Filipino First ( tgl, Pilipino Muna) refers to a

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

first introduced and implemented by the administration of then

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the eighth president of the Philippines. A l ...

. Under the policy, Filipino-owned business is prioritized over its foreign counterparts, and the patronizing of Filipino-made products by Filipinos was also promoted.

History

Under President Carlos P. Garcia

The policy of Garcia, was a response to the impact of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

and American economic dominance in the Philippines for years following the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It is meant to assert greater Filipino role over the country's economy if not to gain control of it by promoting "Filipino business establishment". Garcia first instituted the policy with the issuance of Resolution No. 202 of the National Economic Council on August 28, 1958. The policy dictates that Filipinos would have preference over non-Filipinos in receiving

foreign exchange The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all as ...

. In line with the policy, Garcia pledged that his administration would assist Filipino entrepreneurs to make ventures in industries dominated by non-Filipinos. The policy received positive reception from Filipino businessmen, and there were calls to expand the scope of the policy to include other spheres of society such as education. However, it received negative reception from

foreign Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

and/or non-native businessmen, particularly the

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, along with their

Chinese Filipino Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mostly of southern Fujianese ancestry, where the majority are bor ...

counterparts.

Chinese Filipinos Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin Chinese in the Philippines, Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mo ...

in particular accused the policy of discrimination over its interpretation of who is a "Filipino" and felt marginalized by the policy. The opposition branded the policy as a political propaganda meant to win support from the public to secure Garcia's reelection as President in the next elections. Critics has also labeled the policy as being "anti-foreign" Garcia in response to his critics said that his policy was not meant to foster Filipino "exclusiveness" or was meant to be "anti-foreign" and stated that the Philippines will not close itself to

foreign capital In economics, capital goods or capital are "those durable produced goods that are in turn used as productive inputs for further production" of goods and services. At the macroeconomic level, "the nation's capital stock includes buildings, eq ...

. He asserts that the policy is meant to give Filipinos priority in relation to the control over the country's basic industries and their development.

1987 Constitution

The Filipino First policy may also refer to a set of provisions found in the 1987

Constitution of the Philippines The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...

which gives Filipinos preferential treatment in the national economy over foreigners.

References

{{reflist Economic policy in Asia Economic history of the Philippines Protectionism Presidency of Carlos P. Garcia