Economic zones or political proprietorship

After reading about Mayor Herbert Bautista’s idea of developing “manufacturing districts” to boost investment opportunities in his city, I started to think about “Economic Zones” all over the country and wondered just how different the Quezon City Model would be. Can Mayor Bautista and his associates develop districts that will truly generate employment, which is the first benefit from “Manufacturing Districts”? What sort or type of “manufacturing” can Quezon City host considering that the city is for the most part “residential” in actual use and classification. Finally, how can we help Herbert Bautista develop the districts without having to spend billions of pesos just like the national government has done for economic zones around the Philippines?

Without doubt, Herbert Bautista’s idea is good and timely, considering the country reportedly has one of the highest unemployment rating in the region, because of very little manufacturing. But the guarantee of more jobs will first have to overcome the twin curses that come with economic zone type solutions. First of all, economic zones cost a lot of money because it is a heavy infrastructure investment. But even worse than the huge capital outlay of taxpayers’ money, many of us silently live in denial of the fact that most economic zones have failed to deliver in terms of projected investments from private sector, the number of jobs as well as direct contributions to regional or provincial development.

My impression is that the Philippine experience with economic zones has generally been disappointing compared to other member nations of the ASEAN, because we failed to immunize the said zones from politics and wanting more than jobs and investments. They have also failed because government has allowed wages to become politicized instead of rationalized and based on qualifications and not demands. What cannot be denied is that certain politicians, particularly Senators, have greatly benefitted from having a dedicated economic zone practically in their backyard. I don’t know how accurate the public impression is, but many people do call certain economic zones as the political playground and personal income generation zones of some Senators.

In support of the Quezon City plan, we could ask why should economic zones be located in far-flung regions while millions of readily available labor, are on standby right here in Metro Manila? Yes we want to be fair and we want to develop provinces outside Metro Manila. But if economic zones serve no other purpose than to perpetuate the political and economic power of certain politicians, then it is about time we call a spade a spade and a lie a lie.

If Mayor Herbert Bautista is serious about pursuing the idea, he may not even have to set aside whole areas and go through the process of developing the manufacturing districts immediately. For starters, Quezon City could study the possibility of “designating” or “declaring” certain factories that pass requirements and design as “stand alone economic zones.” In short give specific factories all the privileges and perks of locators in economic zones without having to spend billions of pesos to fence off, manage and operate huge economic zones that have barely enough businesses to justify the investment.

At the end of the day, it would be cheaper to have a monitoring crew visiting the companies or factories, they won’t have to invest in infrastructure and it would be a lot easier to build up or fold up. In effect the QC government can evaluate factories and give them a “seal” as a “stand alone” Economic Zone. In this scale, Quezon City can immediately try things out without having to move heaven and earth or pander to politicians only interested in their single political proprietorship.

If Quezon City can be “politically” independent minded instead of being politically correct, they can even experiment on the idea of a “No minimum wage zones” where compensation can be based on production output, piece meal, or job qualification. This approach is based on the philosophy that minimum wage mandates actually hurts the larger number of poor people, who lose out through ignorance, lack of education or training to more qualified people. In an organized employment system, the poor and “ignorant” don’t get the jobs, and other employers retain only the most productive in order to get the most from their minimum wage compliance.

In a No-Minimum wage zone, employers can “afford” more employees if they pay piece meal or based on output. People who never made it past high school can still get jobs for work that may not require diplomas or formal training.

*      *      *

There is once again a debate on whether it is time to restore the death penalty or not. Ironically, the people who are first to speak against the death penalty are people who live in exclusive villages, have government supplied body guards or people who are likely to face the firing squad for their acts of rebellion, treason, insurgency or their lawyers.

For the moment, I have no problems supporting the death penalty for drug dealers. I challenge any Senator or bleeding heart who is not convinced that the death penalty works as a deterrent, to take the first plane to China, Malaysia, Indonesia or Singapore and bring half a kilo of cocaine or shabu. 

While all other countries have slowed the drug trade inside their borders along with the related crimes, the Philippines has become a manufacturing and transshipment point of illegal drugs largely because here foreign chemists, dealers, and drug mules are sent back where they came from. Our weak response has translated into an attractive proposition for makers and dealers of illegal drugs. I guess the strongest argument for the death penalty is becoming a victim. As they say, walk the pain and the horror of the victims and their families and then try to convince me about being civil. When you watch the grieving victims, it almost makes you wish the same to happen to politicians who use the controversy for political mileage. Until then, we can only watch in the sidelines as legislators and political animals roll out the welcome mat for dope manufacturers and dealers.