exportdecline.The g loba lpusht o adop t g ian t i { s t imu lupackages"raisednationaldebtsand deficitsT h i s l a t e r m an i f es t edin t he Eu ropeanSovereignDebtCrisisin 2010involvingseverastates,namelyPortugal,lreland,ltaly,Greece,Spa inand Be lg i um .A c r i s i so f con f idenceeruptedbetweenthesecountriesand otherEu ropeanU n ion m em bersl i k e Ge rm anyaffectingexporterseven more.

1.45M

Tocounteractthe effectsof the crisisviaspendingandintroducingmoremoneyintothe economy,the UShasconduc ted"quant i t a t i veeas ing "wh ichm ean ttheF ede ra lR es e rv ep r i n t i ngU S 5600 b i l l i ont o buysecuritiesfrom the USTreasury.Thishasthe effectofdepress ingthe va lueof the USdol larwhichshoresupUSexpor tswhi le press ingdown the va lueof o thercountries'exportsto the US.ThePhil ippineeconomywith i tscloseandlong-standint ies to the UShasalsobeenhi t . GDPgrowth ratesdec l i ned in 2008 and d ipped f u r t he r i n 2009 .Furthermore,the loweredvalueof the USdollarmeantand consequentpesoappreciat ionmeantlessincomef o r Ph i l i pp ineex po r t e r sand Bus ines sProc esOutsourcingf irmsandlowervalueof remittancesfromoverseasFil ipinos.

economicrecessionisnowwidelyacceptedasa certainty.Unemploymentremainsat near1.0percentwith 15mil l ionAmericansout of work.Thecollapseof giantUS-basedmult inat ionalsl ikethe LehmanBrothers,BearStearns,Merri l lLynch,GoldmanSachsand MorganStanley ,FannieMae and FreddieMac as wel l as thehugesuddencont rac t ionof the USmarketsparkeda global f inanc ia landeconomiccr is isaffect ingthe Northand Southalike.The USaccountedfor morethana thirdof the growthin global Thebeginningsof thispart icularUSfinancialcrisisandconsumptionbetween2000 and 2QQ7.Major Asian its ramif icat ionsfor the USand the globe betray aexportersto the USlikeChinaandJapansuffered,with fundamentalcontradict ionof the capital istsystem:

4Ao/o 28%46%6o0/o

Iaile3MetroManilaVisayasSource:SWS,Oct2009


5/9

overproductionandlowwage.Thehousingbubblewascreatedby the proli ferat ionof subprimemortgagesm ade av a i l ab let o l ow - i nc om ehous eho ldsandind iv idualsin the US.Thesemortgageswere la teragg rega t edand secur i t i zedand s o ldt o s ec onda rymarketsand evenlaterto other f inancialinstrumentsandactivit ies,thuscreatinga longinterlockingnetworko f i nv es t m en t sbas edon t he v a lueo f s ubp r im emor tgages .W hen t he l ow -w agehous ingownerseventual lydefau l ted,a l l the va luesof the f inanc ia linstrumentsbasedonthesemortgageswerewipedout,bringingdown the hugecorporat ionswhich rel iedonthem heavilyfor years.A s imul taneousdevelopmentis the globalo i l c r is is .Beginningin 1998,the UnitedStatestookseriousstepsto copeupwith four majordevelopmentsin the globaloi l s ituat ion,andwhichareasfol lows:(1)the crossingof the 50 percentthresholdin U.S,impor ta t ionoffore ignoi l ; (2)the d isappearanceof sparewor ld o i lproductioncapacity;(3)concentrat ionof an increasingpercentageof al l remainingconventionaloi l resourcesirrthe PersianGulf;and (4) loomingfearsof peakoil.(JeanBellamyFoster,MonthlyReview,July-August2008)Alarmedby strategicstudiespredict inga loomingpeakoil within a t ime rangefrom this decadeto 2020,theUSstartedto taketo a strategyof maximumextractionof globaloi l andthe developmentof biofuels.Toalterthe globalo i l ownersh ips t ruc turewhere77 percentareownedby nationalcompaniesandonly10percentbyWesternmult inat ionals,theUSpushedanimperial istenergypolicywhichwouldemployeconomic,poli t icaland mi l i tarymeansto causethe pr ivat izat ionof thenat ionalo i lcompanies ,thegrantof equal t reatmenttobothdomesticandforeigninvestors,the weakeningandi f poss ib le ,the d isbandmentof OPECandthe openingof globaloi lto freetradeandcompetit ivemarkets.TheU S- ledwars i n l r aq and t he Pe rs i anGu l fa reaa remotivatedby this imperat iveapartfrom the desiretoe l im ina t ehos t i l e l s l am icf undam en t a l i s tf o r c eswhereverthey are strongand retal iateagainst9/.Lattackson USsoil.

