Unsolicited advice to the Ilocos region and DTI

“In the last three years, the Ilocos region’s economy ranked eighth in terms of its contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The region contributed 3.09 percent to the country’s GDP in 2013 and was the country’s number one producer of mango and milkfish in that same year.

“‘Local industry roadmaps would define our vision, goals, and targets initially for cacao, coffee, mango, and processed meat and fish industries,’ Leal said. ‘We have a lot of work ahead of us as we identify binding constraints to growth and recommend strategies for industry upgrading and development.’” [DTI pursues region-specific roadmaps, Amy R. Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5th Mar 2016]

Based on the above news report, which in fairness most likely doesn’t reflect the full extent of the efforts of the region and DTI, the writer is taking the liberty of offering unsolicited advice. Since the public sector would occasionally benchmark their efforts against the private sector, this unsolicited advice is meant to give deeper insights into how the latter conducts business.

Firstly, it is encouraging that “focus” is an element of the roadmap. The focus being cacao, coffee, mango, and processed meat and fish industries.

Let’s start with “vision” referenced in the article. There are ways and there are ways to get to a vision. For this exercise, let’s use the region’s contribution of 3.09 percent to the country’s GDP as a starting point. What if the vision is to raise that contribution to 10%? Let’s round it off to 3X current levels so the index can apply across all focused products. Is that doable? In other words, a vision is not a linear progression from the present. It is far out into the future.

Let's go back to the focused products: cacao, coffee, mango, and processed meat and fish. And take cacao. Where do we export this product? What are the different segments representing the levels of value-added? The basic segment being the produce from our farms. [And the Malaysians, sensing how uncompetitive we are, assumed we will confine ourselves to farming. Not surprising given our crab mentality and how we define nirvana – to parcel out miniscule lands to our farmers being the Christian thing to do? Sadly immortalizing their bonds to poverty? And it comes from our hierarchical and paternalistic system and structure where we embrace destiny – not social mobility? What happened to Juan de la Cruz is made in the image and likeness of his creator?]

And so we must ask: How high up the value chain do we go and compete? The higher we go the greater the probability of generating healthier margins – the critical element in the effort to attain a sustainable economic undertaking. For example, do we have premium chocolates like Belgian chocolates that are branded?

In other words, what is the current portfolio of products of our cacao industry? What is the size of the global market for each of the segments as well as in each of the countries where we export or can export them? We need to establish a base line: where are we? And where is the global market and how does it break down by country? And where is the total global market of cacao products including those in the highest or premium segment?

That is how we can see far out into the future and expand our outlook – beyond the industry’s current contribution to the country’s GDP. The key is for us to have a brand new perspective – if indeed we want to get agribusiness growing robustly instead of declining. And that is why we ask the question, what if the vision is to get to a 10% contribution? And we can run different “what-if” scenarios until the numbers approximate the demands of a sustainable enterprise.

Forget about whether we currently have the capacity or the wherewithal to go to that 3X vision. The thought process is meant to begin and develop strategic thinking – and down the road visionary leadership. They are not accomplished via linear thinking or a linear exercise. Which is man’s default thinking process – and why visionary leadership is few and far between. 

Then we must ask: what resources do we need to pull together in order to raise output to the 3X contribution level? How much land do we need to produce that volume? And given economies of scale, the buildup of resources must likewise reinforce the desired efficiency, effectiveness and productivity levels because we want to exploit not undermine the benefits inherent in scale – which, unfortunately, is how we crafted land reform. See above re our definition of nirvana. Recall Edison: Begin with the end in mind. And not to put the cart before the horse.

In this cacao exercise we are not talking about the plight of the farmers – yet. As the blog pointed out in a previous posting, the need of Juan de la Cruz goes beyond being an object of charity – which we would unwittingly assume given our hierarchical system and structure? It is to join the ranks of the middle class. And that can only come about if we erect an ecosystem that is designed to compete and win and bring sustained elevated revenues – and make PH a developed and a wealthy economy.

The role of leadership is to take the people from where they are to where they have never been before.

In the meantime, another resource we need is marketing – so they can respond to the above questions re products and product segments and markets, etc. In other words, we must begin with the end in mind. What will be acceptable to the end-consumer and as important, how do we win her heart and mind? And the marketers must thus figure out the marketing mix or the 4Ps: product, pricing, placement and promotion.

