That should read “same old, same old” except the blog had used the title in a post four years ago. And the thought came following the dinner the wife and writer had with expatriate friends (a couple plus their young daughter) and as the writer was winding down the eight weeks of this year’s annual homecoming. [While the wife typically stays on for another couple of weeks – to attend to her family’s interests.]
After two years in the country, these friends clearly have a fair and balanced view of the Philippines; the bottom line being there are reasons to like the assignment here. For example, the writer thought the Italian restaurant in Alabang where they went will meet the standards of expatriates, e.g., the spaghetti alle vongole and the wine (Montepulciano d'Abruzzo) were world-class and although the carpaccio wasn’t great, it’s passable.
And reading the posting from before, the words “kinship” and “underachievers” stood out. To wit: (a) “What CJ Panganiban calls ‘kinship’ may be at the bottom of our woes? We can't say no to all forms of kinship!” and (b) from economist Ciel Habito: “We’ve been good mentors to those around us, yet have been sorry underachievers, even laggards, in the very things they learned from us. There’s clearly much we can learn about growing the agricultural cooperative system from the Koreans, possibly the Indians as well. Ironically, it seems that both looked to us as mentor when they started out half a century ago.”
And the writer added “fixed mindset,” a constant theme of the blog – because it explains same old, same old.
On kinship, those who read about the North Carolina House race – that is, a new election had been called – would know that kinship does not have to be absolute. That a son can testify against his father; it’s called the rule of law: “The board’s decision capped a dramatic week that included testimony from Harris’s son, John Harris, a federal prosecutor, who said Wednesday that he warned his father in phone calls and emails that he believed Dowless [the hired political operative] had broken the law in a previous election and should not be hired for the 2018 campaign.”
Which brings the writer back to grade school – the Holy Trinity parish parochial school in Calabash Road in Sampaloc – when during a retreat the invited priest spoke about blind obedience. The two points he remembers: (a) You are not to obey blindly, not even your parents. You must not steal, for example, even if you are told to do so; (b) You belong to a family; parents have the responsibility to beget and educate. The responsibility does not stop at beget.
The priest must be a liberal or progressive. Because the writer also remembers the parish priest telling his parents that they must welcome every child they would bear. Lo and behold, it is one big happy family – of ten siblings.
Translation: The writer knows humble beginnings first hand. And why he accepted to be a development worker in the poorest nation in Europe. And indeed when fielding questions over the last 16 years he is able to speak to a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset. And how their once cottage-industry employer is today one of the EU’s best companies.
And it is not about paternalism which we Pinoys can’t toss. And why we continue to perpetuate tyranny. Because paternalism is a self-fulfilling prophesy – as in a caste system.
What about our being underachievers? We can excel if we put our minds to it. And here are two examples, but they will remain nameless being family and friends. Says cyberworld: (a) Poblacion’s Hottest New Restaurant Thanks To Its Neo Filipino Menu And Retro Cool Vibe; (b) We snuck away for the weekend ... The weeks have been piling up and it seems like even Saturdays can be hit and run from the moment you wake up. This particular weekend we hit the pause button and snuck away to [this bed and breakfast in Bay, Laguna] and it was so … so good.
The writer also met with a couple of economists and it dawned on him that to us Pinoys access to finance is a barrier that simply is insurmountable. See above re fixed mindset. And the writer is always reminded of Tatang Sy and Steve Jobs and the writer’s Eastern European friends. If these three disparate parties have something in common, no one was born a Trump – who as a teen was worth more than $200 million courtesy of the father.
And add to the list the nephew – the 27-year-old son of the wife’s sister – one of the three chefs (another one is also 27 and the other 30, plus two friends) that started this hottest new restaurant in Poblacion. They had to beg for money ... because even the wife did not step forward, not confident that the investment was worth the risk.
As the nephew explained: “Tito, all we had was a vision which the three of us shared; and we are thankful that two friends embraced it. We had a good education, beyond the culinary knowledge we also learned how to run an enterprise, and it was polished by our experiences – from our internships in the US and France and from that former hot restaurant in BGC where we all worked.
