Babe's Eye View article

Senator Juan Ponce Enrile’s fury has come back to him with a vengeance. The American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) and now the Senate itself have decided to expose and investigate further a potentially explosive issue—smuggling. By any standard, smuggling is an explosive issue especially when the place in question is Cagayan—JPE’s bailiwick.

The fire, it appears, has become more ferocious after the senator told members of the American Chamber together with the foreign chambers to “get out of the country” in a Senate hearing a couple of months ago. It was brash for a seasoned senator of the republic to lose his temper in such a manner, especially against a major organization like the Amcham. A number of people were so offended by JPE’s behavior that many of them have reacted disgustingly, and came out defending the foreign chambers of commerce. So now, the foreign chambers have decided to follow the old adage, “Don’t get mad; get even.”

Apparently, getting mad is one of the senator’s well-known traits. He was known for his temper, especially when he was the powerful defense minister of Ferdinand Marcos. During his stint as defense secretary of former president Corazon Aquino, he has been known to blow his top in more instances than was required. His temper finally did him in because of a continuing argument he had with Joker Arroyo, who was then executive secretary of former president Corazon Aquino (Ironically, Joker and JPE are now allies). In the end, Cory Aquino never forgave JPE for plotting against her administration in the famous “God Save the Queen” coup plot in November 1986, causing him to finally resign as defense minister. This opened the door for Fidel V. Ramos, who patiently waited at the sidelines, calculating his every psywar moves, to become the presidential candidate of Cory Aquino.

I think Senator Enrile may have missed the issue that smuggling may be alive and well in Cagayan province. He shouldn’t, therefore, get mad at the American Chamber, but rather, at the smugglers. The Amcham has found a legitimate issue to tackle considering that they have a large membership in the Philippines like General Motors, who have been complaining about smuggling for many years. Amcham’s report, in fact, coincides with a UPI Asia report that an estimated 10,000 smuggled vehicles were shipped to just one free port north of Manila last year. The senator should be breathing down fire and brimstones on the head of smugglers, not the American Chamber of Commerce.

The American Chamber is perhaps one of the most influential business organizations in the country due to the amount of investments they are pouring in year after year. The US remains as a major investor in the country, according to a report by the US State Department, pumping in more than $6.5 billion in foreign direct investments in 2006. In the same year, the two-way US merchandise trade with the Philippines amounted to $17.3 billion, with 14.3-percent of imports in 2007 coming from America and key exports of 17.1-percent bound for the US. The reentry of Ford Motor Company in the Philippines back in 1998 brought in a $250 million car and light truck manufacturing plant, which generated hundreds of jobs for Filipinos. In a nutshell, the US is still one of the country’s major markets for a wide cross section of the country’s goods, like semiconductors, computer peripherals, automobile parts, electric machinery, textiles and garments, wheat and animal feeds, and coconut oil.

There is no denying that smuggling in the country is still very rampant. In 2007, four billion liters of oil were lost to smuggling. Every year, more than $4 billion in government revenues are lost due to this crime. Worst of all, according to an anti-smuggling advocacy group, smuggling has displaced more than 300,000 vegetable farmers, 60,000 shoe workers, and 7,000 in the auto parts industry. Needless to say, this illegal activity has a direct consequence not only on the economy in general, but also on the livelihood potential of Filipinos. It can not be said enough that smuggling hurts the economy. If left unchecked, this could spell disaster for economic zones located in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Subic, and the free ports of the North.

The anti-smuggling task force headed by Bebot Villar must nip this illegal activity in the bud if government were to reach its revenue targets. But more than a question of revenue, smuggling will continue to hurt investors, and more so, many hardworking Filipinos. The group must seriously look into the possibility of giving penalty provisions against smugglers more teeth. Smuggling gives weight to claims that government is weak and not transparent. It creates speculation that some government officials are in the take, or worse, as hinted by numerous reports, actually involved in smuggling. It’s a vicious crime that needs to be curbed as soon as possible because no amount of economic success will last as long as smugglers continue to flourish.

When all is said and done, this controversy between the Amcham and Juan Ponce Enrile is a clear reflection of what many poor people in this country feel when injustices happen. If you have power, it is easy to “get even.” But if you don’t have any power, like many ordinary Filipinos who are victims of injustice, the only other recourse is to “get out.”