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Ilocos, Cordi folk claim economy worse under GMA

BAGUIO CITY (Jan. 15) —In a survey done in December last year by the IBON databank, 88 % and 83 % of the respondents from the Cordillera and Ilocos regions, respectively, are dissatisfied with Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s performance as the country’s president. This is consistent with the overall results of IBON’s nationwide economic survey, of which the survey was part.

The reason: our economy failed to improve people’s livelihood as the government has always promised. The IBON Data bank is an independent private research institution.

The results from the different provinces in both the Cordillera and Ilocos regions show that 72 percent and 73 percent, respectively, claim that their livelihood last year was worse compared to the year 2003. Twenty four percent in the Cordillera and 25 percent in the Ilocos Region believe that the economy remained the same. Only four percent of the Cordillera respondents and only one percent from the Ilocos respondents claim that their livelihood actually improved.

Asked if the economy will improve in the coming year (2005), 56 percent from Cordillera and 36 percent from the Ilocos region believe that it would worsen. Only 16 percent and 23 percent of the respondents of the Cordillera and Ilocos regions, respectively, anticipate that the situation will remain the same. A small percentage, only four (Cordillera) and seven percent (Ilocos) are optimistic the situation will improve.

Job opportunities not enough

The research also reveals that 76 percent and 75 percent of the respondents from the Cordillera and Ilocos regions claim that there are job opportunities in their regions but these are not enough. Respondents also claim that their family income is not enough to meet their basic needs. The sources of income of respondents differ as majority of the Cordillera respondents are salaried employees (40%) while 43% of the Ilocos respondents were self-employed.

Majority of those employed in both regions reveal that they were not aware whether they are receiving the legislated wage. Based on the approval rate of 100 % and 93 % respondents in the Cordillera and Ilocos regions, almost all of them believe that the minimum wage of the workers should be increased.

On oil deregulation

On the implementation of the deregulation policy, 81% of the Ilocos region respondents and 44% from the Cordillera claim that the policy failed to bring positive changes to their lives. Observable, however, were the Cordillera respondents who claim that they do not know if the deregulation of the oil industry brought positive changes to their lives.

The oil deregulation started in 1992 when R.A. 7638 led to the privatization of Petron Oil Corporation, then state-owned and controlled corporation. The industry was totally deregulated when R.A. 8487, downstream oil deregulation law, was passed on February 1988. The law was questioned but the Supreme Court failed to act on its constitutionality like it did when it declared the earlier deregulation law, R.A. 8180, as unconstitutional in 1997. The latter institutionalized monopoly of the oil industries by Shell, Caltex and Petron.

The respondents also showed that they are against the expansion of the value-added tax and the increase of power rates by the National Power Corporation (NPC).

As response to the continued increase of prices of basic commodities, the Ilocos respondents proposed the establishment of an agency to check on abusive businessmen while Cordillera respondents proposed for the regulation of the price control of prime commodities. # Arthur L. Allad-iw for NORDIS

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