The world can expecta steadyrisein the priceof oi land a narrowingof acce.ssto oi l causedby USand itsa l l i es 's t ra tegyand m ac h ina t i ons .Thesea re nowaggravatedby the pol i t ica lins tab i l i t yof manyArabregimeswhichare increasinglychallengedby popularevol ts .Wi th o i l deregulatedin the Phi l ipp ines,theec onom yhas been he lp l es s l yv u lne rab leto thesevagariesinpricesandaccesscausedbyexternalmarketsThe world food crisisof 2007-2008is an eye openerT he g loba lneo - l i be ra ld r i v eto l i be ra l i zet radeandpromoteexpor tagr icu l tureat the expenseof foodsecur i t y has p roduc ed an "ag f l a t i on " o r t heunprecedentedrise in the priceof maize,wheat andriceand otherfoodstuffs.Anotherfactoris the riseofbiofueloragrofuelproductionwhichclaimedlandsfromfood crops.St i l lanotherfactoris the hugef inanc iaspeculat ionthat r ideson commodityfuturestradingespecial lyby WallStreet.The Phi l ipp ineswi l l againbe at the receiv ingend ofg loba land reg iona lr i ce s ho r t agesand r i c e p r i c einc reas esas a res u l t o f th e l i be ra l i z a t i onandderegulat ionof i ts agriculture.Programslikethe theGrainSectorDevelopmentProjectandPolicyLoanhavesucceededin l ibera l iz inggra int rad ingand enlarg inprivateinvestmentin the sector.Loancondit ionali t iehavecontributedto reducingthe Phil ippinesfrom thestatusof a riceexporterin the 1970sto a r iceimportein the currentdecade.The new governmentis in factplanningto privat izethe NationalFoodAuthoritycit ingi tshugeindebtednessasa majorreason.Thesorrymessin t o wh ich the NFAf ound i t s e l f i s causedby thegovernment'sabandonmentof self-suff ic iencyin r icein favorof r iceimportat ion.Climatechangeis a matterof l i feand deathfor humansocietyandlifeintheplanet.Aglobalcatastropheawaitshumankindunlesscarbondioxideemissionsfromfossif ue l c ons um p t i onsa re d ras t i c a l l yreduc ed .Thecontradict ionis suchthat fossi lfuel consumptionlikethoseof o i l andcoalis heav i lybu i l tin tothe capi ta l issys temo f p roduc t i on .Th isex p la i nswhy t he l onesuperpowercapital istcountryin the world,the United


6/9

Statesis the most resistantto internationalaccordsseekingto drast ical lyreducecarbonemissions.T he C openhagenAccordo f December2009w h i l erecognizingthe fundamentalthreatof cl imatechangeto humanandplanetarysurvivaldoesnot recognizethehistoricalresponsibi l i tyof the big capital istpowersofthe North to carrythe main and strategicburdenofreversingclimatechange.Instead,equalresponsibi l i tyis assignedto both Northand South.The UN ClimateCancunSummitof December201.0adopteda GreenClimateFundwhichendowsS 30 bil l ionstart ing201.2andbuildingup to S 100bil l ionin 2020.Thisfal lsshorto f t he im m ed ia t erequi rementof S L00bil l ionas st ipulatedbythe InternationalPanelon C l im a t eC hange .W ors e , t he C anc unSum m i t nam ed t heW or ld Bank as theg loba l t r us t ee i ncl imatef inancing.with t hesedeve lopments ,thePhil ippineswil lbecomemore unableto f inancei ts c l imateadaptat ionandmi t igat ion.The resor tto loanswi l l becomea morec onv en ien top t i on .M eanw h i l e ,t he Ph i l i pp inesw i l lcontinueto losemore l ives,substantialport ionsof i tsGDPand suf fergreaterenv i ronmenta ldest ruc t ion.Damagesf rom TyphoonsOndoyand PepengreachnearlyP208bil l ionor USS4.42bil l ionor 2.7percentofGDP.PROSPECTSFORFDCThe main issuesaboutthe resul tsof the May 20L0elect ionrevolvearoundthe possibi l i t iesof changeorreformunderthe NoynoyAquinoregime.Thisis in sofar as we in FDCare concernedand the progressivecommunityas well, and presumably,the restof civi lsocietyorganizat ions.

