“I don’t know a Filipino who gets angry”

That's from the Canadian boat driver - from the ferry service in Vancouver - when the wife and a friend hopped on one to get to Grandville Island * and engaged in small talk. Left unsaid is: "We Canadians are known to be polite people, but we do get angry." Which is probably something Trump learned negotiating a new NAFTA. The writer knows it too having covered Canada while in his old MNC-company.

[* Here's Wikipedia re Granville Island:  "The peninsula was once an industrial manufacturing area, but today it is a hotspot for Vancouver tourism and entertainment. The area has received much acclaim in recent years for its buildings and shopping experience. [It] is home to 275 businesses and facilities that employ more than 2,500 people and generates more than $ 215-million in economic activity each year. "]

The boat driver came to mind as the writer was reading the "Report - McKinsey Global Institute - September 2018."  

"Some emerging economies have managed to achieve strong and consistent growth over a long period. These are the outperformers ... Eighteen of 71 countries outperformed their peers and global benchmarks.

The [next] 11 are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Laos, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. "

Is Juan de la Cruz angry yet? Why not? Que sera, sera? Or is it subservience? He who submits to tyranny loves it, says Rizal. Gising bayan!

As some would know, this is the genesis of the blog: "I started writing to engage columnists and newspaper editors at the end of a trip to the Philippines over Holy Week in 2008 - to echo the frustrations expressed by friends and relations that were much louder and more intense than prior trips.

"My first thought was: with so much talents and skills how could the country be the basket case of Asia? Are we simply too nice as a people? "

Consider: "Fitch downplays corporate tax cut's lure," Melissa Luz T. Lopez, BusinessWorld, 21st Sep 2018. "LOWER CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATES are unlikely to provide a big boost to inbound investments, Fitch Solutions said, noting that a weak business environment hounded by red tape still deters investors from making big bets in the Philippines.

"Fitch Solutions, the research unit of Fitch Ratings, said the second tax reform package now awaiting legislative approval will not be a source of additional state revenues and is unlikely to lead to a deluge of foreign direct investments (FDIs)."

Yet this is not new. The agency highlighted our "lower income per capita and weaker governance and business environment indicators compared to ... rating category peers," even when "Philippines retains investment grade rating from Fitch" [ Lawrence Agcaoili , The Philippine Star, 19th Jul 2018.]

Those are three negatives that we have to continue to take for granted: (a) Lower per capita income and (b) weaker governance and (c) business environment indicators ... compared to our peers. They go to the heart of who we are ... as an enterprise, economy or nation.

But what does our media talk and write about? Consider: "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]

In other words, our media must demonstrate greater relevance. Take weak governance. The Marcos unexplained wealth should make Juan de la Cruz very angry - especially given the "values" the regime etched are today manifested by our "trapos." Consider: The crux of the matter remains, even from a legal standpoint - ie, the Marcos unexplained wealth is unexplained.

What about the weak business environment indicators? We are ruled by oligarchy. Yet we keep hyping them because they mean well and can raise the wellbeing of Juan de la Cruz? But why can not we eliminate the restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution? Hint: Oligarchy and political patronage are bedfellows.

And the low per capita income? Because ours is a consumption economy driven by OFW remittances and the BPO industry. As the blog reminds us: "Our being the regional laggard is beyond poverty. It is about development. It is beyond jobs and a consumption economy. It is about an industrial economy that has attained a virtuous circle as in an ecosystem which wealthy nations like Denmark and Sweden have demonstrated. And PH underperformance is now magnified by countries like Cambodia, Ethiopia, Laos, Myanmar, and others. These once poor nations - like the Asian Tigers - are poised to leave us in the dust too. "

Did we not use to joke about these poor nations, that we're the superior race? What we are is an elite class - and the writer counts himself and family in - where rank has its privileges yet we're not owning up.

We do not need another people power. What we need is for the elite class to step up to the plate. If that is a tall order, what if we learn from AA?

Consider: "The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous: (1) We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable; (2.) Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity; (3) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him; (4) Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves; (5) Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs; (6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character; (7) Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings; (8) Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all; (9) Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others; (10) Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it; (11) Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out; (12) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

"The relative success of the AA program seems to be due to the fact that an alcoholic who no longer drinks has an exceptional faculty for 'reaching' and helping an uncontrolled drinker ... In the simplest form, the AA program operates when a recovered alcoholic passes along the story of his or her own drinking problem, describes the sobriety he or she has found in AA, and invites the newcomer to join the informal Fellowship.

