“The concept was popularized by Robert Havighurst in his 1952 book, Human Development, and Education. A developmental task is a task that one learns at a specific point and which makes the achievement of succeeding tasks possible. When the timing is right, the ability to learn a task will be possible. That is a ‘teachable moment.’ It is crucial to keep in mind that unless the time is right, learning will not occur. Hence, it is important to repeat important points whenever possible so that when a student’s teachable moment occurs, s/he can benefit from the knowledge.” [Wikipedia]
Consider: “Innovation and ingenuity against COVID-19,” Sonny M. Angara, BusinessMirror, 3rd Apr 2020.
“COVID-19 is teaching us many hard lessons. But I hope that once we emerge from this pandemic, it will finally be drilled into our heads to provide even more excellent support and encouragement for the science, research, technology, and manufacturing sectors.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is unfolding at a critical juncture in our nation's history. Thankfully, in the face of such a gargantuan crisis, Filipinos have reached deep within themselves to find ingenious ways of rising to the challenge.
“Aside from those in the frontline of the pandemic, inventors and innovators are actively participating in addressing the crisis.
“I can’t help but be impressed and inspired by all of these developments. On the one hand, they demonstrate that, in certain instances, we already possess some of the major components needed to fight this pandemic effectively.
“On the other hand, they underscore the importance of building up our technological know-how and our capacity to innovate as a nation. That is one of the broad aims of the Tatak Pinoy initiative I have written extensively about before. Indeed, technology has the potential to be used in many ways other than its original purpose. If we develop local technologies and innovations for our economic well-being, we also gain the ability to equip ourselves for future challenges, aside from expanding our toolset for economic development.”
Indeed, we must seize the opportunity. We’ve heard it before, that in Mandarin Chinese, “crisis” is the combination of the words “disaster” and “opportunity.” It is about the “yin” and “yang” or the balancing of the two.
News item: “Philippine Leader Announces $3.9 billion Economic Stimulus Package.” Indeed, it is the most massive economic aid package in Philippine history.
“For scale, Malaysia, with less than one-third of the Philippine population, announced a stimulus package worth $57 billion (about P2.9 trillion).
“Fitch Solutions is of the view that the first fiscal stimulus package worth P27.1 billion may not have a ‘considerable’ impact on the economy or consumer spending.
“The P27.1 billion stimulus program announced by economic managers early in the lockdown was focused on supporting the tourism sector. The program also includes a package for the health sector and some subsidies for affected workers and establishments.
“The P200 billion package for vulnerable Filipinos recently announced by President Rodrigo R. Duterte may help to boost consumer spending outlook in the second half of 2020 and 2021.
“The government has allotted P200 billion to aid low-income households to support those who lost jobs during the lockdown. Cash assistance for the vulnerable population will range from P5,000 to P8,000.
“Fitch Solutions downgraded its 2020 growth outlook for the Philippines to 4% in late March from an earlier forecast of 6% mainly due to the outbreak’s impact on tourism, remittances, the supply chain, and foreign direct investment.
“If realized, this projection will be lower than the 5.9% recorded in 2019 and the official target of 6.5% to 7.5% set by the government. [“Fitch Solutions reduces PHL consumer spending 2020 growth outlook,” Luz Wendy T. Noble, BusinessWorld, 1st Apr 2020.]
In other words, while we are consciously and collectively standing up against this pandemic, the reality is the other side of the coin. That even our best efforts won’t suffice: The crisis will deliver a staggering blow to the people, the nation, and the economy. In the Western world, where countries are wealthier than the Philippines, analysts are recalling the Great Depression.
We are too weak for the 2020 pandemic, and, more fundamentally, we are too weak for the 21st century.
We have in our hands a teachable moment.
“COVID-19 is teaching us many hard lessons. But I hope that once we emerge from this pandemic, it will finally be drilled into our heads to provide even greater support and encouragement for the science, research, technology, and manufacturing sectors.” [Angara, op. cit.]
Let’s pause and ask ourselves: Why did we allow science, research, technology, and manufacturing sectors to lag?
See above: A developmental task is a task one learns at a specific point and which makes the achievement of succeeding tasks possible.
In other words, our failings in science, research, technology, and manufacturing are not isolated cases. We had many chances in the past to seize teachable moments.
Consider our instincts: We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism that we rely on political patronage and oligarchy that ours is a culture of impunity.
If we were a piece of land, we are not arable. There was no way we can “sow and reap.” That is why “pwede na ‘yan” – as in the kneejerk – became our invention. The evidence? We are the regional laggard and have been left behind by our neighbors. Yet, we remain the happiest people imaginable. Try denial. [See below; the tribalism of the USSR and its extinction.]