“Still, we were just like robots in the beginning. We knew we had to be totally engaged with every bit of activity from square one and likewise from drawing up the plans to convert this residential apartment into a restaurant and up to the actual construction work. We know exactly where all the pipes and electrical lines are laid out because we must know where to look if they ever need fixing.
“But today we are even more engaged, 24/7, figuring out how to execute the things we want done while racking our brains if we are missing something. It is about ambition, we want to succeed.”
The family friend’s resort in Bay (Laguna) is a gem. And so next year, instead of traveling to, say, Bali where the family spent the first week after arrival from the US this January, the plan is to be in Bay – where there is a spa – to shake off jetlag.
But then again, while small-scale business initiatives like the above are most welcome, we must not forget that given our population size as well as the reality that we compete with our friendly neighbors, we must recognize the imperative of scale.
Consider: PH poverty rate is at 21.6% while Vietnam is less than half at 8%. Yet our local economy is larger than those of Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. What gives? Try exports, not just exports but humongous ones: In the case of Vietnam, one enterprise alone, i.e., Samsung which is 25% of Vietnam’s exports, delivers roughly equal to total PH exports. And it comes from Samsung’s cumulative investment in Vietnam of $17-B. Economists call this economic outcome the multiplier effect of investment. Which small-scale enterprises in the Philippines will never come close to matching.
In other words, while we think livelihood undertakings – which is what most of our MSMEs are about – our neighbors are pursuing global scale and global competitiveness. And the starting point as Lee and Mahathir told Deng is “Beg for Western money and technology.”
What are we missing? To prioritize is not in our instincts and consciousness. See below re time and space as in efficient coexistence and order and community and the common good.
On the other hand, “inclusive” – which we assume must be the response to PH poverty – is in fact a euphemism. Ditto for populism as in retail politics. And worse, wittingly or not, we perpetuate and nourish patronage and a culture of impunity.
But are we anywhere near stepping up to the plate? Consider this news report: “Measure lifting restrictions on foreigners in business could still make it out of 17th Congress.” Gising bayan!
We are two generations behind our neighbors and this tentativeness is not going to pass muster. Why two generations? One: it will take a generation to match their progress in infrastructure development and industrialization. Two: it will take another generation before we can raise our innovation culture and global competitiveness.
But let’s get back to fixed mindset. Or more precisely, how can we develop a growth mindset if we’re stuck in place because we’re faced with insurmountable barriers like finance – or the lack of access?
As the writer explained to the economists, we will never seek what’s below the tip of the iceberg – and figure out what’s behind the success of the Asian Tigers, for instance – if we keep projecting our values and instincts and biases. That we cannot be a Singapore or a Thailand or a Vietnam. Because we are not a dictatorship nor a monarchy and we are not communists either.
But we are an optimistic people. That’s precisely the point. We are missing the insights or why our neighbors left us behind. Beg for Western money and technology, said Lee and Mahathir to Deng. And Vietnam followed suit. And pursue rapid infrastructure development and industrialization.
And now that we’re into the 21st century, these neighbors are well positioned to exploit their advantage, i.e., they lead us in innovation and global competitiveness. And if our response is “we’re a bunch of optimists” then we can kiss tomorrow goodbye.
Indeed our challenges are daunting. If we don’t rack our brains to figure out why we’re the regional laggard, we won’t recognize this fundamental given: that because we take time and space for granted, we will never appreciate what efficient coexistence and order is.
It is what community and the common good is about. Prioritize! Prioritize! Prioritize!
And it is evident in how anarchy now rules us – from our chaotic metro traffic to uncivilized land use to palpable political patronage and ravenous oligarchy – and why ours is a culture of impunity.
As one friend explained, we had the chance to preempt dynasties after the fall of Marcos. One simple line in the Constitution would have done it. But we opted to leave it to legislation. If the big boys control this economy, a few families control this nation. You can go province by province or region by region. And we are a bunch of fools, we keep electing these same thieves. I have given up on this nation. We can never overcome corruption. In the same manner that no nation has overcome the drug menace, chimed another.
Kinship. Underachievers. A fixed mindset. We can take them for granted at our peril.
“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]
“You have to have a dream, whether big or small. Then plan, focus, work hard and be very determined to achieve your goals.” [Henry Sy Sr., Chairman Emeritus and Founder, SM Group (1924 - 2019)]
“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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