FILE PHOTO: Presidential acandidate Leody de Guzman addresses supporters at his proclamation rally on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City. INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — If elected president, labor leader Ka Leody de Guzman vows to boost the country’s micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) as a way to revive the country’s manufacturing sector.
At the SMNI presidential interview on Saturday, De Guzman said this is the only way to make the country less dependent on imports.
“Kakatulungin din natin sila sa pagbubukas ng ating pagmamanupaktura,” De Guzman said of MSMEs. “Magkaroon tayo ng sariling industriya para sila ang gagawa ng mga produkto o mga yaring produkto na kailangan natin,” he added.
(We will tap them (MSMEs) in opening our manufacturing (sector). We will have our own industry so that they will be the ones to make products that we need.)
De Guzman said he plans to earmark P125 billion to assist MSMEs.
De Guzman blamed the neoliberal policies used by financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in their loan programs.
The said financial institutions require borrowing countries to adopt structural adjustments such as the privatization of state owned industries, cutting public sector employment and subsidies, and easing of regulations to attract foreign investment.
“Ang problema, nang magkaroon ng structural adjustment program, nagbukas ang ating ekonomiya kaya nawasak ang ating agrikultura, nawasak ang ating industriya, at tayo ngayon ay pinapaasa na lang sa produktong dayuhan,” De Guzman stressed.
(The problem is, once the structural adjustment program took effect, our economy opened up which destroyed our agriculture and industry, making us reliant to foreign products.)
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