Robust, Creative Recovery Plan Imperative

AS EXPECTED, the Philippines’ 2nd qtr. 2020 economic data is extremely sad but not surprising. The country is formally pushed into recession. The response to this must be one of determined refocusing of energies towards the recovery plan.

The “Build, Build, Build” is still a major pillar of the plan, it will generate desperately needed jobs and pave the way towards greater productivity in the years ahead, but these will not be enough.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte has said that he will be selling off state assets to pay off debts, this is necessarily an option but it must be done with care. Productive assets such as public utilities which generate income should not be disposed.

In fact, a bold productive move would be for government to re-acquire the privatized public utilities with the use of bonds and other such instruments to repurchase, re-assume ownership and administration of the power, water and road utilities to generate revenues the economy would need and make it easier to revive.

Government should sell or lease its land assets to large scale global agricultural, residential development, tourism and retirement industry developers and make the assets productive while generating employment.

Agriculture is not a problem during these pandemic years and the China market will grow very fast as its rebound has been early. Real estate development takes years and by the time tourism and residential projects kick in the coronavirus vaccines and remedies would already be widely used.

China is going to be the key to the revitalization of the Philippines economy, not only because its recent rebound makes it the early bird to rise up with but also because China is on the track of global historical economic preeminence due to its internal development and the Belt and Road Initiative.

Internally, China’s vast market will be recovering its purchasing power early in the period of global recovery, and its major program post-COVID 19 of developing its Western regions to tap its energy and development resources will also be growing and empowering its internal market.

It’s Belt and Road Initiative Network of transportation and telecommunication, as well as its little known but very essential Eurasian wide power grid can interconnect an unimaginably wide global mesh of resource bases and markets.

In the Philippines our population must be pushed into becoming a truly productive force, and by “push” I mean PUSH.

Our population must be treated like an army; for example, Sen. Bong Go’s “Balik Probinsya” should be organized by battalions of 500 families and sent to the boondocks to plant food and export crops but accompanied by AFP engineering units to build water sources, irrigation, schools, homes etc.

Tens of thousands of such production communities must be built all over the country and its islands big and small.

In my interview with our ambassador to China, Amb. Chito Sta. Romana, he reported our rising pineapple and avocado exports to China. We must to dominate the supply of such products to the world.

In industry, we must match or outdo other export-oriented countries in incentives to Chinese enterprises that will be gearing up for intense competition with the West.

Vietnam should not be allowed to dominate the field without a fight from the Philippines.

And this is where the re-acquisition of the public utilities is vital again to bring down costs to attract China’s investments and partnerships.