PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino’s economic policies are anti-poor which is why his trust rating is plummeting, Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casino, an Aquino ally, said.

He predicted Aquino’s popularity will dip further if he will not improve the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016.

According to the progressive solon, based on the Aquino administration’s PDP, which declared a so-called “Social Contract with the Filipino People,” the problem is largely due to insufficient infrastructure and governance lapses and inadequate human capital stemming from declining education, poor health services and inadequate safety nets.

“Correspondingly, the plan proposes massive investments in physical infrastructure,  fostering business confidence, giving short-term cash outlays, and ensuring transparent and responsive governance to develop the country,” Casino noted.

He also hit the economic thrust of the Aquino government which will only focus on the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), and selectively implement social protection programs especially Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs).

“PPPs and CCTs which are the centerpiece programs of P-Noy are both abdications of government responsibility to lay the ground for genuine development and national industrialization and to address the roots of poverty,” Casino stressed.

“The Daang Matuwid is no more than the same pro-privatization route taken by his predecessors that has further worsened the economic conditions of the people,” he added.

For Casino, this is a problematic development plan, because firstly it does not offer anything new in terms of strategies for more genuinely inclusive economic growth.

Second, it is more concerned about a stable and profitable environment for business, especially for foreign investors, than strategic Filipino-oriented development or ensuring the well-being of the people.

Third, the plan further relinquishes government responsibility to provide essential public goods and social services.

And fourth, it uses CCTs as income boosting window dressing to cover up how millions of Filipinos have been marginalized by globalization policies.