FORMER President Aquino was tagged as “Boy Sisi” when he played the blame game against previous administrations, particularly the Arroyo government. Is the current government employing the same trick?
For the dwindling influx of foreign investments into the country, the government puts the blame on the labor movement as workers turn to actual strikes and strike notices to assert their rights and advance their welfare.
Government economic managers should be lectured on the content of the 3rd Quarter Business Expectations Survey (2018) by the Bangko Sentral. Weaker investor sentiment is not caused by the rise in strike notices and actual strikes. Businessmen complain about the following:
(a) increasing prices of basic commodities in the global market, augmented by the effects of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law on prices of domestic goods
(b) the rising overhead costs and lack of supply of raw materials,
(c) seasonal factors such as interruption of business activities and lower crop production during the rainy season, slack in consumer demand as households prioritized enrollment expenses, as well as the suspension of commercial fishing in Davao Gulf from June to Aug. 3
(d) the weakening peso, and
(e) stiffer competition
To single out workers’ strikes as a factor that dissuades foreign investment is both lame and untrue. Even economic think tanks would be more than willing to link low foreign direct investment flows to the Philippines to high electricity cost, poor infrastructure, low productivity and government corruption than to workers’ militant actions.
The government appears to be demonizing the right to strike, conveniently forgetting that he highest law of the land and international statutes grant workers the right to legally impede company operations, as last recourse, in order to protect their rights and welfare.
It’s the tax-induced inflation, stupid! Employers and employees are both flinching from rising prices, from spiralling production costs and the cost of living. One does not need to be an economist to easily deduce that the present runaway inflation is directly and indirectly caused by the excise taxes.
The Filipino people comprehend the relation between taxes and prices.
