After its marathon hearings and deliberations, the House Committee on Oversight headed by Congressman Danilo Suarez forwarded its assessment of the current administration’s progress last year on the 10-point agenda set by GMA, giving it a rating of substantial compliance.
(The report uses three rankings: exemplary compliance, substantial compliance and modest compliance on each of the 10 agenda entries.)
The overall assessment seems to be a fair rating given the grudging but still high grades given by Arroyo’s more critical opponents with regards her adeptness at managing the economy. (Almost all of her detractors though have flunked her on the social and political side.)
An economist, Arroyo has been given the rare opportunity of being the country’s chief executive for more than eight years, allowing her to set on the ground some basic economic policies that normally need time before bearing fruit.
Without doubt, her stewardship has been crucial in steeling the country’s economy against internal and external challenges, the biggest of them being the current global economic slowdown.
Such economic resiliency, according to Suarez in his report, is largely because of the overarching goal to achieve a balanced budget through fiscal reforms, among through the amendment to the excise taxes imposed on cigarettes, cigars, alcohol and distilled spirits, the Attrition Act, the RVAT Law and the Tax Amnesty Law.
Not in recession
The objective of balancing the budget was almost within grasp in 2007, according to the report, but the target period had to be moved to 2010 with the collapse of the US economy, the country’s biggest export market. Nevertheless, unlike its ASEAN neighbors, there was comfort in the fact that the Philippines did not fall into recession.
The House committee gave an exemplary rating on the administration’s progress with regards balancing the budget, citing a deficit that is still within the target, a deficit-to-GDP ratio still below one percent, the highest GDP growth in 31 years in 2007 7.08 percent, a 2008 GDP posting of 3.84- percent growth despite the global economic downturn, and an inflation rate at its lowest in 22 years at 1.5 percent.
The committee also gave the administration an exemplary mark for progress in building its nationwide transportation and digital infrastructure. The envisioned nautical highway has improved transport and trade among the island provinces of the country, according to the report.
There are now 32 ports constructed and fully operational, opening three national corridors for trade and commerce. The digital infrastructure, on the other hand, saw a steady positive progress from 2004 to 2009 in the Business Process Outsourcing-Information Technology industry.
Some 372,000 employees are now working in contact centers, back offices, software, transcription, engineering and animation outsourcing services, generating $6.1-billion revenues for the government.
The report similarly gives an exemplary rating to the task of job creation. The Arroyo administration since 2004, according to Suarez, already breached the upper 10-million mark, with a total of 11,638,548 jobs created in the housing, micro-financing, small enterprise lending, tourism, agri-business and land development, economic zones, infrastructure, information and computing technology, and mining industries.
An exemplary rating is likewise awarded to the “Healing the Wounds of EDSA.” Former President Estrada was granted pardon by President Arroyo. Reforms were already instituted within the AFP. The PCGG, under the Arroyo administration, remitted P62.935 billion to the Treasury for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program from 2004 to 2009 representing 74 percent of the total P85.107-billion remittances from 1986 to June 30, 2009.
Substantial compliance
On the administration’s 10-point agenda, six have been given ratings of substantial compliance. On “Education for All,” the committee adjudged compliance as substantial, with the actual classroom construction (72,367 from 2004 - 2008) exceeding the target of 6,000 classrooms annually.
This greatly improved the classroom-student ratio to 1:39 for elementary and 1:55 for secondary schools. The number of schools with three-class shifts has gone down to 38 in 2009 from a high of 152 in 2006.
Automated elections got a rating of substantial compliance as Congress and the budget department had already provided for the legislation and actual release of P11.3 billion for this. COMELEC has already awarded the contract to the winning bidder and is now in the thick of preparations for the 2010 automated elections.
On the “Termination of Hostilities” agenda, the committee rated the Arroyo administration in substantial compliance as it acknowledged all the efforts the government has made to reach out, negotiate and forge peace agreement with various rebel groups.
The agenda “Electricity and Water for All Barangays” on the average got a substantial rating. The number of barangays with accessible electricity sources reached 98 percent, while coverage of waterless barangays rost to 57 percent.
Decongesting Metro Manila is still underway, with the construction of rail networks, infrastructure and transfer of government offices outside Metro Manila. Thus, the Arroyo administration received substantial compliance rating for this agenda.
The thrust of the Arroyo administration to develop Subic and Clark as the region’s logistics hub received a rating of substantial compliance. SCTEX now is fully operational, and investments both for Subic and Clark have increased, generating 85,324 and 55,301 employment respectively for Subic and Clark. The Diosdado Macapagal International Airport passenger traffic is increasing, with more than 500,000 passengers registered in 2008.
All in all, the Arroyo administration seems to have fared well in the attainment of its goals even in the midst of all the noise arising from controversial government projects linked to the President’s office or her key men.
It’s a pity that the administration’s fiscal reforms and hard work that have somehow cushioned against an economic and financial meltdown will all go unappreciated.
Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at reydgamboa@yahoo.com. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.