Published August 25, 2020, 10:00 PM

by Milwida Guevara

From Both Sides and Now

“Double Disaster”—Prof. Winnie Monsod used these words to describe the state of the economy.  We suffered from the disaster brought about by the pandemic.  We suffered equally from government’s ineptitude to attenuate its detrimental effects. 

Our country exceeded all expectations.  Government’s performance dropped so low in the enforcement of the rule of law, practice of governance and control of corruption. Indices  made by international institutions such as the World Justice Project showed  greater  violation of human rights, inefficiencies and cases of dishonesty in government.  The 16.5% contraction in our economy was beyond the forecast of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.  The World Bank projected a 1.9% decline in our growth and the Asian Development Bank made a forecast of a 3.8%.  But the economy shrank by 16.5%.

How did the country manage such a dismal performance?  We had the longest and most restrictive lockdown.  And this description is not a product of our perception but validated by the Government Stringency Index (Oxford Covid 19 Government Response Tracker).  But since the “repression” was not accompanied by the 3 Ts, “Testing, Tracing and Treatment” the pandemic was not tamed.  Government treated the health crisis as a matter of setting “checkpoints.” And while almost 8.7 million workers lost their jobs (while not counting the small traders in the informal economy), government had a timid response to alleviate the effects of their loss in income.  Government allocated P390 billion for the “Heal as One Program” which was 2% of our GDP.  Ma’am Winnie compares this phlegmatic response with the 9.4% of GDP that Thailand allocated and 7.0% of GDP which Indonesia earmarked to help their people cope with the disastrous effects of Covid 19.  And since only 68% of Bayanihan 1 was spent, the 2% spending to help alleviate poverty was in effect only 1.3% of GDP.

The little response of government was worsened by its late response.  The relief from the Social Amelioration Program was received in May and the second tranche of the relief was distributed in late June.   “Kabagal-bagal” (too slow) says Prof. Winnie.  We cannot agree with her more on how slow the process was. 

It was no surprise that Personal Consumption Expenditures dropped by 15.5%.  Weak consumption resulted to more contraction of other sectors since there was no demand for goods and services.  Manufacturing output dropped by21.3% and services by 15.8%.  People, particularly the poor, had no means to buy even the most basic commodities such as rice. There was no food on their table and they went begging on the streets calling for “ayuda” (help and assistance).  Struggling firms and small entrepreneurs found no lifeline and had to bite the bullet—close their shops and retrench their personnel.

And if the lack of sensitivity was not enough, Congress wasted time and the people’s money by spending them on strengthening the anti-terrorism bill and debating on whether or not to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN, instead of concentrating on protecting  and helping the poor who elected them.

Prof. Monsod did not seem to be enthusiastic about the future.  She has valid reasons for this pessimism.  “The government does not learn from its mistakes.”  She cited Bayanihan 2 which even allocated a smaller amount, 0.7% of GDP as a stimulus package.

She said that we should help ourselves by practicing the wearing of masks, physical distancing, and washing of hands.  She urges that we should proactively do contact tracing—by informing people we have come across with that we have interacted with a person who tested positive for the virus.

She looks forward to a stronger, focused, and relevant stimulus program.  Government can monetize the deficit by borrowing from its own Central Bank.  Her counsel includes greater transparency from government by sharing its data with the academe and the private sector so they can be analyzed.  She advocates for greater openness and collaboration between the IATF and experts who are more than willing to share their wisdom and recommendations. She thinks that incentives to businesses should be based on a solid criterion—that relief should only be given if it is spent to keep employees on their payroll while the pandemic has not been controlled.

What a factual and honest description of the state of the nation! 

We pray that “He who has ears, will be able to hear.”

mguevara@www1.synergeia.org.ph

Taken from the column of Synergeia President Milwida Guevara
https://mb.com.ph/2020/08/25/the-state-of-the-economy-according-to-prof-monsod/

One has to navigate a long dirt road, amidst sugar plantations, avoiding boulders along the way, to reach Don Jose Gaston Memorial School in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.  Travel is harder during the rainy season when roads and canal merge as one.  To the tired and weary, the school’s well-kept grounds with concrete perimeter fence provide quite a pleasant sight.        

Meet the School Head, Mr. Roberto Desin, Jr.   When he attended the USAID/ Synergeia workshop for School Governing Councils for the first time, he had doubts about being able to organize a SGC in his school.  He thought there were no potential members in the community with the capacity and resources to help the school.  He did not to lose hope and continued to look for stakeholders in the community.  After all, the primary requirement to become a member or officer of the SGC is commitment and the heart for the education of the children.  Resources will begin to pour in once a group of concerned stakeholders is organized and understand the importance of the SGC in responding to the needs of their own children in school.  It is important to let the community accept the fact that education is everybody’s concern. 

Principal Desin was challenged to organize his own SGC after hearing good impressions from other schools with organized, active and functioning SGCs.  As members, he invited barangay officials, officers of the PTA, senior citizens, religious sector, hacienda overseers and Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) that make up most of the parents in school.  He gave the orientation on the role of the SGC in the school then proceeded with the election of officers. The first meeting was called to draft the constitution and by-laws and to define the roles and functions of its officers and embers.  The term of office of the officers was set for three years.  Since then, regular meetings have been conducted every month.  The officers are readily available when their services are needed in the school. 

The elected chairperson was an elderly woman ARB.  She donated the initial fund of the SGC from her first harvest of sugar canes.  Within a short period, the SGC has been able to implement several projects in the school. They have a ‘Manihan sa Paaralan” project and planted peanuts in the school’s vacant lot.  The initial income they earned was used to purchase mesh wire for the grills of the H.E. and Grade 6 room doors.  They actively participate in school activities like the Brigada Eskwela and school exhibits.  They maintain the school vegetable garden which supplies their vegetable requirement of the daily feeding program.   They regularly clean the school premises to welcome school visitors. 

The most common problem in the school is absenteeism. Some houses are far from the school.  Many pupils do not regularly go to school for various reasons.  To address the problem, the SGC proposed a school policy that if a pupil incurred two consecutive absences, the concerned parent shall called for a meeting at the Principal’s Office. This school policy was adopted by the barangay and it is now an ordinance. If the cause of absence was the parent’s responsibility, the SGC, with the School Head’s approval, will endorse it to the barangay.   The barangay may ask the parent to render community service in the school.  Because of this policy and ordinance, absences have been drastically reduced. 

Principal Desin has proven that an active and functioning SGC does not really require having the rich and famous in the community as officers and members.  Ordinary farmers like Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries who are “small planters” with the commitment to serve can make the difference.