Nicanor Perlas

The first order of the day is to move away from the destructive neo-liberal economic dogma that permeates the heart of the economic thinking and programs of past and present administrations. Neo-liberal capitalist ideology praises greed, competition, and selfishness as the cornerstone of economic progress. A long time ago, I warned against the excesses and dangers of this one-sided economic approach. Now we are suffering from the worst economic crisis in decades because we believed that an “invisible hand” would ensure that individual selfish economic decisions would be harmonized to create a greater good. Obviously this has not happened. In its place we will install a new economic approach that advances the six pillars outlined in my platform. We will align and harness economic, trade, taxation, fiscal, and development policies towards genuine integral sustainable development that eradicates poverty and improves quality of life. At the local level, we will not rely on trickle-down theories to lift up the marginalized. Instead we will actively work to create an economy of solidarity and partnership that builds from the micro-finance revolution to create a green micro-entrepreneurship revolution. For example, we can already see partnerships between microfinance institutions, banks, local governments, and civil society organizations including colleges, universities, and NGOs that would harness and commercialize hundreds of mature technologies towards creating a new economy for the poor. Simultaneously, we will encourage the movement of economic development from Metro Manila to the countryside—to Luzon, Visayas AND Mindanao. In addition, we will encourage an area-based approach that integrates economic activity with the specific needs and possibilities of the local area. Furthermore, we will create strong, vibrant local economies through strategic infrastructure programs, investment and other programs that leverage the power and reach of the informal economy. Of special importance will be the mainstreaming of sustainable agriculture as a source of permanent and empowering livelihood for farmers. In this connection, we appreciate the massive sacrifice and contribution that OFWs are making to our economy. However, we will broaden the foundations of our economy and balance our over-reliance on OFW remittances to prop out our economy. The individual, family, and social costs of the OFW-based economy are too high and are unsustainable in the long-term. And most OFWs themselves prefer to make their living in the Philippines once local jobs are available. At the national level, we will install policies that will strengthen the dynamism of the new innovative local economies. We will advance coherence in land-use and energy planning to secure, among others, the benefits of renewable and indigenous energy sources. We will implement a tax policy that is pro-poor and enhances collection efficiencies. Delivery of services and clean and honest governance will necessitate a counterpart from the private sector and citizens in terms of tax compliance. But we will ensure businesses and citizens that, as we raise the efficiency of the revenue-generating agencies of government, we will stop the leakage of tax money thru corruption. We want to emphasize the connection between moral and effective governance and economic progress. When we ALL get rid of corruption, both domestic and foreign investors will pour their money into our economy because they will no longer have to pay the 30-40% commission fees to “facilitate” their transactions with government agenies. These investments, especially when they are geared towards integral sustainable development, will accelerate the equitable and sound development of our economy and our society. To measure our progress, we will move beyond GNP/GDP as the compass that guides our decision-making. We will use a basket of indicators that also measure quality of life, the vitality of our life support systems and the effectiveness of our governance process. Of special importance will be measurements of the true costs of economic projects—costs to society, costs to the very sources of life that we rely on, thereby stopping the distortion of the market prices. We will mobilize the entrepreneurial spirit of Filipinos to create new industries based on the real economy and the creation of new wealth. We will attract new investment finance that seeks returns based on social responsibility and green criteria. It will be an economy that will be dynamic, socially just, inclusive and definitely sustainable.
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Gilbert Teodoro

I am in favor of opening up closed sectors of the economy to a wider market. We must allow foreigners to participate in our economic development, but only to a certain extent. We can allow them to own the land on which they will build factories, or to set up tourist establishments, but these tourism facilities should not encroach on our marine resources. But we must have full control over our natural resources so that we can pursue economic development and eliminate poverty. We can allow foreigners to own residential land but not agricultural, mineral nor forest lands. In the case of agricultural lands, we could allow joint ventures.

To know more about my take on different issues visit http://gibo.ph/issue.aspx

JC de los Reyes

I believe that we have enough laws that if we simply implement we will uplift the economic condition of our country. Magna Carta for Small Medium Enterprises, Barangay Micro Business Act, Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Code of Conduct and ethical Standards Law, Citizens's Charter Act, etc. all these have not been implemented because of bad politics. If we started to do good politics, more local and foreign investments, tourists, jobs, etc.
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