Speech of Senator Grace Poe at the
17th Sustainable Shared Growth Seminar
Sekiguchi Global Research Association, Engineering Theater,
U.P. Diliman, Quezon City 11 February 2014 (Tuesday)

The world is a vastly different place from what it was 10-20 years ago. Ten years ago, the price of fuel was only half of what it costs today, food was cheaper and the cost of living was generally less than what it is today. Ten years ago, no one has even heard of Facebook, there were no iPhones, and hardly anyone was aware about climate change. My father died nine years ago and the world has changed drastically since then.

We all know that change is inevitable. The world is changing so fast that it has become so difficult to predict the future. And if we are unable to solve our problems and adapt in this whole new world, the Philippines will once again be left by the wayside.

My task as a senator is to think of ways how to change our country for the better and for always. Foresight is very important. I am not only expected to be knowledgeable about our country's problems but I am also required to come up with policy proposals/legislative solutions to those problems. I have been spending the last six months reading, studying and playing "catch up" to my more seasoned colleagues in the Senate. I am bombarded by tons of information on a daily basis, and I probably learned more about our country in the last six months than in my entire lifetime.

Anyway, let me now share with you some of what I have learned so far. Based on my readings, I see that the Philippines has finally found the right formula for success. We are slowly shedding our image as the perennial "Sick Man of Asia" and we are now being touted as the "Newest Tiger Economy" in Asia. For the last 15 years, our economy grew by an average of 4.6% and last year (in 2013) our GDP grew by an unprecedented 7.2%. I would like to cite to you what Moody's (the credit-rating agency) has to say about the state of our country's economy right now (to quote):

"The Philippines is a fast-growing economy that has entered a structural shift to higher growth, accompanied by low inflation. Its robust economic performance has been supported by strong local business activity and consumption, reinforced by improved fiscal spending. Its external payments position is strong, bolstered by remittance inflows from overseas Filipinos and services exports, particularly from the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector."

If you read the papers today, unemployment rate is at 12%. More than 20 million are jobless. The reason for this, unfortunately, is the discontent of the youth sector. The ones that were interviewed would say, for the long hours they worked, they were hardly compensated accordingly. There is a lot of dissatisfaction in the jobs market by the young college graduates.

We need to change this mind set but we need to inculcate in our youth that instant gratification will not really help you succeed. Even if my father was supposedly popular in the public eye, I had to work my way up. I had to attend countless debates to prove myself and I know that it's difficult to start from scratch, but if you don't make that sacrifice, nobody will give you the break that you deserve.

We are now the 40th largest economy in the world according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to Goldman Sachs and HSBC, our country is poised to become the 14th largest economy in the world; the 5th largest in Asia; and the largest economy in Southeast Asia by the year 2050. Could you believe that? By that time, a child born today would be my age in 2050. That's only 36 years from now - (which is within the lifetime of most of us present here today).

Moreover, next year, in 2015, the Philippines will be hitting what economists call a "demographic sweet spot" (those among you who play tennis will understand) because the bulk of our population will be hitting working age. Just think about it, the ones that made it to the last senatorial elections, most of us are a little bit younger than those who won in the last senatorial race. Really because a lot of you, voters, are getting younger and younger.

By 2019, economists predict that the Philippines will reach another "sweet spot" because 2019 is the year when our GDP per capita will reach 6,000 dollars. This means that more Filipinos will become "middle class." It is predicted that in the next 15 years, four out of five Filipinos will attain middle class status. All of these positive predictions is, of course, based on the premise that the Philippines will be able to maintain its current growth trajectory.

But what I find truly amazing about our country's growth is that we were able to achieve it without consuming too much electricity.

Just drive around, sa sobrang mahal ng kuryente, ang sari-sari store, iisa lang ang bumbilya sa gabi. Sometimes, you have to rely on your own head light dahil walang ilaw sa kalye dahil sa sobrang pagtitid dahil napakamahal ng kuryente. Kailangan talaga i-review ang EPIRA.

