Could our consciousness to be competitive be on-again, off-again? And so every now and then NAIA 3 is front page news – or power, water and other basic infrastructure issues? We recognize the benefit of creating a ‘brand that is the Philippines’ and understand the imperative of having a ‘good product’ behind the brand? It is important then that we raise our consciousness to be competitive – i.e., we have to arrest our underperformance against our neighbors? Otherwise such performance would become our brand – i.e., ‘perception is reality’? Brands are easy to destroy but utterly difficult to build. For instance, President Aquino alone can’t make the PPP (private-public partnership) succeed – it is how we bring coherence in our enterprise that is paramount so that the outside world sees that we’re focused on rebuilding our economy and our country, and thus would bet and invest in the Philippines?
In 2007 the ADB collaborated with our economists and put together a scholarly assessment of our economy, ‘Philippines: Critical Development Constraints’. It is available online. And their diagram (Figure 1.1) says it all: Investment – or the lack of it – is at the core of development/underdevelopment! [What a surprise?] The good news is we now have ‘Arangkada Philippines 2010’: “[It] contains measures on how to realize the projected $75-billion foreign direct investments and 10 million jobs in the next 10 years from seven priority industries”.
The people behind ‘Arangkada Philippines 2010’ are periodically updating us on the progress of our efforts – yes, it is us, not just them? And still we may choose to talk about condoms, the positives of a large population, maximizing OFW remittances, raising tax collections, etc.? What about the core of our underdevelopment, investment? In short, are we focused like a laser . . . so that we can execute and get things done and done right with coherence: who will do what, when, where, why and how? Major endeavors demand single-mindedness – but does our psyche find comfort in ‘retail politics’, i.e., all politics is local where every wish has to be appeased? Sounds like Washington or California – which are descending into chaos? Where is their coherence?
We can’t keep our eye off the ball – i.e., investment – given that the 21st century is a highly competitive and globalized economy? And it cannot be driven from the commune like China did before – nor can it be characterized as a barangay or LGU economy’ – which fortunately works for the few, i.e., ‘the insiders’ or ‘The Boys Club’?
And given our frustrations we want to pitch our own solutions to the country’s woes that we firmly believe are spot on? The Pharisees and the scribes thought they were spot on too – adhering to their 300 tenets yet unconcerned about coherence?
He must have scratched his head when asked if it was okay to work on the Sabbath – given his response? And as they kept bugging him he had to give them the KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid! – and laid down the Great Commandments? Do we need the second coming? A close family friend would always say that we, Filipinos, are the chosen few and thus the second coming?
Through the magic of technology the writer is able to keep abreast with how his Eastern European friends are doing. And whether he is present in person or virtual, they would still break into a chuckle despite hearing KISS for many years. And so they developed a ‘go-to program’ – and labeled it “KISS” – to get them focused on what matters whenever they’re in a bind: it could be resolving why a new product offering missed its sales target for the month, or how to bring margins to budget numbers or how to conclude an acquisition process and not let it drag. ‘Being too close to the trees and missing the forest’ is something they swear by! How quickly ex-socialists could learn ‘transparency and check-and-balance’ – and, as importantly, coherence?
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