Monday, August 28, 2017

Impunity to the nth degree

How are we as a people responding to our reality? Here’s a promising one, “[T]he menace of illegal drugs is real and destructive … Let us save the lives of people most people vulnerable to drug dependency: the youth, the poor and unemployed. Words of solidarity without tears and acts of compassion are cheap.

“But my own personal interpretation is that Cardinal Tagle’s main message is a request for unity and a national dialogue. He writes: ‘Let us invite families, national government agencies, local government units, people’s organizations, schools, faith based communities, the medical profession, the police and military, recovering addicts, etc. to come together.’ He then makes this offer: ‘The Archdiocese of Manila would be willing to host such a multi-sectoral dialogue.’” [Spare a Life, Elfren S. Cruz, BREAKTHROUGH, The Philippine Star, 24th Aug 2017]

What if we look outward, say, to South Korea? How are they dealing with impunity? “Samsung Heir Is Found Guilty of Corruption in Blockbuster Trial,” Jeyup S. Kwaak and Paul Mozur, The New York Times, 25th Aug 2017.

“Public perception in South Korea toward the country’s biggest family-controlled business empires has changed in recent years as scandals have mounted and as the economy has matured, making them less appealing in an era of entrepreneurship and start-ups. In the wake of the corruption scandal — which led to the impeachment of Ms. Park — the current president, Moon Jae-in, campaigned on holding South Korea’s corporate empires to account.

‘We hope this will be the first step in cutting the stubborn ties of corruption between politics and business, which has been a roadblock to progress in our society,’ said Yoon Young-chan, senior secretary at the Blue House, the South Korean president’s executive office and residence.”

That is not to say that the effort of Cardinal Tagle for a multi-sectoral dialogue is not to be applauded. We as a people must seize the opportunity and actively participate in undertakings meant to move PH forward – which is the object of the post and the blog’s reason for being – going 8 years … and counting.

Likewise, we must recognize and acknowledge that our culture of impunity demands of the Filipino people to transform. Otherwise our seventy-year old problem of underdevelopment – and the poverty that comes with it, and worse, being the laughingstock of the region, if not the world – shall define what and who we truly are: “mahinang klase, hindi de kalidad.”

Consider: What is the flipside of our high-growth economy? That we are the OFW-economy, and they include graduate nurses and teachers that realized to be maids and servants overseas was the best option to support the needs of their families. And why the blog has discussed the implication of our worldview, i.e., “a foolish man builds upon the sand”!

Yet we celebrate it … with a little help from Forbes, “Duterte’s infrastructure dev’t drive impacts Philippine tycoons’ fortunes,” re Krista A. M. Montealegre, BusinessWorld, 25th Aug 2017. “HENRY SY, Sr. of the SM Group has remained the country’s wealthiest man on the ForbesPhilippines’ 50 Richest List for the tenth straight year, with the economic policy of President Rodrigo R. Duterte playing part in dictating the fortunes of the country’s business magnates.

“Eighteen Filipino billionaires led by Mr. Sy made it to the elite club this year, down from 21 in 2016, as half of the country’s top 50 tycoons saw their net worths take a hit because of the flat performance of the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index and the weakness of the peso against the US dollar, Forbes said in a statement.”

While we may be concerned about the weakness of the peso, what about the weakness of our character? Who can we still believe? On one hand, “Paolo never asked for special favors,” Manila Standard, 25th Aug 2017; on the other, “Lacson’s son is a smuggler,” William Depasupil, The Manila Times, 25th Aug 2017.

And consider: “Peace and order situation worries foreign investors,” Roy Stephen C. CanivelPhilippine Daily Inquirer, 24th Aug 2017. But we have Build, Build, Build – though that is to brush aside its own flipside: “After the infra projects, what (?),” Raul J. PalabricaPhilippine Daily Inquirer, 14th Aug 2017. “While it is true that these projects, once completed, would create some economic activities in their peripheries, e.g., mom-and-pop stores and service outlets, these are not the types of businesses that would make the projects worth the money spent on them.

“These projects deserve something more substantive than small and medium scale enterprises or activities that are in the league of export processing zones that can generate thousands of long-term jobs.”

