Statistically the Slogan is false

Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.

The line puts in simplistic terms the state of the nation.  Gloria was evil.  There was poverty all around.  If she via her anointed will lose control of the Presidency in that 2010 election then candidate Aquino will clean up government.  Once the government is clean and is following the straight path (daang matuwid) prosperity should follow.

To President Aquino’s chagrin the National Statistical Coordination Board the poverty statistics has not improved.

Economics is a complex subject.  I am sure there are nuances around it that Palace spinsters can use to defend the Administration’s performance which critics may also use to show how the administration is failing.

Without straying too much from the over simplistic Administration slogan we can also derive over simplistic answers.  There are two ideas in the slogan, corruption and poverty. 

We can conclude from the NSCB report that the Administration has had no plan but that slogan.  For the past three years the only thing they did was rule the bureaucracy with an iron hand and the occasional flare for vindictiveness and witch hunts.  Perhaps there are results; the Administration has indeed cleaned up government.  But as NSCB said poverty remained the same.

In the absence of positive results, Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap is false.  A drifting but yes clean government has delivered nothing to the poor.

The statement can remain true if you are willing to consider its ugly side.  Poverty still exists because Corruption still exists.