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Shall We Help Save Europe?: Arguments For and Against the Philippine Governments $1 Billion Contribution to the IMF Crisis Fund*
So, the second Aquino administration through the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas/BSP (Central Bank of the Philippines) announced that the Philippine government would contribute $1 billion to the International Monetary Funds (IMF) crisis fund meant to save European banks from cashlessness and total collapse. Critics argue that this is a crazy idea because the Philippines is somewhat cashless too as evident in its ballooning budget deficit that precipitates budget cuts (austerity measures, to use a Western euphemism) on education, health care, housing and other social services. Meanwhile, proponents of the idea say that this is a good investment scheme. Since economics is too important to be left to neoliberal economists, heres a balanced and commonsensical article (written by a non-economist) that explains the arguments for and against the said plan.

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Lie: The Philippine contribution to the IMF crisis fund will be used to save European economies from collapse. Truth: The Philippine contribution to the IMF crisis fund will be used to save European BANKS and BANKSTERS (banker-gangsters or to be more precise, greedy bankers who led their banks into pursuing bad business deals that provided them short-term profits but exposed the banks to long-term risks which have led to their de-facto bankruptcy that now brings European economies on the verge of collapse). Proof? Lets analyze the IMF-European Union-Germany game plan in Greece and in Spain. Instead of saving the Greek economy from collapse, they merely provided some cash for the Greek governments operation expenses.

The bulk of the so-called bail-out funds for Greece actually went directly (wiretransferred, if you please) to the creditors of the Greek government and corporations. Of course, most of these creditors are banks, banksters and similar entities, firms and individuals who are making a profit out of other peoples miseries. The IMF-EU-Germany troika made no attempt to save the Greek economy. They did not provide funds for education, health care and the revival of industries. Instead, the troika forced Greece to cut spending for social services and activities that stimulate their dying economy.

Meanwhile, the conservative Spanish government shamelessly declared that it wants bail-out funds for its banks. Take note: theyre not asking for funds to decrease their soaring unemployment rate (20% as of last count). Theyre asking for funds to save their banks.

Hence, the IMFs crisis fund is nothing but a huge loot bag meant to save the banks that caused the current crisis. It wont save the European people, nor the European economies. It would save the banks and the banksters that manage them. *** Misleading Assumption: The IMF crisis fund that includes the Philippine governments $1 billion pledge, would save the banks and the banks would save

4 big businesses and industries. The big businesses and industries would in turn save the people from unemployment. Enlightening Truth: Go over the records of the banks that are now asking for bail-out funds. They made bad business deals in the name of short-term profits for themselves. They never cared about the peoples welfare. They just invested their funds on the casino called stock market. They never provided much funds for research, education, innovation etc. They never helped improve industrial productivity. They just bet on the stock market, gambled on bonds (loans to government and private firms) and lost their money. Theyre asking for money now so as to save them from a mess that they have created.

We must remember that European peoples never caused the bankruptcy of the banks and banksters. Remember: the banks are managed by banksters, so they must be made responsible for the banks failures. Giving them another chance would be similar to giving another chicken coop to a ravenous pack of wolves that has devoured many chicken coops before. If you really want to save the people and the economy, you should jail the culprits behind this crisis. Iceland provides a brilliant example of how this can be done. ***

5 Propaganda: If we dont do anything to help save Europe, our OFWs would soon be unemployed and they would be forced to return to the Philippines. They would soon join the ranks of the unemployed in the country. Truth: Yes, in the long run, European collapse would certainly force OFWs there to return to the Philippines or seek employment elsewhere. But, hey, as mentioned before, theres a way to save Europe from collapse: jail the banksters who caused the crisis and make sure that their insane greed (that led us all to the current crisis) wont infect the global system again. Moreover, worse comes to worst, theres a silverlining to the impending return of the Filipino diaspora from Europe: their skills and talents honed in the First World would certainly contribute much in redeeming the Philippines from poverty and other social ills.

As Simoun had said in Chapter 7 of Jose Rizals El Filibusterismo: Depend on yourselves and build the fatherland. We have plenty of natural resources. No one should be unemployed here if were utilizing our resources to develop local industries. Hence, theres a golden opportunity to finally jumpstart Philippine industrialization, agricultural modernization and educational innovation once we realize that in this current crisis, we only have to depend on ourselves. We must remember that exporting workers and/or professionals abroad is a bad thing per se because it depletes our local human resource pool.