Only when we have a good handle on the product and the market profiles should we figure out the critical resource needs or relevant inputs. For example, the factors of production from the old days haven’t gone out of style. They are called the 5Ms: Men/Women, Machine, Materials, Money and Method.

We shall pause the exercise at this point lest it begins to sound more complex than it should. And if the Ilocos region and the DTI would wish the writer to continue, he is prepared to offer and share as much as necessary.

Meanwhile as the following article reveals, we have to acknowledge that we’ve fallen into the trap of “insanity” as Einstein defined it – especially as far as the budget of the DA is concerned. How long have we been doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome?

Throwing good money after bad – as in an ever increasing budget levels – doesn't necessarily solve the problems of agriculture . . . and the impact on the farmers and the economy.

Throwing good money after bad smacks of incompetence – and “alleged shenanigans”? “Graft and corruption permeate all levels of public life . . . Perhaps in no other country in South Asia is political dishonesty so widely recognized, accepted and talked about as a part of the political game . . .” [“The Philippines’ ‘buwaya problem,’ Solita Collas-Monsod, Get Real, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5th Mar 2016]

And here's the article that reveals how we fell into the trap of insanity. “Failed experiment at DA,” Marichu A. Villanueva, COMMONSENSE, The Philippine Star, 4th Mar 2016. “Ironically, the contribution to the country’s annual economic growth from the agriculture sector, however, has been declining even while budgetary support grew by unprecedented proportions.

“From P38.1 billion in 2011, the DA budget was doubled to P60.9 billion in 2012. The agriculture, fishery and forestry sector posted growth from 2.6 percent in 2011 to 2.7 percent the following year. But when the DA budget rose to P74.2 billion in 2013, however, growth from the agriculture sector dipped to 1.1 percent.

“In 2014, the DA budget rose to P90.5 billion and it somewhat helped push a wee bit the country’s agriculture output to 1.6 percent. Last year though, the DA budget was cut to P88.9 billion. This was obviously the result of department reorganization where four of its major agencies were cut from the supervision of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala.

“President Aquino signed Executive Order No. 5 in May 2014 that transferred to the Office of the President the following DA agencies to his newly created Cabinet post called Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization (PAFSAM): the National Food Authority (NFA); the National Irrigation Administration (NIA); the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA).

“President Aquino named his Liberal Party (LP) ally, Sen. Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan to this Cabinet-ranked PAFSAM after the latter ended his second and last term at the Senate in July 2013. Pangilinan resigned in October last year to run as one of the LP’s 12-man Senate ticket. P-Noy named PAFSAM undersecretary Fredelia Guiza as officer-in-charge after the resignation of Pangilinan.

“The creation of PAFSAM was supposed to help beef up the DA which at that time was supposedly organizationally challenged. Secretary Alcala had also been under fire from various stakeholders’ groups denouncing alleged shenanigans in rice importation, problems of delayed irrigation projects, the coco-lisap infestation, among other issues.

“Unfortunately, this political accommodation did not produce miraculous gains for the country’s agriculture sector.

“To borrow the terms used by P-Noy to describe the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the creation of PAFSAM was a ‘failed experiment.’ This is why the various stakeholders would not want a repeat of this ‘failed experiment’ at DA.”

“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]

“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]

Problem-solving: don’t put the cart before the horse

“A government for the people (?),” Rolando T. Dy, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 22nd Feb 2016. “With respect to infrastructure development, the horror stories are many. The barangay captain along a major northern road will not issue a permit unless the company comes across a ‘once in a lifetime’ bounty. Or a provincial governor who insists that the gravel and sand be drawn from within his province, when cheaper supply can be obtained from an adjacent province.

“And what about temporary restraining orders (TROs) that delay infrastructure construction? As is, the Philippines is way behind Asean peers in infrastructure and logistics efficiency.

“Are Filipino politicians, their appointees and allies concerned about the welfare of the country’s citizens, many of whom contribute tax revenues into the government treasury? Do they serve the people? There are rumblings among the populace about national and local governance. This is out of frustration over continuing and new malpractices. They frequently ask the question: Why is this happening?

“IT WAS Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865), 16th US president, who declared a: ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.’ Another revolutionary, Mao Zeedong (1873-1976), once said: ‘If we have shortcomings, we are not afraid to have them pointed out and criticized, because we serve the people.’

