ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
RP still a long way from freedom--SC' s Puno
Country still in grip of 'economic colonizers'
By Abigail Kwok, Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:41:00 06/12/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines may no longer officially be under foreign rule but the country remains in the grip of "economic colonizers," Chief Justice Reynato Puno said on Thursday, Independence Day.
In his speech at rites in Caloocan City to mark the 110th year since Philippine revolutionary president Emilio Aguinaldo declared the country independent from Spanish colonial rule, Puno said foreign governments and firms continue to wield influence on the nation's economic and political life.
But aside from foreign influence, Puno said Filipinos also have to work against local elites with vested interests before they can be truly free.
Speaking in Filipino, Puno said wealthy foreign nations make loans available but "the bitter payment for these is our acquiescence to business agreements in which their businesses are granted many incentives."
And because the country cannot afford to repay these debts, "they dictate how we should run our political and economic life and oftentimes limit how much we spend to help our poor, educate their children, put food on their tables," he said.
But the chief justice said that, aside foreign nations and corporations that violate Filipinos' social and economic rights, the country's independence is also undermined by those who manipulate elections and by companies that refuse to pay just wages to their workers.
Citing figures from the National Statistics Office, Puno said the prices of commodities increased by 14.3 percent last month and 12 percent last April.
The price of rice, on the other hand, rose by 31.7 percent within a month.
He said that with every 10-percent increase in the prices of commodities, 2.3 more Filipinos join the ranks of the poor.
Puno said the situation he outlined proves that not only is the Philippines free but it has a long way to go to achieve freedom.
In his speech at rites in Caloocan City to mark the 110th year since Philippine revolutionary president Emilio Aguinaldo declared the country independent from Spanish colonial rule, Puno said foreign governments and firms continue to wield influence on the nation's economic and political life.
But aside from foreign influence, Puno said Filipinos also have to work against local elites with vested interests before they can be truly free.
Speaking in Filipino, Puno said wealthy foreign nations make loans available but "the bitter payment for these is our acquiescence to business agreements in which their businesses are granted many incentives."
And because the country cannot afford to repay these debts, "they dictate how we should run our political and economic life and oftentimes limit how much we spend to help our poor, educate their children, put food on their tables," he said.
But the chief justice said that, aside foreign nations and corporations that violate Filipinos' social and economic rights, the country's independence is also undermined by those who manipulate elections and by companies that refuse to pay just wages to their workers.
Citing figures from the National Statistics Office, Puno said the prices of commodities increased by 14.3 percent last month and 12 percent last April.
The price of rice, on the other hand, rose by 31.7 percent within a month.
He said that with every 10-percent increase in the prices of commodities, 2.3 more Filipinos join the ranks of the poor.
Puno said the situation he outlined proves that not only is the Philippines free but it has a long way to go to achieve freedom.
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