Philippines: Gloria's claim of economic growth a pack of lies: NDF

The National Democratic Front is a front for the Communist Party of the Philippines. Jose_Maria_Sison is the leader of the party and resides in exile in the Netherlands. He has been in and out of jail on murder charges! However, this does not mean some of his criticisms are not sound. As one can see Gloria's representatives are long on rhetoric and short on substance although the Daily Tribune from which this is taken is not exactly a cheerleader for Arroyo!

Gloria’s claim of economic growth a pack of lies — NDF



12/31/2007

The National Democratic Front (NDF) yesterday accused President Arroyo of lying to the Filipino people about her alleged role in stirring the country into joining the ranks of developed economies.

According to Prof. Jose Maria Sison, NDF chief political consultant, Mrs. Arroyo has been working against national industrialization and genuine land reform.

“Gloria Arroyo, the fake president, keeps on babbling that her regime is propelling the Philippines to become a ‘First World country.’ She is obviously lying,” Sison said in message sent to the Tribune.

He added the Arroyo govern-ment has misrepresented as “development” the “consump-tion-led and debt-ridden” growth of the Philippine economy.

“It has used domestic and foreign borrowing to finance and abet the growing trade and budgetary deficits and to conjure the false illusion of economic growth. It wastes public funds through overpriced

and graft-ridden infrastructure projects and the purely parasitic expenditures of the military and bureaucracy,” Sison pointed out.

He said the Philippine economy has remained dependent on the production of agricultural and mineral raw materials, which are being exported at greater volume but at lower prices, adding agriculture has become lopsided as production of staple food is neglected and food products are dumped on the Philippines from abroad under the policy of trade liberalization.

Sison pointed out the lack of employment opportunities in the country has forced more than 10 percent of the population to work abroad at great social cost to the country.

He stressed the claim of the Arroyo government that the peso has been gaining strength against the US dollar was a result of the “undervaluing of the foreign exchange earnings of overseas Filipino workers by increasing foreign debt through program and project loans and the sale of bonds in the commercial market, and by attracting portfolio investments, structured dollar loans and the Japanese yen in the carry trade.”

Sison in painting a bleak picture of the Philippine economy in 2008, said the underdevelopment and chronic crisis of the Philippine economy will make it extremely vulnerable to the current financial crisis and recessionary trend being generated globally by the United States.

“The Filipino people will undergo unprecedented economic and social suffering in terms of rising unemployment, decreasing real income, soaring prices of basic goods and deteriorating social services,” He said.

Sison added the US and the global demand for both Philippine raw-material exports and semi-manufactured reexports will contract because of the continuing industrial decline, reduced employment and recessionary trend in all developed countries.

“US economic growth is expected to go down to less than two percent from the usual level of around three percent. The 30 OECD countries are expected to have an average growth rate of less than 3 percent from the usual level of more than 5 percent,” he said.

Sison also predicted that in 2008, the underdeveloped Philippine economy will be facing serious problems in relation to the export of raw materials and the reexport of low value-added semi-manufactures in the shrinking global market as well as in relation to the securing of new loans and selling of bonds to service the accumulated debt and finance of the importation of oil and other critically=needed goods.

Meanwhile, after getting into a series of controversies this year, Malacanang yesterday expressed hope that positive things will pour on 2008.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said this New Year’s wish is not only for the welfare of the Arroyo administration but for the whole Filipino nation as well.

He also expressed belief that the year 2008 will be luckier, saying the number 8 represents never-ending or perpetual progress.

“Remember, eight connotes perpetual motion. Never ending, perpetual progress. Let’s think positive, may we all be good and better come the year 2008,” Ermita said.

For his part, Chief Presidential Legal Adviser Sergio Apostol predicted that Mrs. Arroyo will continue to be immune to any impeachment complaint in the coming year, saying all the negative issues hurled against her have already been resolved or have died natural deaths.

Over the weekend, Apostol said the “worst is over” for Mrs. Arroyo as the government has neutralized the threat posed by the camp of opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV who staged the Nov. 29 Manila Peninsula siege.

“We are very very confident that the President will never be impeached on 2008. We have the numbers in Congress and she is not doing anything wrong,” Apostol said.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, for his part, said his New Year’s wish is for everyone to contribute to nation-building and understand that progress will not be easily achieved.

