Questions on economy for Arroyo

Last Wednesday, I wrote about the press conference of Gloria Arroyo with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines that Malacañang press office was working out. It was supposed to have been yesterday.

Malacañang informed Focap that Arroyo would not answer political questions. She would only answer questions “pertaining to the economy and how the current US financial crisis is affecting the Philippines and other Asian countries,” Press Undersecretary Martin Crisostomo said.

Focap did not agree to the restrictions. Malacañang postponed the presscon giving as an excuse Press Secretary Jesus Dureza “not feeling well.” But Dureza was well enough to moderate yesterday’s presscon of the economic managers with the very cooperative Malacañang press corps.

In a letter to Dureza, Focap president Jason Gutierrez wished him “speedy recovery”. He also asked the press secretary to reconsider the conditions they set and “ allow a free-flowing interaction with FOCAP members without any restrictions on the subject matters to be covered.”

Citing the history of Focap which was founded under martial law, Gutierrez conveyed the members’ objection “to being party to any form of media management, prior restraint or censorship.”

“Fencing off certain subjects for discussion with the president does not bode well for press freedom,” he said.

A number of commentors in my blog said since Arroyo wants only questions on the economy, they would like Focap members to ask their “economic questions”.

From Sulbatz:

1. What economic benefits did the Filipino people derive from the “Hello Garci” scandal?

2. Does the Joc-Joc Bolante fertilizer scam have anything to do with the rice shortage that plunged the country into dire economic straits?

3. Does EO 464 and the invocation of executive privilege on questions regarding corruption and shady ecnomomic deals increase investor confidence?

4.How will travel junkets by a party of more or less 70, paid for by taxpayers, be economically beneficial to the country? And how would it not drain the coffers more?

5.Madam President, we agree that peace ushers in economic progress. What were the effects of this treasonous deal with the MILF under the MOA-AD which, by the way, you profess to have not read, on the economy?

6.We are not economists, Madam President, but we are baffled by how the law of supply and Demand does not apply to you. It appears that the more you supply the nation with corruption, the more there is a demand for you to resign. Shouldn’t it be inversely proportional? How do you explain that?

Atty 36252 wants to know if there were any investments by the GSIS and SSS in the US markets? If any, how much each? He also wants a copy of the economic analysis of the NEDA?

Other questions on the economy by Atty 36252:

1..What is the projected economic benefit of the mining deal of Mike Defensor? How much government revenue will it create? How many jobs will it create, here and in China? Were there any other corporate suitors? What, if any, is the advantage of China over the other suitors?

2. Foreign explorers are prospecting in Palawan and other uncontested Philippine territory? Were there any other suitors? What did the cost-benefit analysis reveal, that prompted the choice of one over the other? What is the economic benefit of not bidding out the exploration?

3.What is the economic benefit of not bidding out the NBN contract? What are the specific project costs, that yield the 329 million dollars? We want specific project costs, a la project costs submitted to the DPWH, not just paper napkin calculations.

4. What would be the economic benefit of keeping you at the helm, compared to letting other people rule.

He said the last question is important because if her answer is satisfactory , he can ask his congressmen to support or disapprove Charter Change which Arroyo allies are pushing.

Another blog participant explained his lack of admiration with economists with this anecdote: “There were two economists named Gloria Arroyo and Joey Salceda walking down the street in a barrio. They find some carabao dung. Gloria told Joey, “If you eat that, I will give you P50M.’ Joey picked it up and ate it. Walking further they saw another mound of carabao dung it was Joey’s turn to say, ‘If you eat that, I will give you P50M’ Gloria then picked it up and ate it.

“They continued walking and after some time Joey said, ‘We both ate it, but we are not richer by any amount, we have exactly the same money as before.’ To which Gloria replied, ‘I know. But we have just increased GDP by P100M’”.