Press Statement of SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA

ON THE ECONOMY

The revelation that our national economy is close to recession shows the utter failure of the present administration's economic policy. According to official figures, our GNP growth dropped to 0.4 percent for the first quarter of this year, an abyss away from the 4.1 percent predicted by the administration. This is the lowest growth in ten years and if the trend continues our country will experience a recession this year.

So what was all that upbeat about our country being least affected by the global financial crisis? In fact our country has not even recovered from the 1987-1988 financial crisis that saw many of our factories and exports crash, throwing thousands of workers into the streets. True, our government boasts about the more than six percent growth rate in 2007, but that was a fluke caused by the government's overspending in the elections that year.

It is now clear that in its absorption in the politics of power survival, the present administration has neglected the economy, aside from being bereft in ideas on how to make the economy rise above the challenge of a global crisis.

ON SCHOOL OPENING

The outpouring of millions of school children and college students to classrooms all over our country today (June 1) is a heartwarming vision which shows up the passion of our people for education as a liberating force.

But what disheartens us is that the severe setbacks of our educational system continue to persist - the lack of school buildings, the overcrowded classrooms with about 100 pupils crammed in a small room, the low quality of our education and the non-availability of textbooks and other paraphernalia for our pupils and students largely due to their financial incapability.

This is a perennial problem that should be tackled with vigorous vision, resolve and action by the next administration, the present one having failed to do so because of its obsession to retain political power by all means.