Today, Ferdinand Marcos had been buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani or Heroes Cemetery, which has been justified by some for the infrastructure and “reform” built during his term. However, he is far from being a hero since he solely used Martial Law for his personal gains. Due to this, the Philippine economy suffered losses which cannot be recovered from for decades. Recently, the Filipinos are facing the same predicament – corruption, unemployment, and malpractices in the government.
From the model country in East Asia in the 1950s, the Philippines is now the worst performing among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2020.
Top GDP in East Asia after recovering from WWII (1950s-1960s)
In the 1950s, the Philippines was ranked third on the largest economic size in East Asia, according to data from the late economic historian Angus Maddison. The Philippines was considered a model of development in East Asia due its steady industrialization. For instance, consumer goods, raw materials, and pharmaceuticals were manufactured in the country while several automobile assembly factories were also established. Accordingly, the manufacturing net domestic product (NDP), the total of all production in the economy, sprouted at an average of 12% growth per year in the 1950s.
However, the peso lost half its value under former President Diosdado Macapagal at P3.90 to a dollar in the 1960s. This can be still attributed to the 1946 United States (US) Bell Trade Act wherein imports exceed exports. As a result, the gap between dollar outflows and inflows widened. This started the falling value of the peso.
Martial Law instigated the plummeting of the economy – the crony capitalism, the lack of jobs, the gap between the rich and the poor, and the blatant corruption in the government. Never will it be considered the “golden age” of the Philippines.
Economic Depression under Marcos (1970s-1980s)
The sophisticated-looking infrastructures built during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos may seem like progress for the country, but all of those were built upon debt, crony capitalism, and corruption.
Furthermore, the gratuitous debt acquired during the military rule has been unsustainable for the long-term growth of the country. For example, the total external debt of the country sprouted from $8.2 billion to $24.4 billion just from 1977 to 1982 as recorded In the World Development Indicators (WDI). All in all, the debt due to the Martial Law crisis is around $26 billion which will be paid by the Filipinos until 2025.
Similarly, neglect on manufacturing and employment were worsened by crony capitalism and poor working conditions. Crony capitalism allowed Marcos’ allies to lead the coveted projects from the government and the largest industries in the country. With this, the manufacturing sector suffered inefficient management and bankruptcy. The Bataan Power Plant was one of those projects which was ambitious for its own sake.
On top of these, Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were believed to have robbed $5-10 billion from the Filipinos. Imelda was convicted for two counts of graft in 1993 and seven counts of graft in 2018 for illegal project contracts and illegal private Swiss foundations.
At this time, the value of peso was P26-27 to a dollar.
Retrogression under Duterte (2000s)
The terms of Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, and Benigno Aquino III somehow revived the economy and brought trust from foreign investors. However, enough jobs were not generated, hence only the rich become richer while the poor remain poor.
Today, the COVID-19 pandemic brought economic retrogression to the country. In fact, the Philippines’ economy is currently the worst performing in the ASEAN. The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) forecasts that the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2020 will be -7.6%. Also, Duterte borrowed P1.86 trillion from January to July 2020. This results in the increase of debt-to-GDP ratio from 39.6% in 2019 to a projected 59.9% in 2022.
Martial Law instigated the plummeting of the economy – the crony capitalism, the lack of jobs, the gap between the rich and the poor, and the blatant corruption in the government. Never will it be considered the “golden age” of the Philippines. Consequently, the future generations of Filipinos will still pay for the debts and economic immobility brought by the mismanagement of the past and current administrations.
Sources:
https://opinion.inquirer.net/113944/history-falling-peso
https://www.rappler.com/voices/imho/marcos-economy-golden-age-philippines
http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6g/entry-3916.html
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/774774/well-pay-marcos-debt-until-2025
https://mb.com.ph/2020/09/24/ph-economy-second-worst-performing-in-asean-amro/
https://business.inquirer.net/306759/govt-borrowings-hit-p-1-86t-in-7-months
Stephanie De Jesus | Probe editor
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