Tograpplewi th th is b ig quest ion,we useanaly t icalensesasfol lows: 1.)theeconomicandpolit icalpowerbloc approach;2\ the socialand inst itut ionallens;3)the cu l tura llens ;and 4) the poss ib i l i t yof ex ternashocks.Thepowerbloclensshowsusa bigchunkof the nation'sb ig bus ines sand landedo l i ga rc hyas t he m a insupportersof Noynoy'sbidforthe presidency.Hischoiceof Cabinetmembersindicatesthe powerfulcloutto beexercisedby thesevestedinterestsin hispresidency.(SeeAppendix5 ) Thereare progressives,even leftists,namedasCabinetmembersbut they don'toccupythe

s t ra teg ic and m oreinf luentialposit ions.The s oc ia l andins t i t u t i ona l l ensrevealsthe l imitsof ane lec t o ra las c en t t opresiden t iaI pow ercomparedto the extra-c ons t i t u t i ona l onew h i c h a b roadOppos i t i ont o GM Aattemptedin 2006butf a i l ed . N oy noy is

boundto a constitut ionalordeLto establishedlawsandinst itut ionswhichalsoprotectthe targetsof hisavowedre fo rms . Fur thermore ,these ins t i t u t ions havede t e r i o ra t edand have been s o c o r rup t edby asuccessionof EDSAregimes,especial lybythat of GMA.Theculturallensleadsusto seethe limit ingnarrat iveof the 2010presidentialelect ion.Noynoyand Mar's"Kungwalangcorrupt ,walangmahi rap" drawsthepolit icalandeconomicchangesawayfromthestructuraand genderedcharac terof Phi l ipp inepover ty- thesys temici nequa l i t y ,t he pa t r i a r c hyand f o re i gndominat ion.Chartingthe historicalflowof eventsleadingto the 201-0elec t ionswi l l deepenthe conc lus ionsshownby thepowerbloc,socialandinst itut ionalandculturallenses


7/9

I t is the failureof the extra-constitut ionalOustGMAcampaignandthe turn to the electoralprocesswhichexpla insthe ascendancyofconservat iveforces andth ink ing in the reg imechange.TheUSpolicyof " nomar t i a l l aw , no coup , nopeoplepower" and "resortto const i tut ionalprocess"t owards t he c r i s i s o fgovernanceof 2005to 20L0proved to be a s t ra teg i cdeterrentto both the OustGMAcampa ignand GMAsdarkplots.

US,EuropeanandJapanesegovernmentsandsectionof localbig business,l ikethe MakatiBusinessClub,to

ra t i ona l i ze ,makemoree f f i c i en t and cu rbcorrupt ioninthe runningofgovernment.Therewil la lsobe accommodat ioto the demands t oinc reasec i v i l soc ie t ypar t i c i pa t i on in th econductof governmentGiventhis scenar io,ourma jo r advocac iesondeb t , deve lopment

env i ronmentandgender;leta loneour ca l l f o r a deve lopmenparadigmshift ,wil l f indlit t lesolaceor noneat al lin the hallsof powerThisisnotto saythatwe oughtnotexplore,engageand s t retchthel imi tsof c i t izenpart ic ipat ionandpressuretactics,includinglobbieand t ac t i ca la l l i ances .The newregime'spronouncementsin favorof transparency,accountabilityandc i t i zen par t i c i pa t i onmus t beengaged.A l l th isshouldhelpbui ldmass i vepressuref rom be lowwhichwhencombinedwith crackinsidemajorinstitut ionscanswing

Theresultisa newgovernmentthatis basicallyconservativeandwhosekey Cab ine t o f f i c i a l s andCongressionalsupportersareeitherapostlesorf irmbelieversincapital istneo- l iberal ism,witht iesorobeisanttd globalf inanc ia lins t i tut ionsandfearfulof USpower.We now see a paradeo f po l i cyp ronouncements tha t a retantamountto a " bus inessasusual" a t t i t ude and approach .Wi th"restrictedfiscalspace" (meaning,governmenthaslessmoneyto investand use)as start ingpoint,Public-PrivatePartnerships(PPPs)schemesarefullypromotedin manysectorsofthe economyunderthe gu id ingpr i nc ip lethat " thepr ivatesectoris the main engineof growth " (PPPwebsite).Previousmodelsof PPPshavegivenway toprivatizationandto the grantof sovereignguaranteesto privategroups.Debtscontinueto riseandremainama jo r d r i ve r o f governmentp rog ramsl i ke t hecondit ionalcashtransferfor the bottompoor.Un l i kebe fo re ,however ,we can expec tt he newMalacanangoccupantsto be more responsiveto thedecades-olddemandofglobal f inanc ia lins t i tut ions,the

$Only big tremors Irombelow and outside thesystem cdn open thepossibi l i t ies Ior aparadigm shift. Thisis notreaIly that fa r-fetched. The2070 electionsmay haveresolvedthe crisisol GMAgoverndncebut not thecrisisol the politicol dndeconomicinstitutionsthotwere set up in 7986.