“The people have to wait for months for the issuance of their driver’s licenses. Vehicle owners wait for too long for their new vehicle plates. The supply chain process is very simple. Why the delay?

“We the people elect officials to govern well and to make society better. Who will sanction public officials for these wrongdoings?

“A director of the General Santos Chamber of Commerce laments: ‘Change can only happen if the populace makes an intelligent choice and companies have the political will to say no to corruption. Otherwise history repeats itself.’”

Ours are man-made problems. But jumping to conclusion in search of drastic solutions is not what problem-solving is about. It is not putting the cart before the horse. Problem-solving is disciplined. It is about human empathy – in order to understand the human need that it must satisfy in the first place. It is only when we have truly empathized that we are able to define the problem. Especially in a hierarchical culture like ours, what do we know about Juan de la Cruz? This also explains our shortcomings in creativity and innovation. As the blog has discussed, human empathy is at the heart of product development best demonstrated by Steve Jobs.

Are our economic managers telling OFWs to invest their money speaking from their own perspective? OFWs on cruise ships, for instance, have shared with this writer and wife that they spend a lot calling their loved ones – left at home and yearning for those calls. Who cares about roaming charges? 

Have we learned our lessons after a century of paternalism, if not tyranny, where rank has had its privileges and dictated solutions? Still, the operative word is disciplined. It is not anarchy nor reflective of crab mentality.

Let’s test if prescribing a federal form of government, for example, because we want to upend “Imperial Manila” once and for all is a disciplined problem-solving exercise.

What future do refugees from Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa see in wanting to get to Germany or the Scandinavian countries? These are developed wealthy countries. If the problem-solving journey of these refugees has an endpoint, it goes beyond being objects of charity – it is to share in the spoils of developed wealthy nations. And it is best described as joining the ranks of the middle class. As a group of new Canadians from Syria explained to the writer.

If we have a federal form of government, would we have more or less of the following problems? “From Arangkada Philippines:” [Dy, op. cit.]

(a) “In mid-2008, a mayor of a northern Mindanao town where a large Asian shipbuilder was planning to invest $2 billion and hire over 20,000 workers insisted that the foreign investor use a certain gravel supplier. A second mayor insisted all persons he recommended be hired. They told the investor he could not go ahead without complying with their demands. These problems and the global recession have delayed project start-up.

(b) A foreign computer animation firm located in the PEZA zone in Cebu considered moving its operations because the mayor was attempting to extort money.

(c) A relative of a politician set up an illegal association for truckers to join. Truckers who did not pay their dues had their tires shot as they approached a Batangas port.

(d) LRT-7 light rail project: In 2010, while in the stage of obtaining project financing, several newly elected mayors of municipalities through which the rail will pass requested that they approve the design and location of the stations.”

Prof. Dy discussed a few more. Oil palm producers have to pay “tolls” to every LGU they pass through before reaching the palm oil mill; Mayor acts as labor contractor to a piggery, when a new mayor gets elected, he replaces the workers in a piggery with his own recruits; Insurgents burned the Standeco rubber processing plant as the owner refused to pay their excessive ‘taxes,’ 250 workers lost their jobs; Revolutionaries burning the heavy equipment of a mining firm, of pineapple farms; torching construction equipment for a private airstrip of banana farm, and a road project.

Prof. Dy sums it up: How many jobs are compromised? How many potential investors are turned away? How can the high Mindanao poverty be solved without investment?

“With Spain or without Spain they would always be the same, and perhaps worse! 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]

This blog recently discussed the ABC or barriers to problem-solving: (a) our assumptions; (b) our biases; and (c) our comfort zone. Are we assuming that a federal form of government is the end – or our vision – or is it only a means? Granted it has many positive elements. Yet in a paternalistic and tyrannical environment and where politics is local – as in political dynasties – will we eliminate the problems we attribute to “Imperial Manila” or multiply them? Will crab mentality get better or worse? Will insurgents seek peace?

In erecting an enterprise, an economy or nation, structure is only one element. Think of Lee, Mahathir and Deng – and what Singapore, Malaysia and China have accomplished. It is not about structure per se but leadership. Or think of the new world and the founding fathers. Even MNCs are not strictly organized around subsidiaries – that is, they are a matrix structure with specialists from the center bearing their influence as an extension of the global leadership.

