UP Economics alumni, students express support for Robredo

(As released  More than 400 alumni and some 150+ students of the University of the Philippines School of Economics (UPSE) signed a Manifesto expressing support for the candidacy of Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo for President, and Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan for Vice President of the Philippines in the coming May 9 elections. The signature drive was initiated in early March and cut off was March 31, 2022. Alumni range from as old as batch 1968 to batch 2019.

The main reason given by the alumni and students is that the Leni-Kiko pair is “subok na sa kakayanan at integridad at may track record. Si VP Leni ay ekonomista (UPSE batch 1986) at isang public interest lawyer…. Si Kiko ay abogado (UP Law batch 1993) at batikang Senador.”

The alumni group added that “sina Leni at Kiko ang magsasaayos ng ekonomiya ng Pilipinas na pinadapa ng pandemya at nang kapalpakan ng kasalukuyang pamamahala.”

Recall that the Philippines had a GDP contraction of -9.6% in 2020, the worst in Asia that year and the worst in Philippine economic history since post WW2. All countries around the world were exposed to the same virus but countries had different responses and policies.  The current administration in the Philippines failed to “flatten the curve” of Covid cases and instead succeeded in flattening the economy.

Aside from flattening the economy, the current administration also raised big time the public debt, from P8.22 trillion (actual and guaranteed) in 2019 to P10.25 trillion in 2020, and P12.15 trillion in 2021. High public debt will require high and multiple taxes. The Philippines should avoid this situation of more taxes.

VP Leni has shown that having big agency budgets via big taxes and huge borrowings is not a guarantee for real public service and for improving the ordinary Filipinos’ lives. The budget for six years (2017-2022) of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) was only P0.6 to P0.9 billion a year, always below P1B/year. The 2022 total budget is P5 trillion, while the OVP budget is only P0.7 billion, or 0.0001 or 1% of 1%. So for every P100 in total budget, the OVP budget is only P0.01 -- not even P1 but only 1 centavo. Compare that to the budget of the Office of the President amounting to P8.24 billion plus discretionary and intelligence funds of P65.10 billion.

And yet VP Leni was able to inspire confidence and transparency and attracted many private donations during the pandemic that enabled her office to deliver PPEs to many frontline health workers and Covid treatment kits to poor households.

The UPSE alumni and students’ Manifesto has briefly outlined the pathway for hope and economic recovery for a better Philippines. — As released

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For clarifications and questions about the Manifesto and its signatories, feel free to contact Rafael Solis via email [email protected].
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