Whose interest is Sen. Poe really serving? PDU30 should veto her PSA amendments
LAST Thursday, January 13, we conducted a Webinar on the “Risk and Opportunities of Foreign Investments and Amendments to the Public Services Act, on PH Post-Pandemic Recovery.”
This was very timely and imperative as the Covid-19 pandemic crisis may be reaching its final stages but the economic calamity brought about by the two-years of pandemic is deteriorating into a slow-slog in kicking off the country’s economic recovery.
Here’s a snapshot of the economy: the Philippines has yet to recover 1-million jobs displace by the collapse of 130,000 small, medium and large-scale businesses that shut down due to the pandemic.
Based on the 2021 List of Establishments Preliminary Results, up to 259,707 establishments were on ‘permanently closed’ status, which 53.5 percent ceased operation between the year 2020 to 2021.
Of particular significance in the webinar are the messages of former cabinet spokesman and now senatorial candidate Atty. Harry Roque and PH-CH Mutual Cooperation Society Chairman and APCU (Association for PH-CN Understanding) Deputy Secretary-General Mr. Peter Laviña.
No less important were the message of Dr. Henry Lim Bon Liong of the FFCCCII, Mr. George Siy of IDSI and former Agriculture USec. Ms. Tetchi Capellan, all of which we will provide snapshots here.
The focus, however, was mainly on the amendments to the Public Services Act (PSA) introduced by Senator Grace Poe through its “national security” provisions, and now awaiting President Duterte’s consideration and signature.
Secretary Harry Roque declared the amendments “Discriminatory to China” which has many state-owned and run public services firms investing, solely or jointly with national partners, in projects in at least 120 countries across the globe.
Sec. Roque declared the Poe amendments contradictory to the intent of the law to liberalize public services to encourage even state investors, to come and help the country in its post-pandemic economic recovery drive.
Mr. Peter Laviña was even more direct, declaring the Poe amendments as “legislating Sinophobia” and called on President Rodrigo R. Duterte to veto the proposed law targeting China’s state-enterprises to prevent them from helping the nation’s economic recovery.
Sen. Grace Poe and family had dual US-Philippine citizenships until she took steps to change her status to become a Philippine senator.
Her husband, Neil, had been engaged with US NSA (National Security Agency) and the CIA prior to his joining Grace in the Philippines.
Many believe it is Grace Poe that is the national security risks in the country today; our think tank writer-editor, Ado Paglinawan, proposed that Poe should first repeal the Dual Citizenship Law if national security is her real concern.
Foreign investments and control in the Philippines public services and utilities have been a growing reality since the post-Edsa People Power governments opened the economy.
President Fidel Ramos brought the trend to new heights with his fire sales of Philippines state assets and opened doors to foreign power companies through his Independent Power Producers (IPP) and PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) program in the privatization of the power sector.
Koreans have taken Angat Dam and the Casecnan Hydroelectric projects; Singapore Telecoms is dominant in Globe Telecom through a complex of corporate shareholding scheme while the Indonesian Salim group clearly controls Smart Telecom and PLDT through the equally complex shareholders structure of Metro-Pacific.
One of the ironies of these arrangements is that they are heavily profit-oriented, while China’s state-led investment with host countries are often development oriented.
From 2005 to 2019, ASEAN enjoyed huge investments from China’s state firms. Topping the list are Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore with 57 percent of all investments, while the Philippines is at the bottom with Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei and Thailand with 6 percent or less of the investments.
Singapore takes Chinese State investment but ironically it uses its financial power to invest in Philippine telecoms for huge profits.
Sen. Poe is either serving the interest of the US or the oligarchs, or both, in obstructing the cooperation of the Philippines with China’s state firms in public utilities and services using the sham pretext of “national security.”
China is no threat. It is in fact a beneficent factor in Asia and Philippine economic development not only today but over the past 1,000 years.
It is the U.S. that has always obstructed Philippine growth to keep it dependent on the US—let us not forget the ‘Dodd’s Report of 1946.’
The post-World War II report to the US Congress (Reece Committee) by Norman Dodd, chief committee investigator and which President Truman accepted, has maintained up to now the US’ policy of keeping the Philippines ‘de-industrialized.’
(The Dodd’s Report and the US policy towards the Philippines was denounced by Filipino industrialist, Salvador Araneta, in his book, ‘America’s Double-Cross of the Philippines,’ Sahara Heritage Foundation, Second Edition, 1999—Editor).
China, meanwhile, since the 1955 Bandung Conference, seeks to develop all Third World nations.
Hampering this effort is the fear of local oligarchs that Chinese state-firms helping the Third World liberate themselves from the clutches of their oligarchies would succeed.
Mr. Henry Lim Bon Liong stressed that the Philippines can still see 6 percent growth in 2022 with the right policies;
Mr. George Siy reminded all through a video of the late PM Lee Kwan Yew’s advice for the Philippines to open up; and, Madame Tetchie Capella discounted the retail liberalization bill as having been overtaken by digital retailing. She also provided insights into the renewable power imperatives for economic development.
(Samahan si Ka Mentong Laurel at mga panauhin sa “Power Thinks” tuwing Miyerkules @6pm Live Global Talk News Radio (GTNR) sa Facebook at sa Talk News TV sa You Tube; at tuwing Linggo 8 to 10am sa RP1 738khz AM sa radyo).