"The heart of the suggested program of personal recovery is contained in Twelve Steps describing the experience of the earliest members of the Society. Newcomers are not asked to accept or follow these Twelve Steps in their entirety if they feel unwilling or unable to do so.

"They will usually be asked to keep an open mind, to attend meetings at which recovered alcoholics describe their personal experiences in achieving sobriety, and to read AA literature describing and interpreting the AA program.

"AA members will usually emphasize to newcomers that only problem drinkers themselves, individually, can determine whether or not they are in fact alcoholics ... At the same time, it will be pointed out that all available medical testimony indicates that alcoholism is a progressive illness, that it can not be cured in the ordinary sense of the term, but that it can be arrested through total abstinence from alcohol in any form. "[ https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/about-aa/the- 12-steps-of-aa ]

In other words, tyranny like alcoholism is a progressive illness; it can not be cured in the ordinary sense of the term. 

We are deep down the abyss. We are at least 50 years behind in infrastructure development. Our income per capita shouts third-world. Good governance is alien to us. Our business and industry is oligarchic. Bongbong Marcos has no clue what this all means. Nor does Macapagal-Arroyo or Sara Duterte. Because they are "trapos."

We need: (a) visionary leadership and (b) Juan de la Cruz to recognize that shortsightedness explains why we nurture political patronage and a culture of impunity - aka tyranny. In other words, good governance is a two-way street.

We need more than a JICA report, we need a commitment to pursue an infrastructure development plan that will bridge the 50-odd years of our deficiencies. And we need to make Arangkada concrete so that investors especially FDIs will find PH attractive.

Still, execution remains daunting given our poor track record. It reflects our lack of foresight, manifested in our inability to establish a north star and prioritize. Why? Think "crab mentality." And does it come from our instincts of parochialism and insularity? Recall that in Denmark cooperatives are a way of life and have a special place in their culture.

Gising bayan!

"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]

" Now I know why Paul dared to speak of 'the curse of the law' (Galatians 3:13). Law reigns and discernment is unnecessary, which means there is little growth or change in such people. When you do not grow, you remain an infant. "[Faith and Science, Open to Change, Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation, 23rd Oct 2017]

"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]

Pigs and trees – A great foundation for world-class agribusiness

Who would not know about Denmark and Sweden? Since the blog recently talked about AI and Microsoft, it would make sense if we come down to earth - to trees and pigs, for example.

The writer was given a quick education by a European agricultural economist after he asked the latter to name a couple of agribusiness industries that are world-class. "Pigs and trees," was his response.

"Denmark is among the world's largest pig meat exporters ... Exports of pig meat account for almost half of all agricultural exports and for more than 5 percent of Denmark's total exports. More than 70 percent of Danish pig meat production is exported to other EU countries, and the [rest] to countries outside the EU.

"Danish pig meat is exported to more than 140 countries, and the largest markets in terms of volume are Germany, UK, Poland, China, Japan, Italy, Russia and Sweden.

"For more than 100 years, the production of pigs and pig meat has been a major source of income for Denmark. Approx. 90 percent of the production is exported and is thus essential to the Danish economy and the balance of trade.

"The Danish pig industry is among the world leaders in areas such as breeding, quality, food safety, animal welfare and traceability. This is the reason why Denmark is among the world's largest pig meat exporters.

"Danish pig meat producers observe high standards of animal welfare, and pig farmers constantly strive to improve the welfare of live pigs. Danish pig production is characterized by high food safety standards and good animal health. Environmentally sustainable production methods are key to Danish pig production.

"Around 5,000 pig farms in Denmark produce approx. 28 million pigs annually. Most pigs are slaughtered in co-operative abattoirs ... In addition, a substantial number of live piglets are exported, mainly to Germany. "[ Https://agricultureandfood.dk/danish-agriculture-and-food/danish- pig-meat-industry ]

For comparative purposes, PH swine population per the PSA is 12.78 million, and only 4.66 is commercial, the rest is backyard. But to derive per capita production, let's stay with the total; which means per capita we produce 0.12 versus 4.99 for Denmark. Note the reference to co-operatives. Denmark is home to the cooperative movement; while we Pinoys seem unable to embrace community and the common good.

