Cha-cha proponents urged to dismantle family dynasties’ control of economy

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Former finance secretary Jesus Estanislao urged proponents of Charter change yesterday to consider provisions that would dismantle the control held by a few families over the country’s economy.

"What I’d like to see in the case of the Philippines is an attack on the most serious economic problem that we have," he said. "We have too few families in control of so many economic resources."

He pointed out that a very small number of family dynasties continue to dominate regional politics and control great wealth and property.

Speaking to the media during a multisectoral governance summit here, Estanislao said a new constitution should provide for "greater competition, more openness, less favoritism."

"I realize I will go against the sentiments of some politicians," he said, while stressing the need "to introduce a lot more competition in every major sector of the economy to spread opportunities."

Estanislao, Institute for Solidarity in Asia chairman and president, cited the "horrors" arising from the control of economic resources by a few.

"Who can succeed against these families?" he asked. "What we need to do is to shake up the Philippine economic system."

Estanislao said the growing Philippine population should not be treated as a burden, but as a great asset and human resource.

He advocated "outsourcing some of the (local government’s) functions to be performed by private entities so there would be less graft and corruption and be more efficient."

"In a global economy, we have to look at population both at the local and global level. Globally, we have a problem. Many countries are ending up with fewer and fewer people. Many Filipinos are going abroad because there aren’t enough people out there in the rest of the world."

Estanislao cited studies indicating that for the first time in the history of Japan, the actual number of Japanese had started to decrease.

"China is facing it, Europe is facing it, some portions of Latin America is facing it. The exception is the United States in the developed world because it is taking in migrants so its population has gone beyond 300 million.

"We have been negotiating with the Japanese for a special trade agreement to bring the proper type of Filipinos into Japan, particularly nurses, because they do not have enough people.

"The big problem of Japan is that if they do not do this (take in foreigners), by the year 2150, the last Japanese will have died."

Estanislao said "the problems that people were afraid of in the 1970s were the reverse of the problem that we have today," Estanislao said.

"In the 1970s, the problem was there were too many people in the world. The problem of many countries today is that there are not enough people," he noted.

"The moment you think of globalization, free trade, free capital, dollars coming in, goods and services going out, and so on, the third element that has to come in would be relatively free movement of people."

Estanislao said he has been telling Americans and Europeans that while globalization always involves free trade or movement of goods, services and capital, "they should not forget the third movement, which is human resources."

"Increasingly, there is pressure now for a relatively free movement of people," he said.

"For as long as we take care of our domestic (concerns), for as long as we take care of our local government, the overseas Filipino becomes truly an asset not only in the country, but the Filipino somewhere else in the world is helping the Philippines also," he said.

Estanislao said this trend towards free movement of people would be to the advantage of Filipinos who have skills needed in foreign countries.

"If we have to talk about a constitutional provision, let’s acknowledge the fact that our people are our biggest asset," he said.

Filipinos abroad brought back to the country about $13 billion in dollar remittances during the last Christmas season, he added.