Rising from the debt
For as long as the Philippines is under the dictates of the IMF-WB and other creditors, we are still not free to pursue our own destiny as a people. For this reason, we should take steps to break free from the chains of our debt burden.
�� To achieve this, several options have been cited:
Pursue the prosecution of borrowers and creditors involved in behest loans or loans that did not benefit the Filipino people.
Repeal the Automatic Appropriations Law or Section 26(b) Book 6 of the Revised Administrative Code of 1987.
Make the approval of loan projects transparent.
Our debt advocacy must not be confined to existing debt; it must include advocacy on new loans being contracted by the government. Mechanisms should be installed to ensure public access to information and participation of interest groups.
Implement a progressive system of taxation and improved tax collection.
Government suffers from big shortfalls in revenues due to massive tax evasion, unnecessary tax incentives to foreigners and inefficient tax collection. To resolve this fiscal crisis, government should restructure the prevailing regressive tax system by taxing more those who are most able to pay.
The Filipino people are paying the price for a debt policy that puts creditors first and people last. Our problem of foreign debt is not so much as owing such a big amount; rather, the problem is in how this debt is being managed. The past Chief Executives have maintained a policy of "honoring debts above all," to the detriment of the people.
Our dependence on foreign aid has brought us nowhere except fall deeper into the debt trap. The critical condition of our economy has made the country vulnerable to its creditors who are given advantage in political and economic interests.
We have to start doing something about the government's debt dependence. Failing to do so will keep our country in bondage for generations to come.
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THE DEBT TRAP
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