|
Charity not enough to solve the fiscal crisis
by Promotion of Church People’s Response
Friday, Sep. 03, 2004 at 10:13 AM
GOVERNMENT SHOULD HEED THE CHURCHES’ JUBILEE CALL
FOR MORATORIUM ON DEBT PAYMENTS NOW ; PRESS RELEASE September 2, 2004
“Charity and other fund-raising activities of the churches and other well-
meaning sectors can never be enough to solve the fiscal crisis as long as
billions of public funds are automatically appropriated in the budget to be
handed over to international financial institutions, private multi-national
banks, and governments of wealthy nations. The cancellation of payment of
immoral, onerous, fraudulent and behest loans is long overdue. It is immoral
that the government keeps paying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
World Bank (WB), while the system of usury through high interest rates keeps
the country in a constant debt trap.”
This was the assertion of the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR)
as it criticized Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for being “a classic
hypocrite who calls for austerity and simplicity of lifestyle while refusing
to sacrifice the lavish lifestyle of the Arroyo family such as extended
family trips abroad.”
“It is pure hypocrisy and continuing exploitation of the poor that the
Arroyo government is asking the people to sacrifice more while it remains
committed to shoulder the payment of debts accumulated by the corrupt Marcos
dictatorship and succeeding regimes,” Rev. Fr. Allan Jose Arcebuche, OFM,
PCPR National Co-Chairperson stated.
“We demand the government to immediately implement a moratorium on debt
payments in accordance with the scripture’s Jubilee call for total
cancellation of debts. We condemn the government for paying usurious
interests to the IMF-WB and accepting additional loans that are again tied
with extremely high interest rates, proposed new tax measures and the whole
package of liberalization, deregulation, and privatization that are
condemning the country to further indebtedness and fiscal crisis,” PCPR
stressed.
“The fiscal crisis our country is now facing has ripened over decades of
anti-people economic policy dictated by global institutions controlled by
the world’s richest countries for their benefit. The real solution to our
fiscal woes requires an economic and fiscal policy that upholds our national
sovereignty and the interests of the majority, and not the interests of
Lucio Tan, Henry Sy, Danding Cojuangco and all the biggest tax evaders and
greedy capitalists,” PCPR concluded.
| 
