Nograles’ interest in attracting foreign investors in the city is no different from the way he eagerly pushed for Charter change.
It was Nograles who authored House Bill 737, which will allow a one hundred percent foreign ownership of lands, utilities, education and natural resources in the country, once it is passed into law. Nograles has been criticized for the Bill and for his active support for moves to change the Philippine Constitution.
John Birondo, spokesperson of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said Nograles’ prescriptions would only increase the Philippine economy’s dependence on big foreign businesses and will not strengthen the domestic economy.
“Nograles is a lapdog of the US-Arroyo regime,” Birondo said. “He uses the bureaucracy to advance the capitalists’ interest.”
This is quite evident on Nograles’ position on the ‘No permit, no exam policy’ of private schools. “The government cannot interfere with the business of private sectors,” Nograles said when asked what he can do about the policy of the private schools not to allow students to take the exams unless they have paid in full their tuition fee.
Instead, Nograles opted for the government to provide scholarships and other financial assistance to students. But Karlos Manlupig, spokesperson of League of Filipino Students and member of Kabataan Partylist, said scholarships are ‘selective’ and will only cater to very few students among the thousands that are dropping out of school every year because of the rising cost of tuition.
Ibon said the country’s ‘stunted’ development is not due to the lack of foreign investments but the absence of real policies to strengthen the domestic economy.
“Foreign investment has been coming in but the supposed gains for economy and the people– such as jobs, poverty reduction and industrialization– are just not there,” the Ibon article said.
“The domestic economy is still unable to generate substantial capital; job creation has been stunted; natural resources have been lost and no technology has been transferred. The country’s scarce mineral, forestry and fishery resources will be exploited with scant benefits for the local economy, while local communities will be dislocated,” Ibon said.
Ibon called the proponents of Charter Change as people who continue to cling to an ‘obsolete’ ideology: that of continued dependence on foreign investments. Nograles’ idea of ‘improving’ the city’s economy through foreign investments, according to Ibon, is obsolete. (Grace S. Uddin/ davaotoday.com)