The greatness of man has been demonstrated since time immemorial by his sense of purpose and values. In other words: Where are we? Where do we want to be? How will we get there?

Sadly, because of pervasive poverty, we like to believe that fighting poverty is our nirvana. Until we realized that poverty comes from the absence of jobs! But where do jobs come from? They come from a sustainable and competitive economy – which would characterize a developed and wealthy economy. (And the international institutions have acknowledged or confirmed more recently that growth alone will not address Philippine poverty.)

Aside from structure, what other elements are imperative if we are to erect a wealthy economy – recognizing that we need a leadership that can articulate a sense of purpose and embrace its requisite values – and edify Juan de la Cruz? We all know the importance of investment or FDI. And beyond investment – in order to attain competitive advantage – we need technology and innovation as well as people, product, supply chain and market development. Marketable products are what make an economic undertaking sustainable.

And these elements don’t pour like manna from heaven. They demand a platform that’s derived from good governance – committed to community and the common good. And the platform is one that provides the basics of an economy – e.g., vital infrastructure and strategic industries. If it sounds like connecting the dots, it is! In one word, an ecosystem. When we say “inclusive” do we in fact connect the dots – and begin with the end in mind? Crab mentality, on the other hand, is dysfunctional – a disaster waiting to happen – i.e., it creates a system rotten to the core: inefficient, ineffective and unproductive. Which is the mirror image of our failings in this day and age: creativity, innovation and competitiveness. 

Indeed structure is a critical element in nation-building. Yet problem-solving is a disciplined exercise. Does Juan de la Cruz want to be an object of charity or would he rather join the ranks of the middle class? We won’t get there overnight, but if all we wish to erect is a shanty instead of a proper livable house, then we can continue doing the same thing over and over again.

And that is why we need visionary and strategic leadership otherwise we will continue to undersell ourselves. We can compete against the best in the world but we must first undo our assumptions, biases and comfort zone. Consider: Juan de la Cruz is made in the image and likeness of his creator.

“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]

“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]

Of tyrants and thieves . . .

“‘I remember my father saying, ‘the EDSA revolution may have removed Ali Baba but not the forty thieves. They are all still very much around. In fact they have grown in numbers.’ [Bongbong, Martial Law and People Power, Sara Soliven De Guzman, AS A MATTER OF FACT, The Philippine Star, 29th Feb 2016]

This writer remembers Max Soliven too. He must have already shared how he met Max, whom he had sought. His old MNC-company had just brought in a new country manager and given the undercurrents re Marcos rule, he wanted the new expat to get a quick lesson on the Philippines. And he thought of Max Soliven.

It was a pleasant surprise that Max was easy to reach. “Here’s Mr. Soliven on the line,” said the writer’s assistant. He simply asked her to call the office of Philippine Star and to request for Mr. Max Soliven. Max was true to form: constantly puffed on his signature pipe, a walking encyclopedia, feisty, empathic and profuse with his curating of Philippine history and the Marcos rule. Those near their table in the Manila Hotel coffee shop wouldn’t be disrespectful if they kept up with the conversation.

And the expat’s jaw dropped – that turned into a nervous laughter – when Max explained, “I'm an ex-convict.” “My dad, the late Maximo V. Soliven was incarcerated. He was among the journalists who were imprisoned at that time and put under house arrest until martial law was lifted in 1981.” [De Guzman, op. cit.]

“Yes, today our country is still lurking in the shadows of the past generation. But our young leaders will surely change the political and social landscape of the Philippines. What is necessary is to remove the remnants of the Marcos years. The Cory Aquino years and years after are all transitional years. This is the time for a new change, the real change. Our leaders must think country. We are in a new epoch of life. It’s about time we discern about our future.

“There is no daang matuwid in this country. Even if our P-Noy claims that it exists. In reality the practices Marcos did are parroted by the leaders today. The candidates continue to buy votes and spend millions of pesos in order to get that golden seat in government – again with the ultimate goal of corrupting our society. If the past and present Administrations have been serious in building a strong nation, they should have achieved that by now. It is very easy to change things – just put your heart and soul into it and most important work with the true dedication for public service. But then again, our leaders continue to carry on the ‘Marconian’ (my own coined word) tradition of glut, avarice, selfishness, indulgence, torment, tyranny, despot and kleptocracy.”

