Protecting Philippine economy

Globalization and the unwavering faith in a free market economy were the economic and political mantras in the 1990s. Governments from the United States to Europe to Russia and to Communist China started loosening controls on travel, investment and trade.

These changes were predicted to reduce global poverty and even strengthen the growth of democracies all over the world.

Sometime in the early decade of the 21st century was the start of a second look at these so-called economic “fundamentals.”

The financial crisis of 2007 to 2009 was an eye opener, when even the largest financial institutions had to turn to government to come up with rescue packages.

A few years after the crisis, there was another seismic change in the economic and political landscape.  The United Kingdom in a referendum voted to leave the European Union, then the shining example of the benefits of free trade and market economy.

While the citizens of the major urban centers, especially London, voted to stay in the European Union, the rest of the country voted to leave the EU. Executives and employees of financial services company voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU; the fishermen, rural workers and the folks in the towns voted to exit from the EU.

On the geopolitical level, the United States and China embarked on a trade war. A lot of literature was now emerging that started pointing out that even though globalization and free trade did bring about global prosperity, the benefits were not evenly and fairly disturbed among the people. Even on a macro level, China was the main beneficiary of globalization.

Because of unfair competition, countries like China which subsidize its business sector were able to compete against even the poorest countries.  Countries like the Philippines were among the victims of this globalization. In believing the gospel of free trade and market economy, several industries in the Philippines suddenly disappeared. One example is the footwear industry which used to be centered in Marikina. The Philippines used to export shoes. Then seemingly overnight we were importing shoes from China.

There is no question that the highest socio-economic classes in countries like the