SUMMARY: ARROYO PRESIDENCYS ECONOMIC

PERFORMANCE
Targets from Pres.
Gloria MacapagalArroyos State of
the Nation Address,
July 23, 2001

Actual performance,
2001-2009

Our challenge is clear:o 530,642 increase in the number of poor families between
sugpuin ang
2000 and 2006 to 4.7 million poor families in 2006.
kahirapan.
(NSCB, using low official poverty lines)
o 2.1 million increase in the number of poor Filipinos
between 2000 and 2006 to 27.6 million in 2006. (NSCB,
using low official poverty lines)
o Meanwhile the net income of the Top 1000 corporations
in the Philippines rose from P116.4 billion in 2001 to
average P416.7 billion annually in the period 2002-2008.
(BW)
o In 2006, the net worth of just the 20 richest Filipinos
including close Arroyo allies Lucio Tan, Enrique Razon, Jr.,
Eduardo Cojuangco, Enrique Aboitiz and others was P801
billion (US$15.6 billion), which was equivalent to the
combined income for the year of the poorest 10.4 million
Filipino families. (Forbes Asia, NSCB)
The way to fight
poverty is to create
jobs, not destroy
them.

o The period 2001-2009 is the longest period of high

unemployment in the countrys history the true
unemployment rate averaged some 11.2 percent. (IBON
estimates using NSO data)
o Around 730,000 increase in jobless Filipinos from Jan-01
to reach 4.3 million in Jan-10. (IBON estimates using NSO
data)
o 2.4 million increase in underemployment from Jan-01 to
reach 7.1 million in Jan-10. (NSO)
o Combined unemployment and underemployment
increased by 3.1 million from Jan-01 to reach 11.4 million in
Jan-10. (IBON estimates using NSO data)
o Some 877,000 jobs were created annually since Jan-01
(28.1 million) to reach 36.0 million in Jan-10. However the
quality of jobs created is poor: merely part-time work
increased by 3.8 million from Jan-01 to reach 12.3 million in
Jan-10, accounting for over one out of three of all jobs.
(NSO)
o Also, out of 36.0 million employed in Jan-10: 3.8 million
are unpaid family workers (585,000 increase from Jan-

01), 12.1 million are own account workers mainly in the

informal sector (1.6 million increase), and around 12.6
million are wage and salary workers but without written
contracts. (NSO, and IBON estimates using NSO data)
o The period 2001-2009 has seen the most Filipinos forced
abroad to find jobs in the countrys history deployments
averaged 1.04 million annually compared to 469,709
(Aquino), 713,505 (Ramos) and 839,324 (Estrada); 1.42
million were deployed last year or 3,898 Filipinos leaving
every day. (POEA) There are over 9 million Filipinos forced
to find work abroad. (DFA-CFO)
Dapat din tugunan
ang karaingan ng
madla sa mahal na
bilihin at kulang na
sahod.

o The gap between the NCR minimum wage and the family
living wage more than doubled to some P550 (NCR
minimum wage P404 and estimated family living wage
P957 in June 2010) from just P257 in 2001 (NCR minimum
wage P252 and family living wage of P509). (DOLE, NWPC)
o The Arroyo administration has had the smallest increase
in workers real wages over its term of any government
since the Marcos dictatorship with an increase in real
terms of just P5 over its nine-and-a-half years compared to
P82 during the time of Aquino, P16 of Ramos, and P22 of
Estrada (inflation-adjusted figures based on 2000 prices).
(IBON)

With regard to the

fiscal sector, we will
control the budget
deficit by collecting
taxes vigorously and
spending money
prudently.

o The cumulative national government deficit from 2001 to

2009 is P1.34 trillion or more than triple the deficits of the
Aquino, Ramos and Estrada administrations combined
(P422 billion). (BTr)
o The Arroyo administration paid P5.1 trillion in debt
service from 2001 to 2009 this is nearly triple the P1.8
billion in debt payments made over 15 years by the Aquino,
Ramos and Estrada administrations combined. (BTr)
o Yet government debt has continued to rise to P4.36
trillion in February 2010 which is more than double the
P2.17 trillion debt inherited from the Estrada government.
The administration has effectively been borrowing an
additional P243 billion annually since coming to power. (BTr)

A social bias toward

the disadvantaged to
balance our economic
development plan.
Pagkalinga sa mga
bahagi ng lipunan na
naiwanan ng
kaunlaran.

