PH needs lower food prices, not presidential foreign trips – Bayan
Farmers and groups supporting them gathered at the Department of Agriculture office in Quezon City on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, to call on the government to solve high food prices, support local production, and halt importation. (Photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — What Filipinos need are lower food prices and not more foreign trips of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., progressive group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said on Monday.
Marcos’ trip to Davos in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum (WEF) is insensitive to the plight of poor Filipino families struggling to put food on the table, Renato Reyes, Bayan secretary general, said in a statement on Monday.
“Marcos Jr. leaves again for another foreign trip with a huge entourage as ordinary Filipinos grapple with soaring food and fuel prices and low wages. We are made to believe that these foreign trips are good for the country, even as government provides no real solutions to the crisis,” Reyes said.
Marcos left for Switzerland on Sunday, bringing with him a delegation expected to engage with businesspeople and leaders from across the world and hopefully bring home pledges and investments.
He made the trip at a time of a high inflation rate, as recorded in December 2022, with prices of products like onions, sugar, and eggs rising.
“This is governance through the window-dressing of poverty. It is insensitive to the plight of the poor and oblivious to the crisis gripping the nation. The huge presidential entourage in particular, to an expensive destination, is again insensitive to taxpayers and reminds us of last year’s F1 Grand Prix incident,” he added, referring to Marcos’ unannounced trip to Singapore in 2022.
Reyes also doubted if Marcos’ trip to Switzerland would reap benefits.
“In Davos, Marcos will boast of so-called ‘economic growth’ in the Philippines even as the country is P13.6 trillion deep in debt and inflation is at a record high of 8.1% and with 12.9 million people considering themselves as poor. What growth is Marcos trying to promote exactly in the World Economic Forum?” he asked.
“What is needed now is government intervention to lower food prices, not foreign junkets. What is needed now is a serious effort to strengthen the domestic economy, not to entangle it with more foreign investments and foreign debt. The crisis requires a response beyond the usual rhetoric,” he added.
Besides Bayan, several other progressive groups clamored for action to fight inflation and rising prices. On Monday, they stormed the Department of Agriculture (DA) office in Quezon City, demanding assistance for farmers instead of the importation of agricultural products.
However, there are sectors that believe Marcos’ attendance at the WEF is key to the country’s development.
According to economist Michael Batu, an associate professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, the forum in Switzerland is a chance for Marcos and his delegation to showcase the potential of the Philippine economy — and hopefully, attract investments.
He also said that it would be a chance to build networks by simply engaging in conversations that might develop into pledges, especially as the administration was keen on creating a sovereign wealth fund for the country.