What drew the writer’s attention in the above piece is the line: “It is very easy to change things – just put your heart and soul into it and most important work with the true dedication for public service.” If spirituality is an element of development, this line has a spiritual dimension (to paraphrase Richard Rohr's daily meditation) which goes: God is a God of love not of fear; he loves man so he can change. In Genesis 1:26, he is not looking for servants or slaves to make “pa-pogi.” Translation: we don't have to walk on our knees to get brownie points or be holier-than-thou.

“Buffett Says Politicians ‘Dead Wrong’ With Negative U.S. Outlook,” Noah Buhayar & Michael Riley, Bloomberg.com, 27th Feb 2016. “‘As a result of this negative drumbeat, many Americans now believe that their children will not live as well as they themselves do,’ Buffett wrote in a letter to shareholders of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. posted online on Saturday. ‘That view is dead wrong: The babies being born in America today are the luckiest crop in history.’

“Buffett’s annual message, released as part of the company’s earnings report, rebuffed a central theme in campaign to succeed President Barack Obama in the White House: that the U.S. is in decline, and that middle- and working-class Americans are feeling it the most.

“While he touched on risks including terrorism, cyber warfare, climate change and economic dislocation for workers, Buffett also suggested that the picture of woe was generated out of politicians’ self-interest, not because it accurately reflects the nation’s challenges.

“‘It’s an election year, and candidates can’t stop speaking about our country’s problems (which, of course, only they can solve),’ Buffett wrote. The real story of America has been a dramatic growth in prosperity, he said. Citing the six-fold increase in U.S. economic output per capita since he was born in 1930, Buffett said the ‘all-powerful trend’ toward more efficiency and productivity would continue.”

The writer recalls the genesis of the Great Recession and telling his Eastern European friends that it was a blessing in disguise. “Western MNCs would pull back, but we will step on the gas.” Wrote Sara Soliven De Guzman, “It is very easy to change things – just put your heart and soul into it and most important work with the true dedication for public service.”

The writer has referenced Greek philosophers: man’s greatness has been demonstrated since time immemorial by his sense of purpose and values. He’s been around the block (across different cultures and countries and markets) and indeed things can change and do change. But do we Pinoys make reference to the law of nature to invoke absoluteness? The writer talks “biology” to reference Darwin’s survival of the fittest – and the Francis’ declaration that creation and evolution are not incompatible.

To invoke absoluteness is to be like the “Tea Party” – when Christ is the only absolute? And why “Padre Damaso” was a fraud? And so the writer has said that we can compete against the best in the world – but not if we keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome. Because that goes against biology. In other words, Juan de la Cruz must learn to adapt if he is to be the fittest and survive and thrive in the 21st century world!

Consider: Arangkada gave us an industrialization blueprint. It was not just imposed on us. To get us on board, the exercise behind Arangkada called on the participation of a cross-section of society conducted over a period of time. Yet to this day the administration has not truly acknowledged the effort? To make “pa-pogi” bureaucracy keeps tooting its horn? And so an exasperated JFC had to put the failure of Arangkada on the lap of the administration! You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it to drink.

We can change and things will change – but we need to dismantle tyranny and thievery. And this writer was pleasantly surprised that a financial institution, instead of simply toeing the line of the economic managers, chose to get to the heart of the matter.

Isn’t it the financial community that has heaped honors on our economic managers despite our being the economic laggard and borrowing tons of money to supposedly address poverty – to no avail? Because their mental model is influenced by the charter of the Fed, the US Federal Reserve? [And why the left-leaning jumps the gun and calls it American imperialism?] In a developed economy, that generally works but not in an underdeveloped economy? The evidence? PHL – i.e., we don’t have the ecosystem of a sustainable competitive economy. More recently though the international institutions have acknowledged that growth alone won't solve Philippine poverty and likewise called for structural reforms.

Here’s what the above-referenced financial institution has to say: “Further economic liberalization in PH pushed: Presidential bets mum on foreign ownership limits issue,” Doris Dumlao-Abadilla, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 29th Feb 2016. “THE NEXT Philippine president must be able to champion economic liberalization as a way to boost the country’s productivity and global competitiveness, and to attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs), an economist from American banking giant Citigroup said.

“In a Feb. 19 research note ‘Philippines Economics View: Candidates’ Evolving Policy Agenda and Continuity Risk Implications,’ Citi Philippines economist Jun Trinidad said the presidential candidates’ recognition of the infrastructure gap and potential links to improving agriculture, and industrial competitiveness was easing continuity risk.

