MANILA – Economic growth under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has been “illusory” as it has not trickled down to the masses, research group IBON Foundation claimed recently.
“Government can talk about all the nice figures, growth and fundamentals, but the issue is that the economy is not creating enough jobs, wages remain stagnant, the quality of work is actually getting worse, and inflation is accelerating,” Sonny Africa, executive director of IBON Foundation, told reporters in Quezon City.
The Philippine economy grew by 6.7 percent in 2017.
“The Philippine economy actually shed jobs last year. Labor force participation rates are indicating people are dropping out – discouraged workers – and wages remain low,” said Africa.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has attributed the drop in employment to workers, particularly the youth, going back to school.
The government has made available more than 11,000 job opportunities related to the infrastructure program, which is expected to drive economic growth further.
Under the “Build, Build, Build” program, the government plans to spend over P8 trillion until 2022, largely funded tax revenue.
“A short-term illusion of growth is created because they’re spending, but the long-term foundations really are not being grown,” Africa noted.
To ensure long-term growth, more jobs need to be created in agriculture and manufacturing especially in the outskirts of the metropolis.
“The infrastructure which accelerated does not necessarily translate to stronger agriculture or a stronger domestic industry,” he said.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed agriculture output grew by 1.47 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared with 5.21 percent in the same period in 2017.
“We think the government is not giving us the whole picture of the economy. The big picture should also include what is the real jobs situation,” Africa said. (GMA News)
