Marcos-style oligarchy balik ulit?

MAKALIPAS ang 34 taong nawala ang oligarkiya ni Marcos, bakit parang nararamdaman pa rin natin ito?

Ito ang tanong ni Calixto V. Chikiamco, board director ng Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis, sa kanyang talumpati sa relaunch noong 14 Agosto ng librong “Some Are Smarter Than Others” na isinulat ni Ricardo Manapat.

Ang relaunching ay kaalinsabay ng ika-29 anibersaryo ng publikasyon.

Sinagot ni Chikiamco ang kanyang tanong sa pagsasabing ang bansa ay may “isa pang authoritarian na may  fascist tendencies bilang isang lider at tulad ni Marcos ay ipinasara ang ABS-CBN.”

Sinabi ng speaker na nagpapatuloy ang rent-seeking system, ang percentage ng exports sa GDP ang pinakamababa sa ASEAN at ang kasalukuyang “oligarkiya ay karaniwang nasa regulated service industries, tulad ng power, telecommunications, shipping, ports, at sa ibang non-tradables na ang kanilang interes ay nasa regulatory capture at mahihinang government institutions.”

Idinagdag ni Chikiamco, gaya ng Marcos oligarchy, kasalukuyang dinodomina ng mga monopolyo ang ekonomiya.

“We have the most concentrated economy in Asia, according to the World Bank. Nothing much has changed in agriculture, despite land reform. Rural poverty and agricultural stagnation persist. In the political sphere, we only have formal democracy, but political institutions are controlled by political dynasties,” ani  Chikiamco.

Tila pinatutungkulan ang pahayag ng kasalukuyang administrasyon na ‘change is coming’ na sinabi ni Chikiamko na si Marcos ay may ipinagmamalaking Bagong Lipunan at ‘revolution from the center.’

Gayonman ay binigyang-diin niya na hindi binago ni Marcos ang import-dependent at inward-looking protectionist nature ng Philippine economy.

“Marcos crony capitalists were just exploiting their monopoly positions in the domestic economy unlike, say, in South Korea, where the ‘chaebols’ were disciplined by selling to the global market. Foreign loans plus the export of people as OFWs were for a while financing the recurring trade and payments deficits until the huge loan repayments themselves became the problem,” aniya.

Kalaunan umnao ay tinanong ni Manapat kung ito ay human nature.

“I will answer Manapat, if he were alive today, that no, the fault lies not in ourselves, but in our history. We are just path dependent. We are the creatures of our past,” pagtatapos ni  Chikiamco.