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The National Economic Protectionism Association (NEPA) is the oldest local non-government organization in the Philippines having been established in 1934. The non-government organization was established by Filipino industrialists with the intention of protecting domestic industries, owned by Filipinos, against dominion by foreign interests and competition. Through the years of its existence, it has gone through a number of leadership changes and policy tacks. During its heyday, its leaders held key positions in the government and were actively promoting Filipino industries. It has offices at Francesca Towers, along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Diliman, Quezon City. In the 21st century, NEPA is under revitalization with mass organizing and networking with other Filipino organizations. From local organizations of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and Filipino industrialists to inventors societies and producers. From a network of nationalist government officials and employees to ordinary Filipino consumers. It is a registered non-stock, non-profit private organization founded by 15 pioneering Filipino entrepreneurs and industrialists. NEPA has always been an active participant in the formulation of national economic policies. NEPA fosters the spirit of economic nationalism and national industrialization, and promotes the protection of Filipino interests in the country's polity, economy, culture and environment, and proving once and for all that the Sick Man of Asia does not want to get healed. NEPA in History ==History== *Beginning The crusade for political independence stimulated a parallel campaign for economic freedom in early 1900s. In 1903, Ang Bagong Katipunan was organized to promote "economic nationalism" and "economic self-sufficiency" among the Filipinos. The movement had a brief but colorful existence. Nevertheless, the flame of economic nationalism continue to spread as the people's aspiration for national independence intensified in the 1920s. *The Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands The Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands, composed of Filipino businessmen, carried on the movement after the demise of Bagong Katipunan. In 1926, the Chamber issued a manifesto entitled "Ours First, Yours Later", urging the people to patronize locally-made products. *Founding NEPA was born out of the historic necessity to hasten the industrial development of the colony in preparation for its acquisition of independence under the Tydings–McDuffie Act, signed on March 24, 1934. Centuries of Spanish rule and three decades of free trade under the Americans made the Philippines dependent on the outside world for almost every manufactured commodity — from toothpicks to nails! In early 1934, the Chamber of Commerce created a committee tasked with promoting Filipino products on a more sustained basis. In August of that year, the Chamber sponsored the "Made-in-the-Philippines Week" to popularize local products. It also organized the National Congress of Filipino Businessmen. On November 19, 1934, the Chamber's initiative gave birth to NEPA in a founding meeting held at Club Filipino. *Founding officers The founders were: Antonio Brias, Salvador Araneta, Isaac Ampil, Florencio Reyes, Benito Razon, Arsenio N. Luz, Joaquin Elizalde, Leopoldo R. Aguinaldo, Vicente Villanueva, Toribio Teodoro, Gonzalo Puyat, Ramon J. Fernandez, Ciriaco Tuazon, Aurelio Periquet, Sr., and Primo Arambulo. *Rise of the movement Right after its founding, NEPA launched a nationwide campaign to promote economic protectionism. Provincial, municipal and student chapters were created all over the country. Popular meetings and assemblies, attended by thousands of Filipinos, were held in different parts of the country. "NEPA" became a trademark and a symbol of pride of Philippine-made products. *The war years World War II disrupted the work of NEPA. However, the pre-war consciousness-raising efforts of NEPA regarding self-reliance made it easier for individual entrepreneurs and families to produce essential commodities out of locally available materials. *Post-war revival NEPA was revived in late 1948 under the leadership of Senator Gil J. Puyat. In the 1950s, the entrepreneurs and firms associated with NEPA spearheaded the great industrial drive that developed around the program of import controls and foreign exchange controls. The rapid industrial transformation of the Philippines made her the envy of her Asian neighbors. During this period, NEPA founded the Home Industries Association of the Philippines, Filipino Inventors Society, Philippine Hatter's Association and Philippine Standards Association. The decade ended with NEPA becoming the main pillar of the "Filipino First" program of President Carlos P. Garcia. *Difficulties of 1960s The decade of the 1960s saw the Macapagal administration putting an end to the "Filipino First" policy. Decontrols, peso devaluation and an open door to foreign investors became the order of the day. This policy reversal, formulated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and implemented by a rising group of so-called technocrats, was continued in the first term of President Ferdinand E. Marcos. *Crisis of the 1970s In the 1970s, the Philippines literally became an open economy — open to foreign capital, foreign loans and foreign economic advisers. Filipino capitalists were relegated to junior partners under the policy of labor-intensive, export-oriented, transnational-dependent industrialization. This induced economic slowdown, which was exacerbated by the floating of the US dollar in August 1971. As a result, the Asian currencies collapsed. *NEPA and the 1980s Against the backdrop of IMF-World Bank domination of the economy, NEPA started redefining its role in the changed economic situation. ;1st Conference on Economic Independence On August 23, 1980, it organized the 1st Conference on Economic