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BY JOE KENT - JANUARY, 13TH 2015
Nonoy Oplas is an economist in the Philippines, and the
President of Minimal Government Thinkers Inc.
Over the past five years, he has established network and alliances with
other free market-oriented think tanks in Asia and other parts of the
world. Nonoy was interviewed by the
International Society for Individual Liberty about liberty in the
Philippines. He blogs at
funwithgovernment.blogspot.com.
Joe: What does the average person in the Philippines
think of government and liberty? Is there any possibility for change?
Nonoy: The average Filipino would think that government
regulations, subsidies, taxation, etc. are the answer to most problems, but
also think that many government officials and employees are corrupt. So they demand less corruption or “better
governance”, not less governance.
However, liberty and economic freedom are accepted
unconsciously. People always go for
bargains and cheaper prices when they go shopping or buy groceries. They want freedom to buy and sell anywhere
they want.
Joe: Are the ideas of liberty spreading in the
Philippines, and if so, how?
Nonoy: Yes, even unconsciously. They want freedom of expression, no
censorship in the things they read and write on the web. Conscious political liberty is still small
though; people who explicitly demand less government.
Joe: Why do so many Filipinos go overseas to work?
Nonoy: Both supply push and demand pull. Supply push,
many Filipinos want to try working and living abroad for higher pay, a new
environment. Demand pull, many
foreigners want Filipino workers than other migrant workers.
Healthcare for instance, Filipino nurses and physicians
are more warm in taking care of their patients, so hospitals in Saudi, UK, US,
etc. prefer Filipino health workers.
Joe: Are there other factors as well? For example, do
government policies have anything to do with the many Filipinos going overseas
for work?
Nonoy: Certain government policies actually limit or
restrict the potentials of migration of more Filipinos. Like it imposed a ruling in Hong Kong that
overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) should get this much as minimum wage there,
and so on. So some Hong Kong employers
stopped getting OFWs and got Indonesians, Vietnamese, or other nationals instead. I made a blog post on migration (here).
Joe: What policies are damaging to the people who are
attempting to start a business in the Philippines?
Nonoy: Protectionist policies of the Constitution. Some sectors are reserved exclusively for
Filipinos, and some sectors allow foreign investments — but only up to 40% of
total equity. Then there are
bureaucracies in national and local governments, both requiring their own set
of permits. Also multiple taxes and changing
policies midway.
Joe: You mentioned permits. What are some examples of permit requirements
that prevent the average person from starting a business?
Nonoy: I wrote this two years ago but the type of bureaucracies
still apply.
http://funwithgovernment.blogspot.com/2013/02/business-bureaucracy-6-presentation-at.html
Joe: Is property rights abuse a problem in the
Philippines, and do you have any examples?
Nonoy: Yes. A
clear example are the squatters and illegal settlers in private lands. They come in droves, and many local
governments do not drive them away because they are a big source of votes and
political supporters.
Joe: I guess I mean, does the government ever take
private property in the Philippines?
Nonoy: No, no instance of the Philippine government
taking over a business or private property that I can remember. The most that government does is to stop the
construction of a building, or prevent the transfer of property ownership if
there are active tax and other cases involved.
Or harass the owner(s) of a business if they happen to be a strong
political enemy of those in power.
Joe: What other challenges do Filipinos face when it
comes to individual freedom?
Nonoy: External factors, the foreign aid bodies and
multilaterals (UN, WB, ADB, IMF, USAID, etc.) who think that governments should
keep expanding. They hire many academics
and consultants who justify big government.
Internal factors — the populist belief that for many problems in
society, more government regulations are the answer.
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