"Cooperatives have a special place in the Danish culture ... The first cooperative store in Denmark was established in 1866, inspired by the original Rochdale cooperative store in England. The concept quickly spread, first in villages, then in the cities. In 1896 the many cooperative stores were consolidated into a national cooperative organization, which started producing its own labels of basic goods. By 1919 there were close to two thousand cooperative stores, accounting for around 10 percent of all retail sales in Denmark.

"Cooperative stores spread in a similar fashion in many other countries, but what made the cooperative movement particularly important in Denmark was the success of cooperatives in agriculture.

"Technology was an important catalyst for this. The continuous centrifuge process for producing butter was a major improvement in efficiency and quality. But the machinery was expensive and required high volumes, which only the large manors produced at the time.

"In 1882 the first cooperatively owned dairy was established, and it was governed along more or less the same basic guidelines, which were used for all the subsequent production cooperatives.

"In the following decades cooperative dairies spread rapidly, and by 1900 more or less all dairy production in Denmark was through cooperatives. At a national level the cooperatives created shared marketing companies for export, and shared technological research, which was crucial for making Denmark a leading country in dairy production.

"A similar development took place in the meatpacking industry. The first cooperative slaughterhouse was started in 1887. Later came cooperative production and marketing of eggs, chickens, vegetables, fish and fur. Another important development was the large cooperatives for sales of foodstuff and fertilizers.

"A second wave of cooperatives started after World War II to establish shared laundries and freezing houses ... The cooperative model was used for banks, credit unions and insurance companies, and for building societies.

"The late 60s and 70's brought a wave of consolidation in industry. The many small cooperatives were combined and rationalized, leading to a handful of large national and even international companies, which are still among the pillars of the Danish agricultural sector: Arla foods, Danish Crown meat and DLG foodstuff, fertilizer and grain. "[ Http : //we-economy.net/case-stories/the-cooperative-movement.html ]

What about trees?

"The Swedish pulp and paper industry ... Paper products are part of our daily life. Products made of paper are used for a variety of purposes in our everyday life. For mediation of information in newspapers and printed matters, as different forms of packaging, and for hygiene products, just to mention a few. The raw material is virgin fiber from the forest. In addition, a significant amount of recycled fiber from consumers is used as raw material. The production of newsprint in Europe is for example essentially based on recycled fiber. However, since the recycled fiber does not have the strength required for certain types of high-quality paper and as it loses its paper making qualities after a certain number of re-uses, the use of virgin fiber is an integral part of the paper- making process. 

"The Swedish pulp and paper industry is export intensive. The forest industry as a whole plays an important part in the Swedish economy. It is also heavily export oriented and makes a significant contribution to Sweden's trade balance. Sweden is the world's second largest exporter of pulp, paper and sawn wood products combined. Of the pulp and paper production, close to 90 percent is exported. As for pulp production, around a quarter of the total consumption of pulp within the EU are manufactured in Sweden. 

"The industry's raw material is renewable and recyclable. The activities of the forest industry are based on a renewable material, the growing forest. Provided that forests are managed sustainably, they are able to provide society with an infinite source of carbon-neutral raw material. This gives the industry unique opportunities in times when there is an interest from society to replace fossil-based products with renewable ones to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change. A lot of research to develop new products out of bio-based materials, such as wood from the forest, is on-going, and the Swedish forest industry has elaborated a vision to act as a driving force in the development of a so-called bio-based economy up till 2035. "  [https://www.skogssverige.se/en/the-pulp-and-paper-industry ]

In his conversation with the economist, the writer learned that European countries have their versions of the USAID model. And one question that continues to challenge donor nations is: What else beyond money must constitute foreign aid? Think of the refugee crisis and how Western nations today have their hands full - and gave the nationalists reason to protect and isolate their countries.

And in response, European nations are sending teams to Africa, for instance, to encourage and inspire the locals to traverse the road from poverty to prosperity - so that they do not look at themselves as refugees who must seek shelter in foreign lands. While we Pinoys view the OFW phenomenon as a positive because to us it is about jobs ... Pretty shortsighted, in the grand scheme of things.