Classical economic theory says that for every 1% increase in the GNP a corresponding 1.6% growth in energy consumption is to be expected.? Well, our economy grew by an average of 4% while energy demand grew only by an average of 2%. The ADB-commissioned report "Energy Outlook for Asia and the Pacific" predicts that the Philippines' total final energy demand will be growing at a modest 2.2% per annum in the next 25 years. This means that unlike more developed nations like the U.S., China and Japan, the Philippines is able to grow without using up too much of Mother Earth's resources- i.e. oil, coal, minerals and what not. Di ba this is what "sustainable development" is all about? - growing without harming the environment.

The main reason for our country's modest energy demand is the emergence of non-energy intensive industries in the Philippines. Except for our ship-building (in Subic) and semi-conductor (in Laguna & Cebu) industries, the Philippines has no heavy industry to speak of. Unlike in the more developed countries, the Philippines does not have a car manufacturing industry, steel industry and other heavy industries which require loads of power. Instead, what we have are less "energy-intensive" industries - like our tourism and service industry, most notably the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. And we also have our OFW remittances which fuels local consumption.

So in this era of high fuel costs, increasing concern for the environment and climate change, the Philippines may be showing the path to "sustainable growth." Scholars who would like to develop a "sustainable" paradigm of economic growth would do well to study how the Philippines managed to achieve its impressive growth numbers in today's world of "Peak Oil," climate change and a globalizing economy. Unless there is a sudden surge in energy demand in the country, or unless there is a drastic shift in our migration pattern and all our OFWs just suddenly decided to return home, or if our entire people stopped speaking English, chances are the Philippines will be able to sustain its current growth trajectory for many years to come.

Of course it's also important that we have a leader that we can trust. It's important to know that the president's credibility has a big effect when it comes to investors having confidence in investing in our country.

Sadly, even if our growth can be deemed good in terms of its "sustainability," the same cannot be said about its "inclusivity." This is because the benefits of this economic growth has not really trickled down to the people who need it most - the poor and underprivileged Filipinos. As things stand, the last 15 years of non-stop growth has not really resulted in a dramatic improvement in the plight of the poor. On the contrary, it seems to have only resulted in widening the income gap between the "haves" and "have-nots." Data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) show that families in the country's richest now earn 10 times more than families from the poorest decile. In other words, a poor family's annual income is almost equal to a rich family's monthly income. Sa ngayon, ang isang taong kita ng isang mahirap na mangagawa ay katumbas lamang ng isang buwanang sahod ng isang executive. Amidst a period of plenty, 3 million Filipino children are still malnourished and another 3 million are stunted (or below their ideal height).

Let me share with you my program, my aim is really to pass a free lunch program for all the public elementary school children. It would cost the country about 11 billion dollars a year. It sounds like a lot of money, but think about it, if 30+ percent of our population are children in the age of 17 years old, isn't that an acceptable reason to prepare for the future?

500,000 of our kids are severely malnourished meaning severely wasted, they can't function properly. Ang term na wasted ay para doon sa mga hindi kaya ang pangangatawan dahil sa sobrang hina. At the very least, we were able to fight for it in our budget deliberations. I was able to allocate, though not much, 20 million pesos. But 7,000 children who are malnourished will have food this coming school year. Pwede pala iyon. Sinabi ko sa chairman ng finance committee, "you promise me, when you do the budget for next year, you will include all malnourished children." And we will do it, we will fight for that, why? Because the money is there. If you don't use the money for that, where will it go? Conditional Cash Transfer program, which is good, pero hindi diretso sa tiyan iyon, dumadaan yan sa kamay at ang kamay ay kontrolado ng isip na baka gamitin sa ibang bagay.

These are the bills that I'm fighting for aside from the Freedom of Information Act, which of course, we are all very aware of. I filed bills that will help, aside from the standard lunch program. We have this bill that will encourage agriculture for the young ones, because the average age of a farmer is 50 years old. Wala nang nagsasaka, ano na ang kakainin natin? So we want to be able to give scholarships and grants for that. Another bill is to be able to strengthen the banking system for the Bangsamoro. For them to be able to gain credit. To be able to help those suffering from depression, to be able to have funds for cancer patients so that the PCSO is not burdened.

So again, I am here today before you with the opportunity to be able to help more people because of Professor Serge Andal, so thank you very much Professor Serge for believing in me and for trusting in our team.

Maraming salamat at mabuhay kayong lahat!