Favorable aspects of the Philippine economy

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Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: Favorable aspects of the Philippine economy
Language: English
Source: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXV (No. 7) July 1949
Year: 1949
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Fulltext: problems in entomology, wildlife studies, sewing and dress-making, cooking and baking, carpentry, elec trical work, etc. A report on secondary school education in the Philippines was recently submitted to the Govern ment by a committee of schoolmen headed by Dr. Pe dro T. Orata, of the National Commission on Educa tional, Scientific, and Cultural Matters. This report recommended that the secondary school curriculum provide for just such practical activities as are com prised in the work of the 4-H Clubs. This would be a move in the right direction, but we believe that the club-form of organization might well be adopted here for this could include young people both in and out side the high schools as well as grade-school pupils. And if the cooperation of our Department of Agri cultural and * Natural Resources could be obtain ed, and also that of the College of Agriculture, the College of Forestry, and the various regional agricul tural and farm schools, and, in addition to that, of those numerous private persons who now serve as local leaders in the Boy Scout and the Girl Scout or ganizations, then something might soon be accomp lished in the betterment of conditions in our rural communities. Favorable Aspects of the Philippine Economy PERHAPS a certain pessimism about the future prosperity of the Philippines may serve as a stimulus to better efforts, but to dwell on the unfavorable signs, without at the same time noting the favorable signs, tends to aggravate conditions by frightening people away from new ventures and from, the expansion of existing enterprises. There are abundant favorable signs and factors, both economic and social, which point to a steadily growing prosperity for as long a period in the future as may be prudently contemplated. Rehabilitation. Let us start with this nation of close to 20,000,000 people. After passing through a period of enemy occupation, with unprecedented destruction of lives and property, and universal de moralization of economic, social, and spiritual pat- ' terns, the Philippines today is a pretty fine countrycompared with the rest of the world. Without wait ing for government aid, private initiative on the part of all elements started rehabilitation immediately after liberation. Using such scrap materials as were available, homes and places of business sprang up. A shanty town, perhaps; but that was far better than a ghost town. Rehabilitation has continued as rapidly as supplies of goods became available, and nearly all of it through the private in'tiative of tens of thousands of little men who did not wait for the Government to help them, men who have re-established their lives on a livable basis through their own efforts. A nation which can go through the ordeal which the Philippines passed through, and reach the degree of reconstruction to be seen today, shows survival qualities of the highest order. In this lies the greatest promise for continued and growing prosperity. Peace and Order. Each year since 1945 has seen a steady improvement in the peace and order picture. When one looks back to 1900, and recalls that it took eight years for the “guerrillas-turned-bandit” to be brought under control and restored to peaceful pur suits, the present-day situation, involving ten times the number under arms, shows that amazing progress is being made. The Philippine nation has shown a steady re covery from the emotional shock suffered by practical ly all the inhabitants, who e:ther witnessed or heard at first hand of the horrible atrocities committed against their immediate families, relatives, and friends. A nation less embued with the fatalistic philosophy of life would have shown a far more serious dislocation of behavior patterns than we have witness ed here. Filipino Participation in Trade. Consumer goods are now abundant. The shelves of the merchants are once more filled. The amateur merchants who lacked aptitude for mercantile pursuits are being eliminated in the present buyer’s market, yet very many Fili pinos for the first time entering the commercial field, have demonstrated their ability, and are still in busi ness as permanent assets to the community. This broadening of the base of trade and distribution and the increase in the number of Filipinos participating in it, through free competition is indeed a wholesome sign. It gives us a more business-m:nded community, with greatei * powei * ovei- the body politic. Industrial Progress. New industries have mul tiplied rapidly, not big industries alone. Thousands of small new industrial establishments have been set up which in the aggregate have a marked effect on the national economy. The experience of the wai’ years developed a large class of resourceful men and women who had to improvise to survive, and these are the pioneers who are now establishing small industries everywhere. Several large new industries have also strengthened the national economy: modern plywood plants, a steel-window factory, plastics factories, rub ber-processing plants, a nail factory, a modern glass bottle plant, and various othei' establishments in the heavy-industry field have created new jobs and in creased national self-sufficiency. Despite the un certain groping which is sure to characterize some of the new industrialization efforts, the people as a whole are now more industrially minded, and this augurs well foi * future progress and prosperity. The sugai- industry by next year is expected to be back to full capacity. This will go far toward com pensating foi- reduced United States windfall pay ments. Trade Balance. Imports continue far in excess of exports. Yet one-third of our imports