052907: Mirror on the Wall: Belittling the OFW: Can Neri be that rude?

Water will always seek its own level no matter how many dams you erect to contain or control its free float. This also holds true in looking for a scapegoat, such as the practice of government officials to escape blame for their poor performance. Such exactly happened in the case of the current strong peso. You can even blame the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for making the floating peso, in the words of Socio-economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri, “uncomfortably strong,” but that’s the way it is in a “free economy” controlled by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The OFWs, erstwhile called the new heroes of the Philippines for saving it from economic ruin, appear to be Neri’s new villains because the $24 billion that they regularly remit to their families back home is getting uncomfortable in his eyes. The apple of his eyes may probably be the export sector, which Neri now calls as the battered sector to defend it from the strong peso President Arroyo portrays. What can be more battered than the OFW sector whose members, men and women, are literally and physically battered, abused, raped and threatened by proposals from the religious sector and the Bureau of Internal Revenue that want the remittances of laborers taxed?   Neri of the export sector Neri, who comes from the export sector being a former executive of the Yulo-owned sugar companies and being an ex-employee of oil exporter Mobil Oil, had this curt reply to a newspaper reporter’s query on the sad plight of the OFWs and their families: “Well, they are not being taxed anyway, so that’s their consolation.” He seems to be unaware of the proposal of the BIR and of either De La Salle or Ateneo de Manila to tax the overseas incomes of Filipinos abroad, conveniently setting aside the clamor that religious schools and churches must likewise be taxed. To add insult to OFWs’ wounded pride, their remittances, according to Neri, “are getting higher anyway.” This was in reply to the same question of whether these overseas workers are also adversely affected by the “strong” peso.  “Remittances are increasing because there’s an upgrade in the quality of jobs,” he said, then appealed for understanding in the case of the commodity exporters:  “We have to help our exporters in terms of upgrading quality and better credit terms.”  That looks like a one-sided love affair in favor of Neri’s sector.   Uncomfortable peso No, Mr. Neri, the remittances are increasing not because of the quality of their jobs but because of their strong determination to continue sending their foreign exchange to loved ones despite the uncomfortable peso and despite the lack of jobs available to them in the Philippines. This public official should know that budgeting is a task that is almost an impossible job to accomplish when there’s no money coming from local employment. He knows that by heart, being a former budget secretary. The commodity export market needs peso-dollar protection from the government and their friends in the government, but protecting them at the expense of the labor export sector called the OFW is, to say the least, a rude example of how some people approach human dignity.   Arrest the peso or arrest them What Neri should do, together with his National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the assigned Cabinet cluster committees is to arrest the foreign currency and stock market manipulators—arrest meaning putting them in jail. They need no market corrections, sideways or otherwise. Correctional can also be the more appropriate terms for these recidivists. The export sector is saying that because of the strong peso, its peso earnings are getting smaller. Well, the same is true with the incomes of the OFWs but they are not asking Bangko Sentral and Neda to extend them preferential rates like the ones being suggested for the export sector. Everybody must suffer from the uncomfortably strong peso if that is what the market dictates. Let the peso rise or fall because that is the law of gravity, also known as the law of supply and demand. “In the long run, [a strong peso] will have an impact on export growth, especially for those with local content,” Neri said. “That’s unless we do it the way the Japanese did it: Keep on upgrading products so that even if they have to increase prices, their products are still marketable. We have to help our exporters in terms of upgrading quality and better credit terms.” Five years ago, Neri, then only 52, was appointed socioeconomic planning secretary. He said that although Mrs. Arroyo had backed his reform proposals, he worried they could still be hijacked by politically well-connected groups. Are his quotes still valid these days?   E-mail: raulbvalino@yahoo.com.ph.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/05292007/opinion03.html