I cannot but agree.

Debt owed to domestic lenders rose from P1.06 trillion in 2000 to P2.4 trillion in 2008. Debt owed to foreign lenders rose from P1.09 trillion to 1.8 trillion in 2008. And the President, dear beloved President in pink, has the gall to say she has “exorcised” debt???

I can understand if FVR will say he "exorcised" debt because it was during his term when the Philippines emerged 35 years of IMF program supervision.

Foreign debt is not evil when such debt is used to generate revenues. The question is what is the composition of the 1.09 trillion in debt. If it is debt that does not generate revenue then I agree that Arroyo doesn’t have the gall. 

Somehow, I doubt that Speaker Nograles’ proposal to amend the constitution, supposedly to encourage investments, will attract these businesses. They will have to eliminate themselves first.

Well, Item No. 4. Policy Instability  – is a euphemism for anti-foreign investments/protectionist policy, specially, when said policy is enshrined in the Constitution under the section on National Patrimony.

Pattern One: GDP went up even as imports contracted.
Pattern Two: GDP went up even as exports also contracted.
There were more goods and services consumed…but we didn’t export any of them?

The authors provide the answer in Page 9 –
At any rate, it is quite clear that NIA statistics and even indicators of foreign asset holdings depict not a consumption-driven rise in economic growth after the Asian Financial Crisis but an import-substitution driven one. Can expenditure switching or import substitution explain the rise in Philippine economic growth after the Asian Financial Crisis? If the national income accounts are reliable, this would be a tautological question since the numbers clearly say that such was indeed the case.
They also suggest that:
6 – Consumption growth is probably overestimated
7 – Agriculture may not be as robust
8 – On the contrary, Industry is weakening
9 – There are many problems in the measurement of service sector growth

The authors includes that consumption might be overestimated. They forgot to include imports are underestimated and exports are understimated. These underestimations, in case people forget, is the lifeblood of customs. it would be safe to say that all the goods coming in and out of the Philippines are under – declared. while the customs duties for such goods are not declared, their entry into the economy will have an impact and will be reflected as an increase in consumption as people pay for goods that they consume – but these goods were not captured at the point of entry or exit into the Philippines.

A STRONG ECONOMY BUILT ON WHAT?

It is an economy built on the paradigm of import-substitution, pretty much a protectionist paradigm – which of course is institutionalized in the Constitutional provisions on national patrimony.

An economy built on the whims of the local economic elite, without any worries about foreign competition. The local economy is has a captive market that the local economic elite can toy with, with impunity.

And of course, the locals hypnotized under the protectionist/nationalist mantra are being cooked in their own lard to the tunes of kaching kaching in the cash registers of the local economic elite. Tough luck. Can’t have the cake and eat it too.

Debt owed to domestic lenders rose from P1.06 trillion in 2000 to P2.4 trillion in 2008. Debt owed to foreign lenders rose from P1.09 trillion to 1.8 trillion in 2008. And the President, dear beloved President in pink, has the gall to say she has “exorcised” debt???

I can understand if FVR will say he "exorcised" debt because it was during his term when the Philippines emerged 35 years of IMF program supervision.
Foreign debt is not evil when such debt is used to generate revenues. The question is what is the composition of the 1.09 trillion in debt. If it is debt that does not generate revenue then I agree that Arroyo doesn’t have the gall. 
Somehow, I doubt that Speaker Nograles’ proposal to amend the constitution, supposedly to encourage investments, will attract these businesses. They will have to eliminate themselves first.
Well, Item No. 4. Policy Instability  – is a euphemism for anti-foreign investments/protectionist policy, specially, when said policy is enshrined in the Constitution under the sectoin on National Patrimony.
Pattern One: GDP went up even as imports contracted.
Pattern Two: GDP went up even as exports also contracted.
There were more goods and services consumed…but we didn’t export any of them?
The authors provide the answer in Page 9 –
At any rate, it is quite clear that NIA statistics and even indicators of foreign asset holdings depict not a consumption-driven rise in economic growth after the Asian Financial Crisis but an import-substitution driven one. Can expenditure switching or import substitution explain the rise in Philippine economic growth after the Asian Financial Crisis? If the national income accounts are reliable, this would be a tautological question since the numbers clearly say that such was indeed thecase.
They also suggest that:
6 – Consumption growth is probably overestimated
7 – Agriculture may not be as robust
8 – On the contrary, Industry is weakening
9 – There are many problems in the measurement of service sector growth
The authors includes that consumption might be overestimated. They forgot to include imports are underestimated and exports are understimated. These underestimations, in case people forget, is the lifeblood of customs. it would be safe to say that all the goods coming in and out of the Philippines are under – declared. while the customs duties for such goods are not declared, their entry into the economy will have an impact and will be reflected as an increase in consumption as people pay for goods that they consume – but these goods were not captured at the point of entry or exit into the Philippines.
A STRONG ECONOMY BUILT ON WHAT?
It is an economy built on the paradigm of import-substitution, pretty much a protectionist paradigm – which of course is institutionalized in the Constitutional provisions on national patrimony. An economy built on the whims of the local economic elite, without any worries about foreign competition. The local economy is has a captive market that the local economic elite can toy with, with impunity. And of course, the locals hypnotized under the protectionist/nationalist mantra are being cooked in their own lard to the tunes of kaching kaching in the cash registers of the local economic elite. Tough luck. Can’t have the cake and eat it too.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

is NOT necessarily correct.

say the two cars did not crash. the money that would have been used to repair or buy a new car presumably might be used for someother purpose/thing. hence, GDP need not necessarily go down.

same is true for the tree cutting example.

what you wrote is true only if it were added production that would not otherwise have been made. in depression/recession conditions, this is plausible. but in general, its very hard to prove this.

You can also project an Illusion of Prosperity, by showing people
who succeeded in life. Like Manny Pacquiao. These tactics will not
help people with gumbling stomachs and people without jobs.

MANILA, Philippines—First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo thought his wife was categorical enough.

“Of course. It’s very clear. She’s stepping down after her term,” the husband of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said after her State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday.

Boxing pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao, who received a glowing tribute from Ms Arroyo and rose from his seat to acknowledge it several times, thought so, too. “Malinaw, na malinaw (It is very clear). Grabe! Bilib ako.”

So did US Ambassador Kristie Kenney: “I thought she very clearly talked about finishing her term and clearly talked about elections.”

Staunch ally Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago didn’t quite agree.

“She did not state categorically she is not running,” Santiago said. “She does not admit to anything. She just said I never said I would like to extend my term.”

But the feisty former judge said there was nothing to worry about speculation that the Constitution was about to be changed and a parliamentary system adopted to pave the way for Ms Arroyo’s continued stay in power as her critics fear.