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 milestone 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. The 21st century Looking more closely at two important economic sectors in the current decade of the 2000s, NEPA notes that the country's manufacturing sector is not only sluggish, it continues to decline; while the agricultural sector remains uncompetitive with decreasing productivity, and worse, its sustainability is going down. Focus of development Economists of some presidential candidates for the 2010 elections contend that development should focus on the service sector which employs 45% of the work force. NEPA points out that the growth of the service sector can only be sustained by accelerating the development of manufacturing industry and the rapid modernization of agriculture. NEPA, however, emphasizes that the economy can only attain sustainable growth by balancing the development of agriculture, industrial manufacturing and the service industry. The continuity of existing 30-year-old economic policies, NEPA maintains, will perpetuate the economic crises the country has been experiencing since the early 1970s. NEPA also observes that all indicators show the next administration will continue to promote the interest of big businesses and multi-national corporations. NEPA believes this will kill local manufacturing industries, particularly the small and medium enterprises, and soon, retail trade will be in the hands of foreign companies. NEPA suggests that the next administration should critically analyze the current economic programs and development