The brain and brawn drain that started as an experiment in the 1970s only to become a perennial policy by successive post-Edsa I neoliberal (and hence stupid) governments, is one of the big obstacles to Philippine progress. Look around us. Developed countries reached their current status not by sending their best and brightest peoples to work abroad in their most productive years. Go forth and ask how the Singaporeans, South Koreans, Malaysians and the Japanese industrialized and reached First World status. By the way, we only have 800,000 OFWs in Europe (out of more than 8 million worldwide). *** Propaganda: If we dont do anything to help save Europe, the subsidiaries of European firms in the Philippines would soon shut down their plants and offices in the country. Hence, local unemployment would worsen.

7 Truth: Oh yes, there would be massive unemployment and theres an easy way to resolve it, nay, PRE-EMPT it. Use our foreign currency reserves (the very funds that the Philippine Central Bank intends to loan out to the IMF) to fund local job-generating schemes, specifically agricultural modernization (after genuine land reform, of course) and national industrialization. Let us build petroleum refineries, fish-processing plants, fruit and vegetable plantations, efficient irrigation systems nationwide, mine processing plants, hotels for ecotourism in selected areas, more schools to maximize the skills and intelligence of our people for national development, more hospitals and health care centers to ensure that our citizens would be healthy enough to help in (re)building our nation, research centers etc., and in the long run, we would be totally insulated from any crisis. Build the domestic market by financially empowering all citizens through stable employment via the abovementioned schemes. Exposure to trade can thus be minimized. Anyway, we have plenty of natural resources. Were not Singapore, so stop yakking about foreign investments and similar shit. Were a resource-rich archipelago of more than 7,000 islands peopled with intelligent and highly-skilled citizens. *** Stupid Idea: Our governments $1 billion contribution to the IMF crisis fund is a loan (to be paid with interest), hence its a good investment in the long run. Sane Idea: Do remember that the IMF provided NO CLEAR conditions on the loan. The IMF asked for cash and our government agreed without asking for CONDITIONS. Hence, theres no guarantee that the loan will be paid with interest. Indeed, theres no guarantee that the loan will be paid. As mentioned above, the IMF crisis fund is meant to be spent for banks and banksters who caused the crisis.

Hence, in the long run, our money would soon be gone, judging from the bad track record of those banks and banksters that are demanding money from us. Hence, even when using the capitalist standard as a tool of analysis, our $1 billion contribution is a bad investment. Goodness, you dont provide loans to someone who has a track record in making billions of money disappear without a trace (and not even an explanation). *** Propaganda: Those who oppose the $1 billion Philippine contribution to the IMF crisis fund are selfish and anti-European. Truth: As mentioned above, the Philippine contribution to the IMF crisis fund WONT HELP the European peoples in any way. The fund is meant to save the criminal banks and banksters who caused the crisis. Hence, those who oppose the $1 billion Philippine contribution to the IMF crisis fund are egalitarian and proEuropean. We love Europe and the Europeans so much that we are not willing to contribute funds to save those who brought Europe to the present crisis. We love Europe and the Europeans so much that we are standing with the majority of European peoples who vigorously oppose the IMF-World Bank-led scheme of saving the criminal banks and banksters instead of punishing them for bringing us all to the current crisis, as evident in countless rallies, pickets, protest actions, occupations, general strikes, petition drives etc. against it.

Hence, those who approve the $1 billion Philippine contribution to the IMF crisis fund are selfish and anti-European because they willingly provide more funds to save the criminal banks and banksters that brought us all to the current crisis. ***

9 Stupid Argument: We should be proud that were now a creditor nation after decades of being a recipient of IMF and World Bank loans. Painful Truth: We still have plenty of debts to pay, and our debts are actually piling up. Do remember that we acquired our first foreign debts in 1946 after the Americans carpet-bombed Manila so as to ensure our perennial dependence on them through loans disguised as funds for post-war reconstruction and rehabilitation. At that time, we have less than 1 billion pesos in loans (around hundreds of millions of pesos based on figures mentioned in President Manuel Roxas state of the nation address). Fast forward in 2012, our debts stand at a whopping 5 trillion pesos. Do remember that when Noynoy took his oath as president, our debts stand at 4 trillion pesos. Now you know why brilliant academics call the IMF-World Bank development scheme as the debt trap. With such humungous debts (41% of which are foreign debts), its stupid and awkward that we would want to brag about lending a billion pesos to one of the worlds richest financial powerhouses. Were a poor republic. Thats it. We cant afford to lend money especially if the money would just be used to save banks and banksters that brought us to the current crisis. Goodness, were literally wallowing in debts! Just this 2012, the government unconstitutionally and illegally allotted 738.6 billion pesos from our national budget (a lions share) for interest and principal debt payments. Moreover, the government has admitted that our budget deficit problems are worsening. Simply put, the government lacks enough cash for its operations! *** Question: So, after jailing the banksters who caused the current crisis, whats next?

