Clearly, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pleased with the Aquino government’s economic program. Its description of the Philippines being a “rising tiger” signals an affirmation that all its demands for structural reforms are in place through the public-private partnership (PPP) program. If the IMF is satisfied with Aquino’s PPP economic program, does it also reflect the improved condition of women?

The Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) does not think so. Regular jobs and decent wages are still wanting. Food is not yet seen on every family’s table. Hunger and violence against women prevail. IMF’s structural reforms especially PPP only worsen the condition of women.

Jobs available for women are very limited and low-skilled. More than half or 68% of women can be found in the service sector. Almost 85% are contractual workers and can only have jobs in three to four months. Four of the ten unemployed persons are women. In terms of wages, the long-standing call for a Php125-increase to meet the rising inflation has yet to be answered. Usually, when workers ask for increase in wages, there is a threat from businessmen of downsizing the workforce or shutting down businesses.

By the end of 2012, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) reported that hunger worsens in the Philippines, ranking 27th in the hunger incidence. Calamities worsen the poverty condition in the country. With the government’s permission of large scale mining and logging concessions, the Philippines become vulnerable to floods, as what happened in the supposedly rarely-hit-by-typhoon Mindanao that was gravely hit by super storm Pablo. Many women and their families lost their homes and jobs in the plantations.

Conditional Cash Transfer

CWR’s preliminary study on Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) revealed that the program hardly empowers women with the dole-out of more than a thousand pesos for a month. Women surveyed by CWR admitted that they become timid to question those who are disbursing the cash due to fear of being delisted. They say that beggars can’t be choosers. What more, they could no longer participate in any other activity because 4Ps meetings and cash disbursement always coincide with their local events. Again, absence in the meetings will mean deduction or loss of the cash grant. So, there are many women who are members of local women organizations who became limited for community interaction like training or events because of CCT/ 4Ps. Among those beneficiaries surveyed by CWR, 77% of them vowed that having a secured job or source of income will be a long-term protection than the cash hand-outs. They consider the cash dole-out as a palliative measure and not the security that they need.
Continuing violence

As hunger persists, so does violence. Based on the data culled from the women’s desk in PNP last year, there is a woman or child beaten 34 minutes and 48 seconds; and there is a woman or child raped every one hour and 42 minutes. Worse, there is an increasing case of rape committed by state authorities. But most of these cases remain unresolved. Intimidated and threatened, victims choose not to pursue the case just like what happened to the 21-year old woman who was raped by six military men in Masbate province in Bicol.

In terms of health services, the recently passed Reproductive Health Law reeks of population control instead of giving a comprehensive and free health service to women. The Health Department implements USAID’s PRISM (Private Sector Mobilization) for family health project, which is geared towards controlling the population and using private clinics to enhance the “clinical and entrepreneurial skills” of 300 midwives. In more than a decade, health expenditure comes from the patient’s pocket than from government support. Almost 60% of hospitals are privately owned. As public hospitals and services are being converted into private venture and as health budget is allotted more for PhilHealth enterprise, the 11-dead mothers-a-day will prevail.

“Daang Matuwid”

Aquino’s policy of “daang matuwid” was cited as one of the reasons for making the Philippines a “rising tiger”. Observably, the road has been selectively paved for big businessmen and foreign investors. Yet, the foreign direct investments were 60% down in 2012, as reported by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The government’s tireless dependence on foreign capital, particularly from the US, has been politically reflected on how it reacted to the destruction of the US warship to the Tubbataha Reef, a national treasure. The tiger could not even growl. It only speaks of compensation.

For the Filipino women, the destruction is beyond compensation. It embodies intrusion, a rape in another form –a rape of motherland. Yet seemingly, such crime can hardly get a guilty verdict. The reaction of the government on the Tubbataha Reef’s destruction reminds the Filipino women of how the government had helped a US soldier-rapist escape from national incarceration in 2006. The trend of letting the US government be forgiven again by the Philippine government is disturbingly possible. Given such condition, how can a Filipino tiger rise?

Women organizations saw the gap between the pronouncement and the operation of the proposed 2013 Php2-trillion national budget, identifying these gaps as putting women’s lives at stake. Although the budget for social services has increased, the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) and Gabriela questioned how the basic needs in health, education, and housing are considered in the proposal.

In the forum, “Women’s Lives at Stake: Diagnosing Pnoy’s 2013 Empowerment Budget”, CWR and Gabriela presented their call for an accessible, free, immediate, and quality service that should be the primary concern in the 2013 budget.

“A peso a day for health, two pesos a day for kindergarten, and almost 9 million pesos for demolition of urban poor could not be considered an empowering budget at all,” declared UP Vice-chancellor Marion Jimenez-Tan, who presented the CWR study as the research institution’s chairperson.

Jimenez mentioned that the budget for social services still falls short of the actual needs of the people. The budget for programs and activities for health amounting to Php39.2 billion only translates to Php426 per year or Php1.16 per day for every Filipino. With the education budget of Php1.68 billion for kindergarten, the estimated amount for every child will only be Php971 per year or Php2.70 per day. The housing budget has specific fund for driving out “professional squatters and squatting syndicates” amounting to Php8.6 million.

“The Aquino government packages the budget as an Atas ng Taumbayan and yet the allotment for the people, particularly for women, is far from what we need. If the government really listens to our Atas, then there should have been a bigger amount for free, accessible, immediate, and quality service in health, education, and housing,” stated Joms Salvador, secretary general of Gabriela.

Women-specific programs, such as the Conditional Cash Transfer and the Women’s Health and Safe Motherhood Project, are largely funded by foreign loans. “These loans add to the devastating debt of the country where its payment eats up the largest part of the budget,” observed Jimenez. Debt payment for interest alone swells up to Php333.9 billion, getting the lion’s share of the budget.

“There is a need to re-channel some amounts of other items like debt payment to the delivery of social services. We should unveil the illusory design of this empowerment budget. We need action than mere declaration; responsive program than mere rhetoric,” stated Jimenez. ###