For example, “Arangkada forum to explore PHL industrialization,” Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan, BusinessWorld, 24th Aug 2017. “[T]he JFC said that it will take on issues like opening up foreign investment, boosting value-added merchandise exports, incentivizing agriculture growth, tourism, infrastructure, mining, as well as the expansion of the BPO industry.

“The basis for economic growth is currently narrow, according to Julian H. Payne, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, as its drivers remain to be the BPO industry and overseas remittances ... ‘To join the ranks of all the industrialized countries, you’re going to have to diversify the economy considerably. That means really picking up agriculture, really picking up manufacturing, and diversifying it geographically,’ he said.

“Benjie Garcia, executive director of the Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Philippines, Inc. (ANZCHAM) for his part, said that the Philippine BPO sector has reached maturity, raising the need to attract new investors and retain those currently here ... ‘They added that BPO firms should also look into developing capacity in the non-voice and knowledge sector, noting increasing competition within the region.

“Mr. Payne … called for increased infrastructure and technology to accommodate small-scale family farms and help them evolve to more efficient commercial operations. ‘I don’t think we’re going to be able to make huge progress in agriculture without addressing the need for larger, more efficient farming operations with appropriate infrastructure,’ Mr. Payne said.

“The business groups also said that backward and forward integration is the ‘key to success’ in the mining industry, and urged the government to open refineries that will process extracted minerals, enabling the industry to capture more value added. ‘If you want to develop mining, you have to develop in parallel an open environment to foreign investments to manufacturing, and encourage manufacturing,’ Mr. Payne said.”

But why aren’t we truly open to foreign investments? “Senator Manny Villar says oligarchy is the reason why attempts to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution have failed – three presidents (Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) tried to amend the Constitution in the past 15 years, to no avail.

‘We’re still an oligarchy run by a few families,’ Villar says. ‘They’re happy with the present setup now and they will not allow the Constitution to be tampered with.’

‘The media, from what I’ve seen, is also controlled by groups that do not want to change the Constitution,’ the former Senate president adds. ‘And that is why any proposal [to amend the Constitution] will be killed right away.’” [Filipinos to remain at the mercy of oligarchs, Nick Legaspi, Third World Resurgence No. 251/252, July/August 2011, pp 3-5]

What can we learn from South Korea, again? “We hope this will be the first step in cutting the stubborn ties of corruption between politics and business, which has been a roadblock to progress in our society.”

And as the blog has argued, the impunity we live with is a consequence of our way of life: Parochial and insular; hierarchical and paternalistic; political patronage and dynasties; and oligarchic.

Can we transform Juan de la Cruz? For instance, the Dalai Lama goes beyond religion and into education. Which explains why he engages in dialogues with scientists – religion cannot be a barrier in the search of truth, as he would explain. Simply put, he is not an ideologue. Which we can also say of Francis, and why elements within the Curia can’t stand him? Yet Pope Pius XI established the Pontifical Academy of Sciences – learning a lesson after the Roman Inquisition wronged Galileo. Did Padre Damaso wrong Juan de la Cruz too?

How much science should the Philippine Church promote a la the Pontifical Academy of Sciences? Recall the Philippines – the only Christian nation in the region – “lags in Asian university rankings.”

To recap: We can build on Neda’s AmBisyon Natin 2040 and a good starting point is to answer the questions: (a) Where are we? (b) Where do we want to be? (c) How do we get there?

“Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? And that they will be such is not to be doubted, for he who submits to tyranny loves it.” [We are ruled by Rizal’s ‘tyrants of tomorrow,’ Editorial, The Manila Times, 29th Dec 2015]

“As a major component for the education and reorientation of our people, mainstream media – their reporters, writers, photographers, columnists and editors – have an obligation to this country . . .” [Era of documented irrelevance: Mainstream media, critics and protesters, Homobono A. Adaza, The Manila Times, 25th Nov 2015]

“National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of a country’s natural endowments, its labor pool, its interest rates, or its currency’s value, as classical economics insists . . . A nation’s competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]

“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” [William Pollard, 1911-1989, physicist-priest, Manhattan Project]

“Development [is informed by a people’s] worldview, cognitive capacity, values, moral development, self-identity, spirituality, and leadership . . .” [Frederic Laloux, Reinventing organizations, Nelson Parker, 2014]

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