The image makers

Free trade is starting to hurt us badly. The problem with this ideology is that it does not take into account the national interest of the country but only the cold-hearted goal of efficiency. Efficiency is unfortunately equated with the unfettered opening of our market to dumped imports from rich and efficient countries. The underlying rule here is survival of the fittest. It is Michael Jordan against midgets such as us.

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This is a mismatch. Free trade was pushed by the rich and forced upon the poor like the Philippines. So our Congress passed a law allowing for safety nets or safeguards to protect industries against import surges and unfair and illegal competition. But the Tariff Commission last week voted for free cement imports, no matter if thousands of people go jobless and their children go uneducated. That precedent-setting ruling would reverberate throughout all industries and effectively sentence our next generations to poverty and illiteracy.

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Importers, naturally, rallied behind the commission’s ruling. Why not? It was their license to kill more industries. They already killed the steel industry by bringing in Russian steel. They have killed our tire industry, too. Now they are after cement and tiles. We are talking here of a handful of importers with about five employees each, most of them contractuals, meaning they do not get benefits.

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Free traders, or more appropriately pro-importers, claim that the commission’s ruling allowing the free and uncurbed flow of cement imports is beneficial to the country. But that is farthest from the truth. Even the Tariff Commission conceded that imports were as pricey as local cement at around P135 per bag and yet are brought in at as low as P58 per bag. Thus, the consumers were fleeced and the commission just told the importers to continue and have fun.

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That the tariff commission did not look at national interest is clear. Safety nets like safeguards are meant to strengthen the free trade system by allowing countries recourse against excesses or to balance it with national interest. By saying that the cement industry had not been injured although it had lost 21 percent of its market to imports in four short years, the Tariff Commission has given an open-ended definition of injury. Is 50 percent still not injury? In Taiwan, by the way, they blocked Philippine cement last year once our exports hit only 4 percent.

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Already, there is a growing movement pushing for a re-examination of Philippine trade policy that has resulted in the death of industries and massive unemployment. In fact, a very first alliance of industries, agricultural producers, labor and non-governmental organizations has been born: the Fair Trade Alliance led by Bobby Tañada. It believes that liberalization can be a tool for national development if exercised to enhance local industries and agriculture and not to destroy it. Needless to say, the alliance lambasted the Tariff Commission for its ruling.

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Many agree with the comments of Charlie Agatep of Agatep Associates, Louie Morales of Image Dimension and Greg Garcia of Hemisphere Leo Burnett in Pia Hontiveros’ "Strictly Politics" program over ANC 21. The topic of discussion was "Packaging the President."

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All three PR and ad executives said President Gloria Arroyo’s  "Ina Ng Bayan" TV commercial, her wearing slippers at the Commonwealth public market, and her singing duet with Rosanna Roces did not suit her inherent personality and were inappropriate attempts to endear herself with the masses. The three execs said she is trying to imitate the style of former President Erap, but she does not have to. Morales said the image makers of the President should be focused in projecting theright image of President Gloria.

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Greg Garcia said the "Ina Ng Bayan" commercial is designed to win votes in an election campaign, but there is no election going on. And even in an election, the commercial should fit the medium, in this case television, and, therefore, there should be more visuals used in President GMA’s her appeal for unity.

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Charlie Agatep said the President should strive to be her real self without any drastic changes in personality.  We can gather and combine all the public’s perceptions of the President and find a common ground. Then we can determine what predominant image of her to project and focus on what transformation she has to undergo. Whatever changes she makes must conform to what she really is at her best. All the grooming, all the speech coaching, all the staging and media training will not work if the improvements do not fit her comfortably, Agatep said.

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Many would rather see the President projected as a role model and an inspiration for any young man or woman who yearns to reach a high position. Or as a good, intelligent President to be taken seriously by all, a President who can make good things happen. She should appear conciliatory and willing to listen, and should hold her horses and control her outbursts, especially in public. Hostility is a no-win strategy especially with the media, Agatep said.

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Thanks a million, and God bless the following kindhearted persons who lent a helping hand to the Good Samaritan Foundation:

* Anonymous medical practitioner, a regular donor, from the Chinese General Hospital, P5,000 (Security Bank 0186294)

* Romeo Tankiang of Singalong, Manila, P1,000 (Metrobank 223231)

* V.P. of New Manila, Quezon City, P5,000

* Dr. Joel and Maan Banes of Quezon City, P3,000

* Elsie C. Macalalad, Project 6, Quezon City, P500

* Samcats of BF Las Pinas, P3,000 through BPI

In the meantime, the Good Samaritan Foundation appropriated P2,050 for the tuition fee of indigent student Iriga City Wilson Dominguez

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Thoughts For Today:

The Lord said, I will strip you of
everything until you have nothing.
When you have nothing,
then you will have me,
and when you have me,
it is then you will have everything.

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Life isn’t always the way we want it to be.
What matters is we live with good intentions
and provide happiness for others.
Enjoy life in God’s grace.

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My e-mail addresses: [email protected] and [email protected]