The notion is that higher GDP growth is better, and lower GDP growth sucks. GDP growth is supposedly better for all of us. That may be true, but it is important to know what the economy is actually made of.
In 2016, going by current prices, the Philippine economy based on PSA data amounted to some P15 trillion (not considering a category called "Public Administration and Defense; Compulsory Social Security" for which I could not find data).
Our Top 15 economic activities and their worth at current prices in 2016 are as follows (in millions):
| 1. Retail Trade | 2,056,789 | SERVICE SECTOR |
| 2. AGRICULTURE SECTOR | 1,397,615 | AGRICULTURE |
| 3. Construction (Private) | 1,359,660 | INDUSTRIAL SECTOR |
| 4. Food manufactures | 1,347,029 | INDUSTRIAL SECTOR |
| 5. Renting and other Business Activities | 969,128 | SERVICE SECTOR |
| 6. Education | 557,836 | SERVICE SECTOR |
| 7. Banking Institutions | 529,041 | SERVICE SECTOR |
| 8. Wholesale Trade | 508,306 | SERVICE SECTOR |
| 9. Ownership of Dwellings | 485,451 | SERVICE SECTOR |
| 10. Construction (Public) | 465,995 | INDUSTRIAL SECTOR |
| 11. Real Estate | 444,319 | SERVICE SECTOR |
| 12. COMMUNICATION | 377,092 | SERVICE SECTOR |
| 13. ELECTRICITY | 373,196 | INDUSTRIAL SECTOR |
| 14. Non-bank Financial Intermediation | 371,342 | SERVICE SECTOR |
| 15. Chemical & chemical products | 356,133 | INDUSTRIAL SECTOR |
What do we produce as a country, then?
A lot of the activity is in a category called "Retail Trade" within the Service Industry. Retail trade means nothing more than selling goods. According to the 2013 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (most recent), establishments within this category are engaged in activities such as retail and wholesale in household equipment (appliances, etc.); food, beverages and tobacco; and specialized items.
Retail sale in a category called "non-specialized stores" according to the PSA employed the largest number of workers among all Philippine industries, with 130,834 employees at the time. For their troubles, workers in the sector (which include "salesladies" in malls) received an average of P11,260 per month.
We are basically a nation of malls, salespeople and construction workers that receive low pay. And a lot of the wealth really comes from people renting out the capital resources that lie firmly in the hands of the elites, whether land, buildings, telecommunications infrastructure and electricity.
Another conspicuous detail is that our logical economic base, agriculture, amounts to a only around 9.3% of the economy by current value. And because we failed our economy at its base, it follows that we also do not have any serious industrial manufacturing capability, especially in machineries (which is among our top imports), industrial chemicals (not just chemicals for producing soap and shampoo) and electronics (beyond making chips for export, which return to us as finished goods in the form of cellphones and laptops). We have a Communication service sector, but not an industrial manufacturing sector dedicated to this. At this point, one can see the folly of arguing for a mining renaissance in the Philippines -- all of that raw material will only be exported, because we have no serious industry within to use them on.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to up government spending in infrastructure (our No. 10 economic activity) during his administration. Earlier in his campaign, he said he would espouse Philippine industrialization and pay attention to agriculture. Of course, those were the days. Almost a year later, not even a hint of any industrialization plan has been made, and we still import rice, our staple, by the ton.
Next time they give us the numbers on GDP growth, we should ask -- growth for who?
Sources:
http://psa.gov.ph/nap-press-release/pr/2016%20Q4
http://psa.gov.ph/content/2013-annual-survey-philippine-business-and-industry-aspbi-wholesale-and-retail-trade-repair
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