WH SAPATA TODO Industrial policy vs neoliberalism in the time of corruption

The massive anomalies in flood control projects amid the incessant rains, coupled with the shameless display of unexplained wealth by some politicians and contractors, have triggered rage among the people.

- NEPOMUCENO MALALUAN

Yet again, our communal anger is in full throttle, not unlike what we experienced at EDSA Uno, EDSA Dos, and the Million People March against pork barrel. Yet again, systemic corruption lingers, more widespread and scandalous in scale and impunity.

The government response: the President's dashboard of flood control contracts and an Independent Commission for Infrastructure, high-profile public hearings at the Senate and the House of Representatives, and intensified deployment of multiple anti-corruption laws and accountability mechanisms.

Even as we hope that today's anti-corruption drive goes deeper than past episodes, unfortunately it will still be insufficient on its own. Corruption is only one face of Philippine underdevelopment; the other is a failed economic policy framework. The two reinforce each other, and both must be confronted.

Since the 1986 EDSA People Power revolt, successive administrations have broadly adhered to a neoliberal development strategy. It is a model focused on liberalization of trade and investment, deregulation, and privatization.

The belief was that liberalized markets would generate efficiency, attract sustained investment, and eventually spur industrial upgrading.

The reality that unfolded was starkly different. The predicted outcome of industrial upgrading and complexity never materialized. Capital flowed into real estate, finance, retail, and public utilities sectors that offered either quick or safer returns.