Controls started Filipino industries

Title

Language

English

Source

Volume XIX (6) June 1967

Year

1967

Subject

Philippines -- Economic conditions

Economic growth -- Philippines

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

[This is a commonsensical and frank approach on the subject of controls versus free enterprise in relation to the economic growth of the Philippines.]

Fulltext

■ This is a commonsensical and frank approach on the subject of controls versus free enterprise in relation to the economic growth of the Philip pines. CONTROLS STARTED FILIPINO INDUSTRIES It should not be too sur prising that President Mar cos balks at giving any sug gestion at this time that his administration may be con sidering the restoration of exchange controls. The re turn of controls could be interpreted, after all — and undoubtedly will be so in terpreted by Mr. Marcos’ political enemies — as proof positive that his administra tion had so badly misma naged the economy and so badly run the country that public confidence in the fu ture has practically vanished, those with fortunes to pro tect have salted them away for safekeeping in foreign lands, and the international reserve has consequently plunged below the absolute desirable minimum. Mr. Marcos probably fears that charges like these could hurt him and his party decisively during this election year, de prive him of victory next November, and perhaps nudge him irreversibly down hill to his own downfall in 1969. Furthermore, the myths about "free enterprise” and free competition die hard in this country. These myths, lovingly nursed and propa gated largely by alien busi ness interests, mostly Ameri can, in the Philippines, allege that the unfailing key to the nation’s speedy development and progress is “free enter prise,” just as any move to wards a planned and direct ed economy could only bring ruin on the country. How have these myths ac tually worked out in the light of history? For all the blind homage and fealty paid to the gods of free enterprise, the Philippines is still an under-developed country to day, the Filipinos have re mained drawers of water and 48 Panorama hewers of wood, and the country has not progressed beyond being a fertile field for ruthless and cynical ex ploitation by predatory alien capitalists and investors with out the slightest genuine re gard for the well-being of the Filipino people. It was only during the period of controls not too long ago, as a matter of fact, that the Filipinos began to have the opportunity of mov ing into, and taking over, some sectors of the economy. It was only then that the first faltering steps towards industrialization were taken. The government wielded its powers of import and ex change controls to redress some of the severe handicaps suffered by Filipino business men, at the hands of their wealthier' alien competitors, and to give the former a fighting chance. And even alien enterprises in this country, unable to remit their earnings and profits to their faceless investors abroad, were forced to plough part of their funds back into local expansion. This was the period when the oil compa nies, for example, built their local refineries. When President Macapagal and the Liberal party were voted to power in 1962, how ever, they scrapped the en tire control system and res tored the economy to free enterprise. Curiously, the new dispensation hailed this as a brilliant achievement, and predicted that the magic wand of free enterprise would strew the land with new bustling factories and energetic, productive activity. None of these rosy predic tions, however, came to pass. What actually happened instead was that the fledgling manufacturing businesses set up by Filipinos found them selves swamped and over whelmed once again by their alien, principally American, competitors. Native indus tries plunged headlong to the pits of distress — from which the Marcos adminis tration, to this day, is still trying to retrieve them — while alien enterprises were free and unfettered once again to remit the wealth of the Filipinos to their far away parent companies. An argument repeatedly invoked to justify the liqui dation of controls and the return to free enterprise was June 1967 49 the incredible, massive cor ruption that accompanied the administration of con trols. Undoubtedly the cor ruption was there. The cure that was applied, however, was equivalent to burning down the entire house just because a few posts and part of a wall had been found to be anay-infested. An absolutely necessary and helpful system was discard ed just because its imple mentation was faulty. Today it is the Marcos administration that is paying the prohibitive price of the criminal scrapping of con trols. But Mr. Marcos seems headed towards compound ing the tragedy of sidestep ping the issue instead of meeting it head-on. None of the myths of “free enter prise” hhs proved helpful. They have, on the contrary, succeeded only in suppressing Filipino businesses and in bringing about the current depletion of dollars. A re gulated, controlled, planned economy is a must for every developing country; there is no other way towards swift growth that will keep pace with the population explo sion that as the bane of evety impoverished society. And the time for the Pres ident to act is now; to tem porize in the hope that some thing hopeful may turn up, would be self-deception. It would call to mind the man who fell from the 34th story of a building and assured himself, as he plunged down wards past the 11th floor: “Up to now I’m still all right.” — By J. V. Cruz in Manila Times, June 28, 1967. 50 Panorama

pages

48-50

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