“I wish that every Filipino does his or her share in nation-building. Change will not come in one fell swoop. It will be built on a daily basis with the sacrifices and unselfish acts of each one of us. Even simple act of self-discipline go a long way,” Bunye said. Gerry Baldo and Sherwin C. Olaes

Election delay creates new threat for Pakistan

It is interesting to note that Bhutto's husband has not ruled out a deal with Bhutto --even though the party blames Musharraf for the assassination! Even Sharif does not seem consistent. He regularly boycotts the elections and then when Bhutto's party decides to participate he rushes back into the race!
At last I have read one reason why Musharraf might cook the account of Bhutto's death.This bit is from the Washington Post.
"The truth about what happened has serious implications in Pakistan. The ability of a gunman to fire at Bhutto from close range, as alleged by her supporters, would suggest that an assassin was able to breach government security in a city that serves as headquarters of the Pakistani military, bolstering her supporters' claims that the government failed to provide her with adequate protection."

The problem with this explanation is that not even the government disputes that there was a suicide blast right beside her vehicle and that also someone shot at her from close range! Maybe the intelligence service is just practicing to see how good it is at getting a false account accepted!

This article is from the Star (Toronto)
Election delay poses new threat for nation
TheStar.com - World - Election delay poses new threat for nation

January 01, 2008
Bill Schiller
ASIA BUREAU

ISLAMABAD–Pakistan braced itself today for more rioting as the country's election commission was expected to delay next Tuesday's national polls for six weeks.

"We will agitate," warned former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who leads one of two key opposition parties. "We will not accept this postponement."

But with a week to go before the planned poll and sporadic violence still flaring in the aftermath of the assassination of popular opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the country seems ill-prepared to launch the democratic process.

Last night, Senator Tarik Azeem, spokesperson for the country's most powerful political party – the Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) – told the Star his party is recommending a delay, "but one that is as short as possible."

"We believe that a postponement of short duration is in order," Azeem said. "The length will be determined by the election commission."

Pakistan television, quoting unidentified government sources, said a six-week delay was likely. The poll would probably be held in the third week of February, it said.

Any cancellation now is likely to create a new battleground in a country already wracked by disputes, dissension and Bhutto's death. But the likelihood – and arguably the wisdom – of keeping to the original schedule appears to be waning.

The most powerful party doesn't want it.

European Union election observers are against it.

And the Election Commission has lost scores of official records, including ballot boxes and voters' lists.

"The election commission has lost most of its records including ballot papers when 14 of its offices were burned to the ground in Sindh province," Azeem stressed. "That's very serious."

And, he said, it could provide legitimate grounds for anyone wanting to contest a final outcome.

The EU ambassador and the head of the EU monitoring team emerged from a meeting with the PML-Q yesterday with a clearer understanding of the challenges observers would face in assessing whether the elections are free and fair should they go ahead next week.

"We cannot follow our standard methods if the date stays Jan. 8," Mathias Eick, a spokesperson for the EU mission told reporters.

The EU's assessment of the election, he said, would be hampered by realities on the ground.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, speaking in Mississauga yesterday, said a delay in the Pakistani elections would be acceptable, but only a short one.

"That's justifiable as long as it's delay leading to a fair process, as long as it's not delay leading to suspension ... the democratic process must go ahead just the same, in a timely manner," he said.

He described the situation in Pakistan as "volatile," and said Canada remains concerned.

Rippling beneath the surface of election planning, however, politicians and Pakistani citizens continue to seethe with anger over the Musharraf government's bungling – intentional or otherwise – in its handling of the Bhutto murder investigation.

Its continually changing story of the causes of death and the condition of the body when Bhutto entered hospital has served to undermine its credibility and even heighten suspicion in some camps of government complicity.

The government continues to insist Bhutto died of head injuries and that terrorists were the perpetrators.

Her followers insist she died of gunshot wounds, a contention that seems to be supported by both still photographs and recently released video footage showing a gunman and an apparent suicide bomber in the act.

But the Bhutto family, supporters of the Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and international figures continue to call for an independent, international inquiry like the one conducted into the slaying of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

The public's anger has continued to undermine the government of President Pervez Musharraf.

"He is a one-man calamity," former PM Sharif, who leads the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, told reporters.

"The United States should see that Musharraf has not limited or curbed terrorism. In fact, terrorism is now stronger than ever before – with more sinister aspects," he said.

But Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who has taken the reins of the PPP following her death, has not ruled out co-operating with Musharraf should the party emerge victorious in the election.

"We will come to that position when we win the election," he said during a news conference.

Sharif, however, has made it plain: should his party emerge the winner, he will seek to have Musharraf removed from office.

That comes as no surprise: Musharraf removed Sharif when he came to power in a bloodless military coup in 1999.