The European economist also believes that his university must partner with the private sector in their efforts in Africa. For example, business people can show local MSMEs how to scale up their enterprises.

Take the Danish success in their pig agribusiness and why cooperatives have a special place in their culture. And think community and the common good, to appreciate the power of cooperatives. Conversely, why did PH land reform fail? It is diametrically opposed to the cooperative ethos. Because shortsightedness like a coin has two sides: (a) political patronage and (b) a culture of corruption cum impunity; and undermines and defeats reform efforts.

In sum, small pig growers like small farmers are not destined to be poor. The key is economies of scale, which is what cooperatives can achieve. Similarly, denuded forest is not destiny, it is shortsightedness that comes from a lack of foresight.

As the blog has discussed, our being the regional laggard is beyond poverty. It is about development. It is beyond jobs and a consumption economy. It is about an industrial economy that has attained a virtuous circle as in an ecosystem which wealthy nations like Denmark and Sweden have demonstrated. And PH underperformance is now magnified by countries like Cambodia, Ethiopia, Laos, Myanmar, and others. These once poor nations - like the Asian Tigers - are poised to leave us in the dust too.

Gising bayan!

"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]

" Now I know why Paul dared to speak of 'the curse of the law' (Galatians 3:13). Law reigns and discernment is unnecessary, which means there is little growth or change in such people. When you do not grow, you remain an infant. "[Faith and Science, Open to Change, Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation, 23rd Oct 2017]

"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]

Microsoft … Boeing … Amazon … Starbucks …

… And then some. An eight-hour whirlwind tour of Seattle gave the wife and writer a glimpse of this city – home to some of the world’s most recognizable brands and, as important, is the culture of innovation that they share.

It was to dovetail the Alaska cruise they took – that started in Vancouver and eleven days later concluded in Seward, a two-hour drive to Anchorage. And before flying back home (NY suburb) the couple spent a day in Seattle, where a niece and her husband live. [She’s a product of Enderun in BGC and works at Four Seasons, while he is a techie in a cloud-service provider.]

But let’s get back to the above subject-referenced brands. And a good starting point is the Microsoft Visitor Center. “Who could have imagined? We started as a handful of people creating BASIC in a small office in Albuquerque in 1975. Today we’re a global company with tens of thousands of employees working to create the next generation of breakthrough technologies. We had high hopes back in those early days, but we never imagined we’d achieve something of this magnitude.”

As the writer was reading this visual display – which had a group photo of eleven individuals that included Bill Gates and Paul Allen – he was thinking of the Stanford psychologist, Carol Dweck, and her body of work re the growth mindset versus the fixed mindset that Bill Gates wrote about in his blog. And Dweck’s treatise has become part of the Microsoft culture.

And then came another display. “Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”

Does that mission statement go against the grain of Juan de la Cruz, i.e., to value rank and its privileges? More to the point: “We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and the paternalism it brings. And we rely on political patronage and oligarchy given the spoils they bestow. That when all is said and done, we bite the bullet – aka a culture of impunity.”

Consider this John F. Kenney quote from 1962 in The Museum of Flight at Boeing: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard.” “Pwede na ang OFW remittances.” [Especially to the elite class given we partake of the spoils?]

Does the contrast speak to why we’re the regional laggard? No wonder Arangkada is no longer talked about – not even by our business periodicals? And if at all, our opinion makers continue to defend our worldview. Because we personify what Christians are meant to be? Or does wisdom reside in Juan de la Cruz? Gising bayan!

We in the elite class – where leaders in both public and private sectors come from – must own up to the predicament of Juan de la Cruz. We’ve held Juan de la Cruz hostage – given our rank and its privileges – for too long. Think Rizal: He who submits to tyranny loves it.

The niece’s husband showed the wife and writer how to shop in the AmazonGo store. It is a facet of the future of AI. For starters, it is cashless. A patron uses her ID (magnetic) card like a key to enter; and that triggers the countless sensors in the store to effectively host and shadow the shopper. Pick an item off a shelf, pick another one and another … and then at the exit lane, tap the scanner with your Amazon card and presto! Call it superefficient – in and out of the store in no time.

Here’s a quote re AI in the Microsoft Visitor Center: “The Seeing AI team created a free app that uses speech to illuminate the world around the user … While originally built for people who have low vision, many people who have full vision are using Seeing AI for things like language learning, or teaching people who have learning disabilities, harnessing the power of AI to open up the visual world to all.”