10 Answer: Clamor for a comprehensive debt audit in all countries. That means, we should all unite in pressuring our respective national governments and the big lending agencies to immediately publish/publicize a complete list of loans and business deals entered into by the governments and/or banksters who brought us all to the current crisis. In the long run, the debt audit would prove that most of the abovementioned loans and business deals are onerous (unjust, illegitimate, even illegal or at least invalid) and hence should be wiped out of the list OR be paid by politicians and/or the banksters who profited from such loans and deals. Hence, the liquidation or auction of their all assets is necessary. Then, peoples around the world should clamor for the socialization or public ownership of the local and international banking systems, as suggested more than a hundred years ago by a brilliant German economist-philosopher. Of course, as mentioned before, the debts of the banks WOULD NOT BE socialized or absorbed by public ownership. Politicians and banksters who acquired the onerous debts and entered into bad deals should be made to pay for their crimes. The only way to prevent them from controlling the local and international banking systems would be to put such systems under the control and supervision of the people. How will it work? Goodness, lets just do it. Anyway, theres no harm in trying it especially after its direct opposite (e.g. private/corporate ownership of the banking systems) has failed us and brought us all to the current crisis. Urgent Call to Action With these things in mind, we publicly challenge President Benigno Simeon Noynoy Cojuangco Aquino III, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Rep. Roilo Golez, sundry IMF stooges in the government and in the academe, misinformed pro-IMF citizens etc. to engage in a public (preferably televised) live debate with those who oppose the Philippine Governments $1 Billion Contribution to the IMF

11 Crisis Fund such as Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casio, Anakpawis Partylist Rep. Rafael Ka Paeng Mariano, Akbayan Partylist Rep. Walden Bello, Pamalakaya President Fernando Hicap, KMU Chairperson Elmer Labog, Freedom from Debt Coalition Vice-President Lidy Nacpil, former National Treasurer Leonor Briones and sundry enlightened personalities. This is the only way to once and for all expose the intellectual bankruptcy and stupidity of those who support the $1 billion Philippine contribution to the IMF.

- Institute of Nationalist Education and Republican Democracy (INERD) 30 June 2012 *** City of Manila, Philippines
*Written in memory of 43 African migrants who died of suffocation while in a cramped truck in Tanzania on a journey that seeks a good future for them and their families but has instead brought them to untimely death and on behalf of countless Filipino beggars who have no food, no shelter, no hope everyday because the Philippine government would rather give a billion dollars to criminal and greedy banks and banksters who brought us all to the current crisis, rather than help Filipino citizens find their way out of extreme poverty. We speak for the voiceless for they cannot possibly speak to the halls of power under the status quo. Hence, we tend to shout even in writing. For thats the only way we can shock intelligent netizens from their inaction. References: http://news.yahoo.com/philippines-budget-deficit-shoots-062338478--finance.html http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/363476/1-billion-to-imf-needs-congress-approval-casi-o http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/06/25/12/1-b-loan-imf-%E2%80%98pasikatpangyabang%E2%80%99-briones http://www.cadtm.org/The-meaning-of-the-Greek-crisis http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/29/spain-germany-bailout-ifridINL6E8HTFC820120629

12 http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20120630/BUSINESS/306300024/Europeanleaders-agree-ease-borrowing-costs-bail-out-banks http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18014075 http://www.congress.gov.ph/download/cpbd/fnfofw.pdf http://ibon.org/ibon_articles.php?id=241 http://fdc.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=602:fdc-hits-ph-govtsshow-off&catid=34:debt-campaign&Itemid=88 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/05/201252575344156248.html http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2011/10/201110279152753877.html http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/06/2012610123823951442.html http://opinion.inquirer.net/31427/why-are-philippine-funds-being-used-to-bail-outirresponsible-european-banks http://www.kilusangmayouno.org/news/2012/06/workers-slam-1-b-commitment-imf-crisisfund http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/609-aquino-gov%E2%80%99tquizzed-on-$1-b-pledge-to-imf http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/06/20126126534386935.html http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2012/03/08/another-former-icelandic-banker-sent-to-jail/ http://thedailyoccupation.org/iceland-sues-jails-bankers-who-destroyed-economy/ http://www.gov.ph/1946/06/03/manuel-roxas-first-state-of-the-nation-address-june-3-1946/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKpxPo-lInk http://inter.kke.gr/News/news2011/2011-09-06-pb-crisis http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/04/15/thoroughly_modern_marx http://www.attac.org/en/Stories/over-1-300-gather-freiburg-propose-way-out-financialchaos http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article2467