Independence, which reaffirmed that "political independence can only be meaningful in terms of the welfare of the whole nation, if our national economy is free from the control of foreign interests." The Conference expressed grave concern over the "operation of the World Bank and other international financial institutions in the Philippines which primarily benefit transnational corporations and their home countries, to the detriment of Filipino businessmen, consumers, workers and peasants, and other sectors of our society." ;2nd Conference on Economic Independence The above theme was reiterated in the 2nd Conference on Economic Independence organized in December 1983, which was held in the midst of the worst economic crisis ever experienced by the country. The Conference called for a renewal of NEPA and its transformation, once again, into a nationwide movement aimed at the promotion of genuine economic independence. In late 1984, NEPA gained another 50-year extension of its corporate life. Its leadership declared its firm resolve to push NEPA once again in the struggle to promote economic nationalism so that the Filipino shall at last be the sole determinant and principal beneficiary of the nation's economic development. ;Renaissance The year 1986 saw the renaissance of a new NEPA. It fought for the protection of our national patrimony in the Constitutional Commission, a just debt re-scheduling scheme and capping of debt service, agrarian reform and import rationalization. NEPA stood for nationalist development and industrialization to fight massive poverty. In mid-1986, NEPA launched its mass organization known as Kilusang Pilipino Muna which renewed the call for the patronage of Filipino-made products and services. The late 1980s saw NEPA initiating the organization of the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) and the Movement for Nationalist Industrialization (MNI). *NEPA and the 1990s NEPA once again vowed to be at the forefront of the struggle to promote and protect the economic interests of the Filipino people. ;NEPA Manifesto In preparation for this renewed organizational vigor, NEPA conducted a series of workshop-meetings in 1991 which culminated in the adoption of the "NEPA Manifesto" better known in its title "NEPA Vision of Development – Capitalism and Nationalism: The Missing Partnership" on December 10, 1992. ;Organization and projects This was capped by an operational planning workshop on December 29, 1992 which resulted in the adoption of the new NEPA organization system and the approval of several projects such as the revival of the Bureau of Economic Research, organization of the Information Resource Center, NEPA Training Center (which will be transformed later into the NEPA School of Business & Economics), Business Development & Management Center, NEPA Awards for Outstanding Entrepreneurs (first conducted in the 1970s), establishment of NEPA corporations and cooperatives, and the strengthening of NEPA Confederation by organizing city and municipal chapters, as well as faculty/student chapters in schools, colleges and universities throughout the country. ;Campaign for economic nationalism In mid-1990s, NEPA renewed its campaign to promote economic nationalism and new protectionism. However, the spirited NEPA plan was never pursued. The association was eclipsed by the dreamlike economic upswing coupled with a strong anti-protectionist campaign by elite business groups and bureaucrat capitalists. At that point in time, the government predicted that the Philippines would reach a newly industrialized country (NIC) status by the year 2000. In October 1996, however, NEPA insisted that the economic ascent was a mercurial upsurge. NEPA declared firmly that "if we take a closer look at the more important economic indicators, the country is not dramatically improving. The balance of trade is rising, there is still massive unemployment and underemployment, the per capita income has not increased significantly as compared to GNP growth, and the purchasing power of the peso has been stifled." NEPA re-echoed its fears that "unless certain economic fundamentals are changed, the l990s — like the l980s — might turn out to be another lost decade for the Philippines." In mid-1997, the Asian currencies plunged deeper than the 1971 fall. ;1998 Presidential campaign At the height of the 1998 presidential campaign, most candidates were still parroting the four-fold economic policies of indiscriminate globalization, unproductive liberalization, ineffective privatization and unwieldy deregulation. NEPA maintained that the continuity of these economic policies would perpetuate the economic crises the country had been experiencing since the early 1970s. The economic decline in the last three years of the 1990s confirmed NEPA's prognostication. ;Organizational hiatus NEPA experienced organizational hiatus in late 1990s and the year 2000. Its directorial board deserted and membership dwindled—saddled with economic downtrend combined with NEPA's organizational inactivity and a silent debate on maintaining "protectionism" as its pivotal concern. ;NEPA Junior The need for a sustainable campaign and existence of the organization has given birth to the creation of NEPA Junior as the youth wing of the organization. In 2011, NEPA organized student chapters in colleges and universities in Metro Manila to raise awareness among studenty on the need for economic nationalism in the Philippines. The following year, on November 24, 2012, a new milestime of the organization was made with the formal launching of NEPA Junior at Balagtas Hall of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Hundreds of students from various colleges and universities from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao converged in the event. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「National Economic Protectionism Association」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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