How many reacted to the “shoot the kill” order to unruly demonstrators from DU30? But “Pinoy kasi,” so it was not an order, “pala.” Let’s not forget what Rizal said, “We submit to tyranny because we love it.” See above; we value hierarchy and paternalism.
We have been on an uphill battle – figuring out if we’re coming or going, i.e., our confused reality, aka damaged culture – precisely because we take these instincts as values and virtues. It explains our parochialism and insularity. And have yet to learn how to relate to superior entities. Take the US, our hated and loved former colonizer. Recall the bestseller, “I’m OK – You’re OK.” But that won’t register because of who we are.
That is why the writer was asked by USAID to assist a couple of micro-enterprises in Eastern Europe – to disabuse their minds that there is a superior-subordinate relationship in the trade or foreign relations. Sadly, one did not take heed, and so it foundered. Recall that for decades, they were at the beck and call of Mother Russia, when the USSR was the poster child of tribalism – and, unsurprisingly, is now extinct.
Consider: We had the first chance among the neighbors to learn about Western progress and development because of that former colonizer. These neighbors were coming in droves to see the marvel of the Ayala Commercial Center and the gated communities around it.
The Tatang Sy story is not unfamiliar; he visited US department stores periodically to keep track of Western progress and development. And so, he took a helicopter to get a birds-eye view of Metro Manila – to see the concentration of pedestrian traffic. That gave birth to SM City North Edsa and SM Mega Mall – and the rest, as they say, is history; he became the wealthiest Filipino.
On the other hand, what did those ahead of Tatang Sy do? They analyzed the task at hand. Yet, they weren’t forward-looking and missed the analytics. Recall analytics demands forward-thinking. To foresee, to be ahead of the curve, and distinguish the vital few from the trivial many.
They partnered with American interests and focused on import substitution. They couldn’t get over the instincts: to keep their rank in the local hierarchy and be the monopolies and oligopolies and keep the economy to themselves by shutting out everyone else – other than their American friends.
Compare that to Lee, Mahathir, and Deng: Beg for Western money and technology. And now it’s Vietnam’s turn. Unsurprisingly, their most substantial enterprise today, Samsung Vietnam, delivers more economic benefits to Vietnam. That is when compared to our top eight companies – in the Forbes list – combined to the Philippines.
Because in our case, after import substitution, instead of seizing the teachable moment, we concluded that we were too inferior to become an industrial economy. Enter: Overseas employment.
But not to worry. Our economists are foreign-trained, and they can craft a powerful weapon: fiscal and monetary policies.
But they were not lifting Juan de la Cruz economically. Enter: The BPO industry.
To quote an earlier posting: “What makes up the ecosystem of the Philippine economy? We know that by heart: The two drivers of the economy, OFW remittances, and the BPO industry. And, the top eight enterprises in the Forbes list. The picture we see is that of a service-consumption economy. Indeed, it is responsible for the 6%-7% GDP growth rate that we’ve had for several years now.
“Yet, we know from the international institutions that even at this pace, it will take us a generation to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That is why Arangkada came into being. We must strive to move twice as fast. We must be looking at incremental export revenues of $100 billion.”
How do we pull things together? Beyond Arangkada, we have AmBisyon, and now Tatak Pinoy.
Once more, here’s something from an earlier posting: “We need 1,000 micro-enterprises as dynamic as the writer’s Eastern European friends to be on the way to make Arangkada a reality. That means we require that many more substantial enterprises with revenues of $100 million per entity. And we cannot get there at the rate we generate businesses until we attract very significant foreign investments. Think of Samsung Vietnam. Consider: The Philippines has 775,000 MSMEs against 3,000 large enterprises.
“What about the MSMEs? We must start on the right foot. Create high-margin products. That means undoing the mindset of selling ‘economy’ brands because cheap products are more natural to sell. In a word, our mindset must shift to ‘innovation.’ It will mean borrowing money. But before that, we need an altogether new business model – so that financial institutions will give us the time of day – because it mirrors a virtuous circle.”
We must be in a new ballgame. That is how to test if we are seizing the moment, the teachable moment.
If we are a piece of land, we are not arable. There is no way we can “sow and reap.” That is why “pwede na ‘yan” – as in the kneejerk – became our invention. The evidence? We are the regional laggard and have been left behind by our neighbors. Yet, we remain the happiest people imaginable. Try denial. [See above; the tribalism of the USSR and its extinction.]
Gising bayan!
“Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? Moreover, 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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