tt

the dooropento biggerconcessionslikea stopto majorprojectsor enactmentsthatfurtherharmandendangeour peop le and t he env i ronmento r some newprogressivemeasures.Onlybig tremorsfrom belowand outsidethe systemcanopenthe possibil i t iesfor a paradigmshift .Thisisnot reallythat far-fetched.The2010electionsmayhaveresolvedthe crisisof GMAgovernancebut notthe crisiof the polit icalandeconomicinstitut ionsthat weresetup in 1986.We are alsoin the midst of the globafinancial,food,energyandenvironmentalcrisesthe endto whichis not in sight.###

fmntsW;,$[$MruWr.-


8/9

THETIMESonceagaincallfor sweepingchangesin the economy,politicsandcultureof our nation.We needanew resurgenceof people'smovementsthat will bring forth the alternativeparadigmsand strategiesandraisethe criticalmassof newforcesthat will createthese changes.Thesetasksarecomplicatedanddifficult.Butthewindsblowingacrossourcountryandtheglobearein favorofchange.Neoliberalismison thedefensiveglobally,shatteredby theglobalfinancialcrisis.Onthe otherhandnewalternatives,new movementsandnewstateandsocietalreconstructionshaveemergedto giveshapeto abetterworld.FDCcan and shouldplaya criticalrole in crystallizingalternatives,buildingbroaderconsensusandadvancingthe people'sstruggles.We call fo r EconomicJustice,Freedomfrom Debt and a New Economyand a NewPolitics.Our bannercall: BagongEkonomya,BagongSistema.1. Promotea New EconomicProgram( NEP) fo r the Philippinesanda newglobalvisionfor a betterworld.

a . Sc a le up andsystematizea coalition-widestudy, d iscourse andconsensus-buildingroundtheNEPandthenewglobalvisionfor a betterworldb. Crit iqueandchallengethe neo-l iberalandpro-elitePhilippineDevelopmentProgram(PDP)and s t ra teg iesand pol ic ieso f thePhi l ippineGovernmentin al l publ icarenas,pol i t icaland socialinst i tut ionsand wi th ingovernment.c. Bringthe battleof ideasto moreandmore communi t ies,workplaces,par ishes,

networksof the variousprofessions,and thetrimediaandsocialmedia.d. Raisethe creativelevelandtechnologof communicatingour ideasand messagestothe variousclasses,sectorsandinstitutionsofour society.

Freedomfrom DebtCoalition's

NadonalEconomicPlatformJtul .--

\ a \irrpplnes.....inorder to realizea rich and modern Phil2. Raisethe capacityof the Coalitionand renew

itsemphasison massmovementbuildingfor ouradvocacieson debtfiscalpolicy,publicutilitieslikepowerandwaterclimateandenvironmentandgender.Ourpriorityis the workingpeople,the youthandwomen.


9/9

3.

a. Strengthenadvocaciesandcampaignsto: a)resist/stoppolicies,projectsandmeasureswhichare harmfulto our peopleand theenvironmen| b) exposepalliativesor :falsesolutionsthat will onlyderai l st rategicandlastingsolutions;andc)formulatealternativepolicies,structuresandprocesses.b. Lodgethe keycampaignsin the debt-fiscalpolicy-socialdebt/socialwageissues,andin thoseof powerandclimatein bothnational,reg iona land g loba larenas.Promote strongerrecogni t ionand considerat ionfor thecontributionof womento the economy,thesocietyand the movementfor change.Theeconomicimpactsof speci f icprograms,proposalsand al ternat ivesto women'shouseholdwork,ch i l d carear rangements ,and accesstopaid workforcemust form partandparcelofthefundamenta lbasis for thebui ld ingof NEPand otheralternatives.Sharpen theintegration offemin i s tperspectivesinall FDCcampaignsandprograms.Strengthensupport for alternativesdirected

towardswoment empowerment,especialwi th respect- to accessto and controloresources,economicrights,reproductiveandmaternalhealthcare,migration,andtheprope

valuat ionof reproduct ivwor"k.4. Drawintheyoungpeoin significantnumbersto oucauses.Theyarenecessarytocontinuallyregeneratethemovement.Theybring inf resh ideas, messagetechnologiesandnewforceTrain more new younleaders wi th ra i setheoretical,communicativcampa ignand o rgan iz incapacities.

5. Expandandstrengthenour solidaritywith theglobaljusticemovementson debt,fiscalpolicypower,wate4climateandenvironment,gendeandhumanrights.

a. Buildour solidaritywith the resurgesocialistmovemenandgovernmenof Lat inAmericand progressivpo l i t i ca lmovements inothercontinentsb.S t reng thenexchanges andcoopera t i veendeavourswithprogressivesociamovementorgan iza t i ons ,

institutions,networksand individuathroughoutthe world.

HiKet.

EflH.ffi*6ac.Pt

ffi

Documents

FDC Strat Paper