Adapt or perish II

“To him, the Philippines should not be in the middle of the pack of emerging countries but should lead it. He aches for the country to take its place among the exclusive group of progressive nations. This ache is where his drive stems from.

“I got to understand where the [Transportation] Secretary's impatience stems from. Many times, during our conversation, he stressed how the Philippines is 20 years behind in infrastructure. The bottlenecks in airports, seaports and roads are the reason why the economy has not been able to operate on all cylinders. The economy's growth, albeit high at six percent, is unable to grow faster without overheating due to the infrastructure gap. Mobility and connectivity are the triggers that will unlock the true potentials of the nation, he said.” [Arthur Tugade: The understated statesman, Andrew J. Masigan, THE CORNER ORACLE, The Philippine Star, 17th Jul 2019]

Beyond infrastructure, what else? “[Out] of the blue, the Chief Executive admitted that Philippine agriculture ‘is the weakest link,’ which seems to have been stalling the country’s desired economic growth. Now, the truth is out.

‘But this time, I’ll concentrate on agriculture. The weakest link [is] agriculture. I must do something about it. [But] let me come out with some better ideas for this year,’ the President promised.

“Although he did not go into details yet, the President apparently alluded to a slew of economic reform bills, which he asked the 17th Congress to pass into law. These included Free Irrigation to Small Farmers Act of 2018; several laws establishing multi-species marine hatchery in various provinces in the Philippines; and RA 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Act that lifted the rice import restrictions but subject to payment of tariff. 

“Prior to the passage of RA 11203, the country went through a period of rice crisis last year when there was a shortage of supply of government-subsidized Filipino staple food sold to the local markets by the National Food Authority (NFA).

“After the rice crisis, President Duterte often scoffed at Piñol’s boast that the Philippines will soon be self-sufficient in rice production.” [‘Weakest link’ of the Philippines economy, Marichu A. Villanueva, COMMONSENSE, The Philippine Star, 17th Jul 2019]

So where is the economy? “The Duterte administration’s macroeconomic performance in the last three years is not sterling. [But] at least we are still growing at a high rate above 5%.

“The Philippines is the only economy with consistently declining GDP growth rate. Others have up-down or down-up trends. The Philippines has the highest inflation rate in the region, 2018 and 2019 Year to date (January to May/June).

“The Philippines and Indonesia have high, decline then increase interest rates. Vietnam has the highest but with slight decline trend. The Philippines and Indonesia have the worst current account/GDP ratio. Difference is that Indonesia has been in negative territory for several years now, Philippines only in 2018.” [SONA economic numbers, Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr., BusinessWorld, 18th Jul 2019]

We Pinoys are the eternal optimists and like to see the glass half-full not half-empty. Thankfully, we have a cabinet member who acknowledges that we are 20 years behind in infrastructure and a president that accepts that agriculture is the weakest link.

Also, “The government still has a long way to go in curbing corruption within the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III admitted [as] he emphasized the need to automate customs processes to address the issue.

“[Dominguez] noted that the BOC has been performing well in meeting its revenue targets this year but admitted that the agency still has much to do to address corruption.” [‘BOC has long way to go vs corruption,’ Mary Grace Padin, The Philippine Star, 17th Jul 2019]

To recap, we have our shortcomings in several areas: infrastructure, agriculture, macroeconomics, and corruption, for example. Moreover, as the world watches, in human rights too.

“Thoroughly obscured by the rage and bile the Duterte administration has directed at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for its vote on a resolution urging an investigation into the human rights situation in the Philippines is the ironic fact that, just nine months ago, the country actually lobbied to retain its seat in the council—by vowing to champion human rights.

“That the Duterte administration has no qualms summarily repudiating that promise is evident not only in the dire human rights situation in the Philippines, but also in the actions it seems all too willing to take on behalf of countries it considers its friends—China, for instance. Still at the UNHRC, the Philippines recently joined a group of 37 countries that signed and submitted to the council a most remarkable document: a letter praising China’s ‘remarkable human rights record.’” [Axis of Shame, EDITORIAL, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 19th Jul 2019]

Before we get too far, let's get back to the title of this posting, “Adapt or perish.”

Consider our shortcomings: infrastructure, agriculture, macroeconomics, corruption, human rights. To those familiar with the blog, it speaks to our instincts time and again. Consider too the admonition of Rizal: “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.”

If we examine each of these shortcomings, we will stumble into our instincts, to wit: We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism, rely on political patronage and oligarchy, that at the end of the day, ours is a culture of impunity.

So, one can appreciate the frustrations of the transportation secretary, instead of leading, we are the regional laggard.

Adapt or perish is what we must recognize. In other words, we can’t simply brush aside our culture of impunity. To add insult to injury, we chose to align with the Axis of shame. We in the elite class have a lot do with this. See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil. 

Understandably, we don't have the foresight of Rizal, because vision is a rare commodity. However, shouldn't we at least try to adapt – and overcome parochialism and insularity – lest we perish? Alternatively, haven't we figured out how much they have brought us down the abyss?

We have long resorted to “Pinoy abilidad” to justify our inability to step up to the plate of reality. The evidence? Our FDI is on the rise. Can it come from the mindset of a loser given how our neighbors have left us in the dust? In the private sector, a sales or marketing manager who makes such a claim re rising receipts amid competitive realities won't be there for the next budget year.

Killing people in the name of the war on drugs – forget about whether it’s a crime – is shortsightedness. What experiential or body of knowledge can we cite to make this the mantra of a nation of over a hundred million supposedly God-loving people?

What about agriculture? Is the slew of economic reform bills the answer? It is the 21st century, and we're still into subsistence farming. Adapt or perish.

We can't move the needle forward until we shift paradigms and doggedly pursue an industrial economy, and we can start with agribusiness. Moreover, to jumpstart industry, we can’t keep talking about FDIs. We must demonstrate and proactively seek them. 

The old paradigm of doing roadshows to peddle Philippine products is just that, old, tired, and toothless. 

We must acknowledge that we need foreign investment, technology, and know-how, ultimately, and totally so that we don't fall into the trap of shortsightedness and “Pinoy abilidad.” 

The bottom line: We need the Chief Executive to demonstrate leadership in the pursuit of an industrial economy, not in killing people in the name of the war on drugs. If we want to lift Juan de la Cruz from poverty, we must recognize that industrialization is ground zero.

Then the Chief Executive must lead the nation to acquire the knack for innovation and global competitiveness rapidly. Industry per se is just a platform. We are eons behind, way beyond the 20-year lag we acknowledge in infrastructure. 

With due respect, leadership cannot delegate the challenge to traverse the road from poverty to prosperity to the economic managers. To delegate accountability is abdication.

None of this is earthshaking or rocket science. Our neighbors have done it; if we can only overcome Pinoy parochialism and insularity. No man is an island.

Then there is corruption. What else is new? Consider: parochialism and insularity, given our “caste system,” nourish hierarchy and paternalism, that then feed patronage and oligarchy to complete the vicious circle we call a culture of impunity.

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]

“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]