As a result, the Asian currencies collapsed. Such claims however are unsubstantiated as the floating of the dollar was not directly tied to worsening economic conditions as may be noted by the lack of citation for this statement. In addition, the Asian financial crisis, which was haphazardly mentioned previously as the collapse of Asian currencies, was not the result of the adoption of floating exchange rates and was in fact a result of multiple factors that resulted in rapid withdrawals of foreign denominated investments from several Asian countries. 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 rescheduling 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