In other words, like everything else – or wherever, remember Eden and the Last Supper? – there is always the credit and the debit sides. That is why people grow up and develop. But we Pinoys are stuck in poverty – and the war on poverty – that is, sadly, undermining our ability to see beyond the horizon. And why development is not in our psyche?

Here’s another facet of AI from Microsoft: “The world’s population will reach 10 billion by 2050 and studies predict we’ll need to double the food we grow to feed our growing numbers. One solution is precision agriculture, together with the cloud and artificial intelligence … FarmBeats uses Window 10 loT Core and the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to determine how much water and fertilizer crops need and can measure this down to the individual plant. Machine learning algorithms analyze data from hundreds of sensors to predict future farm conditions, enabling farmers to make informed decisions about what to plant, when and where, to maximize yields.”

And back in Bulgaria, the writer’s friends are into AI too as they are constantly elevating efficiencies in the factories and warehouses – via robotics, for example, and other systems-based models. They translate to higher margins and raise their ability to be globally competitive. And since they’ve developed more product categories they have likewise expanded the production facilities (to seven) and employ more people. There is also a knock-on effect on their partners given the demands on the supply chain both locally and in their ever-expanding global market. 

This is one way to illustrate the multiplier effect of investment on growth and prosperity which we in the Philippines have failed to leverage because of our reliance on OFW remittances and the BPO industry. Neither can match the multiplier effect of an industrial economy. The bottom line: Foresight. Which comes from: (a) looking outward and forward, not inward and backward; and (b) learning to overcome a fixed or static mindset and embracing a growth or dynamic mindset.

And to illustrate its impact, we can quote from “The McKinsey Global Institute Report - September 2018: Eighteen of 71 countries outperformed their peers and global benchmarks: We analyzed the per capita GDP growth of 71 economies over 50 years, starting in 1965. Of these, we identified 18 as outperformers …

“Collectively, these outperformers have been the engine for lifting one billion people out of extreme poverty, defined by the World Bank as living on less than $1.90 per day. Rising prosperity in these countries has not just reduced poverty but has also enabled the emergence of a new wave of middle and affluent classes. Between 1990 and 2013, the number of people living in extreme poverty in the 71 emerging economies fell from 1.84 billion to 766 million. Outperformers accounted for almost 95 percent of that change.

“Less than 11 percent of the world’s population now lives in extreme poverty, down from 35 percent in 1990.

“At the same time, growing numbers of residents of these countries joined the ‘consuming class’—that is, people with incomes high enough to become significant consumers of goods and services. In India, for example, the number of consuming-class households rose tenfold in two decades, from 3.4 million in 1995 to more than 35 million in 2016. Globally, these highly urbanized consumers have become a powerful motor for global economic growth. Outperformers accounted for almost half of the growth in household spending of all emerging economies in the past 20 years.”

And let’s get back to Seattle. At 1912 Pike Place in Seattle is the first Starbucks store that goes back to 1971. It’s a tiny coffee shop, smaller than the first Shoe Mart store (1958.) In 2017 there were over 27,000 Starbucks stores worldwide. And in 2018 it is ranked among the most innovative companies under the category of Social Good.

“In recent years, the company has focused on reshaping its business model in ways that do more social good. That includes a partnership with Feeding America to donate 100% of all daily leftovers to nearby community groups--an effort that’s expected to decrease the company’s food waste and provide 50 million meals annually by the time it scales in 2020. In 2017, Starbucks committed to hiring 10,000 refugees at stores in areas where they’ve resettled, while continuing to open cafes to provide jobs and boost development in economically depressed cities around the United States. Current spots, including Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore; and Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, among others, are already up and running.”

Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon and Starbucks – innovative and globally competitive enterprises – as well as our neighbors ... can all claim to be homes of best practice models that we Pinoys can shamelessly steal. 

But where to Philippines? 

“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]

“Now I know why Paul dared to speak of ‘the curse of the law’ (Galatians 3:13). Law reigns and discernment is unnecessary, which means there is little growth or change in such people. When you do not grow, you remain an infant.” [Faith and Science, Open to Change, Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, 23rd Oct 2017]

“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]