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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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 association was eclipsed by the dreamlike economic upswing coupled with a strong anti-protectionist campaign by elite business groups and bureaucrat capitalists.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
The new president should creatively explore new economic programs that will promote the creation of domestic manufacturing enterprises, enhance the modernization of agriculture, and sustain the growth and quality of the service industries.
Officials of the Ramos government made a more upbeat prediction: the status of a newly industrialized country (NIC) for the Philippines by the year 2000.
Moreover, NEPA wants the national march to industrialization to be measured not only in terms of the rising average per capita income but also, and more importantly, in the general reduction of absolute and relative poverty of the masses, estimated by various studies to be affecting between 65 and 80 per cent of the population.