https://correctphilippines.org . I. Economic Restrictions 1) The anti-FDI restrictions ensure that the Oligarchs economic interests are protected from competition from foreign investors as well as competition from non-oligarch Filipinos who may have good ideas but rely on foreign funding to help them in setting up good businesses. 2) The anti-FDI restrictions prevent a true middle class from emerging, and prevent upward mobility among Filipinos who live in the Philippines. If anything, those who wish to pursue upward mobility, they have to leave the Philippines to work abroad as OFWs. 3) The anti-FDI restrictions keep jobs scarce and thus ensure that the market rates for salaries will generally be low, ensuring that the Oligarchs continue to have a steady supply of people willing to be their employees earning substandard starvation wages. This then also ensures that they can continue to pay their existing employees relatively low wages and not give real raises because they can say if you dont like it here, you can leave but their existing employees cant leave because there are very jobs out there. II. Unitary System 1) Ensures that the local oligarchs in the regions continue to be the only people with access to economic opportunities since these oligarchs often send their children to study and even live in Metro Manila. 2) The Unitary-Centralized System is connected to the whole Mega-Pork Barrel system. The lack of economic opportunities in the regions means that the regions are dependent on Mega-Pork Barrel funding disbursed by the Central Government located in the Capital for them to do projects. III. Presidential System 1) The 1987 Constitution prescribes a Presidential System wherein the Head of Government is also Head of State, it required that the Head of State be a natural-born citizen. 2) There are also additional requirements for prospective candidates looking to run for the Presidency in that they are also required to have lived in the Philippines for 10 years or more prior to election. 3) Looking at number I-2, you will find that the lack of upward socio-economic mobility caused by the anti-FDI restrictions means that contenders for the Presidency will only be limited to members of the OLIGARCHY. There will be no chance for members of the middle class and the upwardly-mobile new rich to join because most of them will likely be abroad! 4) Because Presidential Systems feature a SINGLE EXECUTIVE who is supreme over the entire executive branch and in the case of the Philippines, there is a mega-pork barrel fund (PDAF/DAP/whatever they call it) that allows the President to BUY SUPPORT FROM THE LEGISLATURE, the Legislature is emasculated and weakened by this because legislators become beholden to the presidency in exchange for mega-pork fund allocations, vested interests may approach the PRESIDENT and bribe, cajole, intimidate, blackmail, or just simply ask favors (especially if they are friends/relatives of the President) and make these turn into STATE POLICY. (That kind of thing cannot happen in a Parliamentary System because parliamentary systems require majority support from the parliaments members, and vested interests will find it too expensive to bribe so many MPs. In a Presidential System, it is easy to bribe just one person - the President.)
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 14:34:51 +0000