The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) assailed the Macapagal-Arroyo regime for trying to pass the burden of the burgeoning fiscal crisis to the Filipino people. According to Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general of the group “this is tantamount to state betrayal of its citizens, why should we pay for the folly of the government that acquired this enormous debt, when we the people did not get anything from it,”

“The only ones who benefited from these debts are the corrupt government officials and their stooges, from the time of Diosdado Macapagal up to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. This is the truth that they do not want the people to know, by telling us the lie that we should all chip in to avert fiscal collapse,” added the peasant leader.

The current debt of the Philippine government is P3.3 trillion, an amount that ballooned through the years even when 40% of the national budget is automatically allocated to foreign debt servicing, but only the interest and not the principal is being paid. This also shows the lopsidedness of the loans and it is designed to constantly keep us in debt without a chance of ever paying it.

“With this scenario, the government is proposing the slashing of budgets of Congress, LGUs and as usual public services. It is the always the first one to go when budget cuts are discussed, especially health and education, while the military and its intelligence funds are untouchables. Our question is can the people have bullets as a staple?” said Carl Anthony Ala, public information officer of KMP.

“What the government should do is o rescind all the so-called debt it incurred during the pass years because in reality the Filipino people have already paid the IMF-WB-WTO due to the super interests they gained in our country. They are the ones who are indebted to us,” concluded Ala. # # # 
 

KMP - 24 August 2004