o The Arroyo administration (2001-09) allotted only 15.1%

of the national budget to education which is lower than
under Estrada (18.7%) and Ramos (15.5%) though more
than Aquino (12.3%). (DBM)
o To health, it allotted only 1.8% of the national budget
which is lower than under Estrada (2.4%) and Ramos (2.6%)
and Aquino (3.1%). (DBM)
o To housing, it allotted only 0.4% of the national budget
which is lower than under Estrada (0.8%) and Ramos (0.6%)

while higher than Aquino (0.1%). (DBM)

o In 2010, the Arroyo administration is only spending P7
per Filipino per day on education, P1 on health and 16
centavos on housing while paying the equivalent of P22
on debt service. (IBON computations on DBM data)
Increase the chances o The number of out-of-school children and youth
of Filipino children
increased by 2.45 million between school year 2000-01 and
finishing school
2008-09 consisting of an additional 1.62 million children
[karunungan] para sa aged 7-12 years old and an additional 822,097 children
masa
aged 13-16 years old to reach a total of 4.69 million.
(DepED)
o The number of elementary-age out-of-school children
increased by 1.62 million between school year 2000-01 and
2008-09 to a total of 2.04 million.
o The number of high school-age out-of-school youth
increased by 822,097 between school year 2000-01 and
2008-09 to a total of 2.66 million.
o 1.95 million of these children and youth consisting of
1.59 million of the elementary-age children and 360,000 of
the high-school age children are directly due to the
deterioration of participation rates during the Arroyo
administration. (IBON computations on DepED data)
Elementary school participation rate dropped from 96.8% in
school year 2000-01 to 85.1% in 2008-09; the high school
participation rate dropped from 66.1% to 60.7% over the
same period. (DepED)
There can be a million o Only an average of 172,600 agricultural sector jobs were
new jobs in agriculture created annually over the last nine years from 10.25
and fisheries [within
million in Jan-01 to 11.81 million in Jan-10. (NSO)
the year] I dont
o The agriculture sector has fallen to its smallest share in
want the one million gross domestic product (GDP) in the countrys history
new jobs to come in
18.1% (2009). (NSCB)
the long term.
Sisikapin nating
magkaroon ng rice
self-sufficiency.

o Rice imports increased 220% from 754,328 tons in 2001

to a record 2.4 million tons in 2008, with 1.7 million more in
2009. (NFA)

Murang bigas at
masaganang
magsasaka.

o The price of rice increased 75% between 2001 and 2009:

of regular milled rice to P30.69 per kilo (from P17.54) and
of well milled rice to P34.12 per kilo (from P19.43). The
nominal minimum wage meanwhile only increased 62%
between 2001 and June-10 (DA, NWPC)

Bawat taon,
mamahagi ang
gobyerno ng

o The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of the Arroyo

administration distributed an average of 119,301 hectares
annually (2001-2008) which is smaller than under Estrada

dalawandaang libong (121,274 ha., 1999-2000), Ramos (296,395 ha., 1993-1998)

ektarya para sa
and Aquino (169,063 ha., 1987-1992). (No equivalent data
reporma sa lupa:
available for land distributed by the DENR)
100,000 of private
land and 100,000
hectares of public
land, including 100
ancestral domain titles
for indigenous
peoples.
Information and
communications
technology (ICT) will
jumpstart our old
stalling economy and
make it leapfrog into
the new economy.

o The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry rapidly

grew from 5,600 employees and US$56 million in revenues
in 2001 to 442,164 employees and US$7.2 billion in
revenues in 2009. (NEDA) But in 2009 the sector still
accounted for just 1.3% of total employment and only some
2% of gross domestic product (GDP). (IBON computations
on NSCB data)
o The manufacturing sector has meanwhile shrunk to as
small as in the 1950s 21.8% of GDP (2009). (NSCB) The
sector created just 15,370 jobs annually since Jan-01 to
reach 3.0 million in Jan-10. In contrast, seven times more
household help jobs were created over the same period
with 107,730 added annually to reach 2.1 million in Jan-10;
the number of household help in the country is fast
approaching the number of manufacturing workers. (NSO)

Kumikilos ang
o The price of diesel rose 183% between January 2001
gobyerno upang
(P13.82 per liter) and May 2010 (P39.05) and of gasoline by
mapigilan ang pagtaas 180% (from P16.56 to P46.21). (IBON monitoring)
ng presyo ng mga
o The peso price per liter of Dubai crude has increased by
pangunahing
an average of P0.13 per month since January 2001 yet the
pangangailangan ng pump price of diesel has increased by an average of P0.22
manggagawa.
per month, which is excessive even if the effect of the RVAT
Binabantayan ang
law since November 2005 is factored in. (IBON)
presyo ng langis.
Damihan ang
kategoriya ng
manggagawang hindi
na kailangang
magbayad ng buwis.

o On average, every Filipino 15 years old and over paid the

government an extra P6,025 in taxes over the last four
years (2006-2009). This is equivalent to the additional
P363.0 billion in taxes paid by Filipinos due to the
imposition of RVAT in Nov 2005. (DOF) (IBON computations)

Reduce corruption in o The total amount of kickbacks, ill-gotten wealth and

the executive branch payoffs involved in just 16 major corruption cases reaches
investigate and
as much as P20.9 billion (US$430 million). The amount
prosecute corruption in remains substantial even if the interrupted NBN-ZTE and
high places reduce Cyber-Education deals are excluded. (Pagbabago! Research
corruption among
Working Group)
elective officials no

one is above the law.

Sources: Bureau of Treasury (BTr), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of
Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Education (DepED), Department of
Foreign Affairs-Commission on Filipinos Overseas (DFA-CFO), National Statistical
Coordination Board (NSCB), National Statistics Office (NSO), National Wages and
Productivity Council (NWPC), BusinessWorld (BW) Top 1000 Corporations, Forbes
Asia, and Pagbabago! Research Working Group.