Press Release
September 21, 2018

Sa ika-46 na taon ng martial law, tandaan: nilubog nito ang ekonomiya -- Pangilinan

The Marcos dictatorship legalized plunder, bringing hunger and misery to our people. Data shows that a huge part of Marcos's downfall was how low the economy plunged:

1. GDP growth, main measure of economic growth: Average GDP growth during the Marcos years was at 3.8 percent, 4.5 percent in the 2000s, and 6.3 percent from 2010 to the present.

Under Marcos, in 1984 and 1985, the country hit the worst recession in post-war period: a 7.3-percent contraction for 2 successive years.

2. Debt: From $4.1 billion in 1975, Philippine external debt shot up to almost 6 times to $24.4 billion in 1982. We, including our children and maybe even their children's children, are still paying for those debts.

3. Weaker peso: From 1969 to 1985, the value of the peso against the dollar plunged from P3.92 to P18.61.

4. Jobs: Underemployment peaked at 33 percent in 1984, meaning: about 1 of 3 people who had a job either wanted to work more hours or were looking for additional jobs, but could not find any. The jobs available were not enough to satisfy the workers' needs.

5. Rising prices: By 1984, inflation shot up to a record 50 percent.

6. Eroding income: From 1966 to 1985, the real wage rate for unskilled workers plummeted to 23.21 from 86.02; for skilled workers, it dropped from 112.9 to 35.55. This meant that an unskilled worker's P100 wage in 1966 could only buy him or her P27 worth of goods and services in 1985.

7. Corruption: Marcos used his immense dictatorial powers to amass ill-gotten wealth, believed to be about $5 to 10 billion. The Marcos family and their cronies have deliberately blocked and delayed efforts to get all that back for the Filipino people.

So, today, on the 46th year of martial law declaration, we must remember: the dictatorship almost destroyed our economy, and we are still paying the price for that catastrophe. We cannot let that happen again.

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