A clamor is growing in the business sector primarily among small entrepreneurs for the next government to review the open trade policy adopted under President Gloria Arroyo, including free trade agreements signed under her administration that would result in marginalizing local industries. Because of government’s misplaced priorities which resulted not only in insufficient investment in basic public physical infrastructure like seaports, storage facilities, all-weather road systems and bridges, but also in the crafting of policies—such as the bias towards a strong peso which has through the years placed our export industry at a disadvantageous position—the smaller enterprises are essentially placed at the mercy of foreign competition. At present we have no textile industry to speak of.
From a historical perspective, the hasty opening of a country’s economy to the world could do more harm than good. Failure to strengthen homegrown industries first has proven to be disastrous to many countries in the long term. In fact history is replete with examples of those countries whose economies have literally been taken over by multinational corporations and foreigners. Populations have become virtually employees and workers of these corporations—their entrepreneurial spirit dashed. The Banana Republics of Latin America are some examples.
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