continue to be imports needed to replace items destroyed by the war. Discounting this class of commodities, imports and ex ports approach a balance. Increased exports during the coming years, together with continuing United States disbursements in the Philippines, should give us a favorable balance of payments sufficient to com 282 plete the replacement of war-destroyed items, even after war-damage payments cease. Import control has been more of a costly nuisance than an impediment to the import trade, with the ex ception of a few items. Private enterprise had anti cipated reduced consumer-demand long before import control took effect, and orders had been correspond ingly reduced. Labor. Labor demands have brought wage levels to an index figure of about four times pre-war. Wage levels seem now to be established at a base where they may continue, with little likelihood of general in crease in the face of dropping living costs. Except for the lack of decent housing due to war damage, laborers are eating better, dressing better, and enjoy ing more luxuries than before the war. The gradually declining cost of living will be offset by the needs of growing families, so no general reduct:on in wages may be looked for. The present higher general wage level in relation to living costs should add more to the prosperity of the Philippines than any single post-war factor. Reduct’on in labor costs to meet competitive markets will come from greater labor output per man hour, rather than from wage reduction. The pur chasing power of the people will therefore continue at high levels. The Philippines with its immense undeveloped resources represents an expanding economy, and des pite cyclical adjustments from time to time to bring the economy into balance, the continued progress and prosperity of the Philippines cannot be stopped. Any one who sells the Philipp:nes short fails to see the overwhelming long-range factors that give assurance of a continued rise in the prosperity level for all classes. Let not the day-to-day annoyances, unjust de mands, unfair decisions, and various vexations unduly influence our perspective. These troubles are not unique to the Philipnines. The businessman in Washington, London, New York, and San Francisco has an equal share of gripes. We complain and seek correction of grievances, and sometimes the situation improves. Viewing the overall picture, the percentages still favor us, or we would not be here. The New Safety Bureau By Frank S. Tenny Executive Director, Philippine Safety Council THE recently enacted Republic Act No. 367 (An Act creating the Bureau of Industrial Safety) has caused considerable comment in business circles and is deserving of explanation. Probably the most important single observation to be made at this time is that the Act is definitely not intended to unduly harass the employer; consider able effort was expended bv the authors to make it neither pro-, nor anti-labor. The Safety Act is in tended to serve the best interest of the people as a whole. From the immediate practical view point, those firms which now afford reasonably safe work ing conditions have nothing to fear from the Act; other firms will certainly be given adequate time to improve safety conditions before being subjected to any form of discipline. A good capsule description of the Act is that it is an important piece of social legislation, definitely a forward step in local progress and rehabilitation. No one can disagree with the statement that local safety-conditions badly need improvement. Some ac cidents rates here are from 3 to 11 times as high as those in other countries. To have a government agency of bureau rank devoted to safety, is probably the greatest advancement in public safety here since the war. The Act provides, among other things, for the establishment of a safety research laboratory, where materials of all kinds may be properly tested for their safety-factor. This will assist in guaranteeing the safety of construction materials, for example, or of industrial chemicals, and should serve to drastically reduce the apalling number of explosions, collapses, and fires which are taking lives almost daily in the Philippines. The activity of the new Bureau with which busi nessmen will most frequently come into contact is that of Industrial Safety Inspection. Trained safety engineers will from time to time inspect all industrial establishments. Recommendations will be made to the management as to safety-hazards noted and help ful suggestions will be made along these lines. Al though such an inspection may appear to be for the benefit of employees alone, it is an established fact that the prevention of accidents results in great fin ancial savings for management. The prevention of one fatal accident, for example, would save the loss of several thousand pesos represented by workmen’s compensation, insurance, hospital and funeral ex penses, loss of a trained employee, lost of interim production, unfavorable publicity, lowering of em ployee morale, etc. This is of course in addition to the human angle and the loss to the family. Other requirements of the Act include the main tenance of adequate first-aid facilities and the crea tion of a company safety-committee, both of these factors of a scope appropriate to the firm concerned. Certain local firms which have already entered upon company safety-programs have found them to be of great benefit to operational efficiency. Some of these are San .Miguel Brewery, Manila Electric Company, Pangasinan Transportation Company, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company, Bachrach Motor Company, Manila Trading and Supply Company, and several others. Firms like these, of course, will have a “head start’’ in connection with ease in complying with the provi sions of the Act. Employers will note that they need not neces sarily be held liable for accidents which happen to persons due to their own extreme negligence or vio lation of regulations. Once a firm has properly in 283