Erap and the SONA: A Cruel Parody

"The country is in deep economic crisis and the government is bankrupt", this is what Erap said as he opened his State of the Nation Address (SONA). We probably thought that Erap was just being honest, and yet, think again. He ended his address by giving credit to his predecessor, President Ramos, as he bragged about his targeted 2 to 3 percent growth in the gross national product (GNP) for the year. Then, we realized that Erap's SONA may not be as entertaining as his "eruption jokes" but it sure is a cruel parody that embodies his administration’s policies.

"One lost job is one hungry family, and one cold statistic that I cannot accept"; Erap proceeded as he delivered his movie script that is now called the SONA. But Erap may have forgotten that he condoned the dismissal of 5,000 employees and 625 pilots of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) some few days before. He may not also be aware that 429 workers are being laid-off every day.

My, my, but he insists that he will reorganize the entire bureaucracy to mean expanding his earlier pronouncement for a 5 percent reduction in the number of government employees. My gosh, how can the President not know that mass lay-off means hundreds of thousands more hungry families?

Erap, the hero, simply had lots of material on the anti-people neo-liberal policies of deregulation, liberalization, and privatization of the previous administration that he not only enumerated statistics but vividly described its effects as well. We cannot but agree with Erap that the rich become richer and the poor become poorer in an economy that is controlled by foreign and local monopolies.

Erap need not remind us that agrarian reform had a dismal performance for the last 25 years. Don’t we all feel the crunch caused by low salaries and wages vis-à-vis rising inflation? The vast majority that suffer know fully well a life of want like the back of their hands. The lack of basic and social services like education, health services, housing, water, power, transportation, and roads. Let us add the oil price hike to Erap’s list.

The President said that he would, as in his movies, play hero to the suffering masses. Addressing the national budget deficit that can run from PhP70 to PhP90 Billions this year will solve the problems. Erap said that further government borrowing is not the solution but he accepted the US$1.37-billions standby credit by the Ramos administration from the IMF-World Bank. Can Erap say otherwise or he is just as happy to have it?

Erap has solutions that according to him will tackle the root cause, which is a bankrupt government.

To begin with, Erap will reduce the cost of governance. But we’ve heard this before from the Aquino and Ramos administrations who did the same as told by the IMF-World Bank! And yet Erap insists that he can do better by withholding 25 percent of budget allocations from national agencies and 10 percent of Internal Revenue Allocation (IRA) of the Local Government Units (LGUs). Correct! Anyway, who will still feel the further lack of public service? Who can dispute Erap's desire to abolish the pork barrel to save PhP34-billions for 1998 alone? Savings for what and for whom? To save for annual debt servicing of about PhP56-billions out of a staggering foreign debt of US$45.5-billions or PhP1.9 trillion?

The President is confident that the government can really save because he will run after graft and corrupt officials. Erap can probably start by reversing all the questionable deals of the Ramos administration or with his appointed Secretary of the Department of Energy who bought a PhP1.2-million Volvo own use.

But we all know that the power struggle in Malacañang that involves "all the President's patrons" like Danding Cojuangco, Lucio Tan, Zamora, Aventajado, the Erap family, etc. is nothing but a bitter fight for the "division of spoils". Moreover, how do we view the direction of the administration towards deals of compromises with the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses and his cronies? Can we, therefore, expect that the list of behest loans will end with the exit of Ramos?

Erap will also delay the implementation of high-finance government projects such as the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). How come, the new Secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND), former Senator Orly Mercado, is using the same reason to support the administration's bid for a Senate ratification of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States.

The prescription to save, scrimp, and sacrifice is Erap's prescription for the masses alone. He has clearly defined a separate policy for himself, his men and his friends. This ia indeed a deje-vu. We've heard this all before. Think again.

According to the President, privatization is an emergency response to an emergency situation that is to correct the budget deficit. Ergo, the government will move quickly to dispose National Power Corporation (Napocor) and government shares in various government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs) within the first three months of Erap's administration. My, my, once more, because this script is not really original.

The Aquino and Ramos administrations did the same as told by the IMF-World Bank yet, we have this services deficit problem. For Erap's information, privatization is a worldwide phenomenon and a component of the so-called "globalization" that the people’s of the world are strongly protesting.

President Estrada believes that tax collection must be improved. Well, previous administrations said so too, but Erap has a new formula. A tax amnesty scheme only for the likes of Lucio Tan and President Estrada's "chinoy" political patrons. After privatizing the revenue generating agencies and shares of GOCCs and GFIs, this government will have disposed all its income-generating assets. It will have no other fund source but to squeeze more and more taxes from the people.

Food security is Erap's core program for the poor. To achieve this however, his only solution is to deregulate the importation of rice and sugar and further liberalize the inflow of agricultural products from other countries. Remember, this was one of the conditionalities in the General Agreement on Tariffs & Trades-World Trade Organization (GATT-WTO) treaty, which was signed by the Ramos administration!

Let us not belabor ourselves in discussing the anti-crime solution of this administration. A "superbody" headed by General Panfilo Lacson, Erap's protégé as head of the defunct Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC), cannot pull our legs anymore.

Lastly, Erap did not elaborate but mentioned about the need for a Charter Change (chacha). The outrage of the people stopped the ill-engineered "Cha-Cha" of Ramos. Will Erap try us once again ?

Indeed, Erap has to give credit to his predecessor, President Ramos, in his SONA because he knows that his administration is pursuing the same anti-people neo-liberal policies and programs. At the same time, Erap's SONA must show the true state of the nation after six years of Ramos presidency for how else can Erap escape the blame as the people further suffers under his administration.

How can the masses benefit from this parody? Like the entertainment symbol of comedy and tragedy, the Erap administration, true to form is already exposing itself to be a farce.###