Plan 747:
New name for an old gimmick

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

Seven percent growth in seven years starting mid-2003. Thus ran the newest slogan of the Macapagal-Arroyo regime as it adopted the socio-economic program popularized by House Speaker Jose de Venecia in 2001. De Venecia inserted the number "4" since it was his intention then to run for the presidential elections in 2004 � thus the name "Plan 747". Macapagal-Arroyo has now appropriated Plan 747, hoping to use its results as capital to revive her sagging popularity.

Apart from the gimmick-laden title, Plan 747 is no different from the Ramos regime's Philippines 2000 (or the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan) that was likewise zealously promoted by Macapagal-Arroyo. Both are focused on fully opening the economy to imperialist "globalization". Like Philippines 2000, Plan 747 espouses liberalization, privatization, deregulation and the denationalization of the national economy. As can be expected from the publicity-hungry De Venecia, Plan 747 contains nothing but a number of selected impact projects and programs that will be used to maximum effect for self-serving reasons and to court the people's votes.

Plan 747 purportedly shifts the economic policies of the government from "macroeconomics" to "microeconomics." Instead of concentrating on general economic policies in upholding neoliberalism, Plan 747 intends to promote and actually implement selected key projects. Accordingly, Macapagal-Arroyo booted out National Economic Development Authority secretary general Dante Canlas due to his supposed inutility to reverse the negative trend in the economy in the past two years. In his place, Macapagal-Arroyo appointed De Venecia aide and Plan 747 author Romulo Neri.

De Venecia and Neri are making empty boasts in saying that their plan would eradicate absolute poverty in a matter of 10 years. Their hopes of achieving a 7% annual GNP growth beginning in 2003 is likewise miles away from reality.

Even the selected impact projects on Plan 747's list are impossible or exceedingly difficult to implement, such as planting a billion trees for commercial logging purposes in a span of seven to 12 years, or constructing 750,000 new houses in three years.

De Venecia admits that Plan 747's projects depend on huge loans from Japan and Europe. Even the IMF is worried that the hefty expenditures needed to implement Plan 747 will only further bloat the government and the country's deficit and indebtedness. Even if some of the projects are implemented, the more remarkable result will be the further destruction of the country's forces of production.

Contrary to Neri's pronouncements that "Plan 747 will strengthen the supply side," the plan's espousal of further liberalization in agriculture, industry and services will only result in the massive entry of foreign companies and their monopoly of economic sectors hitherto limited to Filipinos, especially in agriculture and services, and the dumping of imported products. This will only result in further poverty and bankruptcy among the peasantry and local companies in the industrial and service sectors.

The main content of Plan 747 is the "modernization of agriculture" through the plantation-type cultivation of high-value crops such as cashew, asparagus, pepper and yams (ube) primarily for export. This will likewise involve the use of imported inputs like certified seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The cultivation of high-value crops will take the place of palay cultivation, thus resulting in the widespread conversion of many small ricefields into plantations geared for exports.

Instead of developing the economy, Plan 747 will only make it even more dependent on imports and exports and condemn it to backwardness.

January 2003
English Edition

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