August 23, 2011

“Through the years, increased foreign ownership of our lands and businesses have caused skyrocketing prices, economic insecurity and increased dependence on imports. Attempts to lift certain economic provisions for the benefit of foreign investors have always been slammed with protests. Arroyo attempted this and failed, cha-cha under Aquino says leaps and bounds about this regime.”

This was the statement of Aki Merced, spokesperson for the League of Filipino Students, as the committee on constitutional amendments met this week to talk about the possibility of convening a constitutional assembly to push for revisions in the economic provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

“As the government spends less on education and other social services and focuses the people’s resources on paying foreign debt and building infrastructures not for the people’s need but to entice foreign investors, it is very clear that this government is focused on pleasing not the people but the foreign investors. With Private-Public Partnerships ensuring profit through risk guarantees, increased investment and full ownership of business in the Philippines will spell the ballooning of debt and less spending on social services.”

Merced said that Aquino, since his 1^st day in office, have misled the public into thinking that increased foreign investment in the Philippines will lead to a better economy, therefore better lives for the people. “This economic model has long been debunked! The government needs to empower our farmers by distributing land and having a genuine agrarian reform program, not aggravating the import-dependent, export-oriented economy that we currently suffer under.”

“If the Aquino government and its cohorts push for Cha-Cha, it can expect thousands of youth and Filipinos to flood the streets in protest. We refuse to be merely employees and consumers in our own country. The Filipino people know better and have protested and stopped any move to approve 100% foreign ownership ever since. No amount of sugar-coated propaganda can lead us to thinking that this cha-cha is different from the rest!”, Merced said.