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(Second of a series)
In the first part of this series, the historical roots of Philippine underindustrialization were traced to colonial trade structures, the Bell Trade Act, the Parity Rights Agreement and the abandonment of nationalism as a guiding principle in development planning.
Central to this narrative was the Dodge Plan of the 1950s, a Cold War stabilization program that prioritized fiscal austerity and debt repayment over industrial expansion, embedding a mindset of dependency that persists to this day.
Building on this foundation, the second part of the series examines why the Dodge Plan was implemented specifically in the Philippines and not across Southeast Asia. By situating the program within the geopolitical context of the Cold War, the country’s colonial legacies and its weak industrial base, this section highlights how the Philippines became uniquely vulnerable to externally imposed stabilization policies. In doing so, it underscores the enduring impact of the Dodge mindset and the need to reclaim nationalism and proactive industrial policy as instruments of resilience and sovereignty.