“But just like in previous elections, the economist said most presidential candidates held a strong ‘insular’ bias ‘perhaps due to domestic poverty and other economic issues closest to the heart of the average voter.’

“Outside the infrastructure issue, the research noted that most candidates have failed to articulate their stance on amending the foreign ownership limits of the 1987 Constitution.

“We believe liberalizing the foreign investment negative list (FINL) by allowing higher foreign ownership limits, which set a maximum of 40 percent for infrastructure, utilities and most service sectors (except BPO and banks), would offer strong investment opportunities, and fewer constraints on foreign investor participation in the big-ticket PPP (public-private partnership) projects . . .

“Trinidad said easing the FINL and amending the economic restrictions in the constitution could entice more local and foreign investments and expose these sectors to global business practices, new technologies and management systems.

“Liberalizing FINL offers a strong positive signal to the investor community while completing the basic legal work the country needs to be fully committed to TPP (Trans-Pacific partnership agreement) and other free trading agreements, which include granting foreign investors/trading partners liberal access to the services industry/markets . . .”

Why can’t we move forward as a nation? “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]

“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]

What Malaysia sees – but do we?

Will Malaysia run rings around us, if they haven’t yet? Consider: They manufacture coffee but don’t have coffee plantations; they manufacture cacao but don’t have big cacao plantations. But we can supply them raw materials? Who stands higher in the value chain? “I want to see a Phonograph in every American home,” Edison, 1877.

Malaysia like Edison is talking products. We must too if we're not to be the little leaguers in the AEC – and the mascot in the TPP? 

Does our “kuro-kuro” culture, our version of freedom and democracy, produce a surplus of analysis – worse, analysis-paralysis – while we starve for leadership? And why “crab-mentality” has consigned us to the doldrums?

From the standpoint of the private sector, Asean integration can be won by leadership and competitive products, not analysis-paralysis! And that would not be a bad guide for the public sector. 

“Keep it simple, stupid!” That was one of the first lessons this writer’s Eastern European friends had to learn as they went through EU accession. KISS is a fundamental given which they realized as they got deeper competing in the EU and beyond. And it applies to global companies too.

Even a Google can fall into the trap of analysis-paralysis. “What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team, Charles Duhigg, The New York Times, 25th Feb 2016. “Project Aristotle is a reminder that when companies try to optimize everything, it’s sometimes easy to forget that success is often built on experiences — like emotional interactions and complicated conversations and discussions of who we want to be and how our teammates make us feel — that can’t really be optimized.”

Experience is not a bad word. Ignatian spirituality and discernment values the human experience. If man is made in the image and likeness of the Creator, he can be a source of wisdom. Unfortunately, in the case of PH, we have no track record in development – in moving up from Third-World to First-World. And have fallen into the trap of analysis-paralysis?

And we forget biology? Do we still confuse creation and evolution even after Francis averred that they aren’t incompatible? The world is flat? What we see isn’t necessarily what we get. And why we Pinoys need to figure out what survival of the fittest means?

Sadly, in a hierarchical system and structure, where the elite class rules, we like to be frozen in time? To preserve and protect – and perpetuate – our rank and its privileges? And tyranny? The evidence? Imelda, Imee and, of course, Bongbong! Recall that Bill Gates embraced the distinction between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

Products. Products. Products. “Malaysia eyes PHL as raw material market,” Carmelito Q. Francisco, Business World, 25th Feb 2016. “A Malaysian trade official has called on local producers to explore opportunities for supplying raw materials to various Malaysian manufacturing companies.

“Commissioner Nyaee Ayup of the Malaysia Trade Office in Manila said in an interview that there are raw material requirements in her country that cannot be sourced locally. ‘For example, although we manufacture coffee, we don’t have coffee plantations. We manufacture cacao but we don’t have big cacao plantations,’ said Ms. Ayup, who was in the city for a series of meetings.

“Aside from cacao and coffee, Ms. Ayup said collaboration can also be undertaken in oil palm production as Malaysian companies are already looking at possible plantation sites in Mindanao. She noted that the Philippines is among the biggest importers of palm oil from Malaysia, the world’s second biggest producer after Indonesia.”

And where are we in agribusiness? “Presidential bets asked to present agri plans: Inclusion of farm sector issues in debates proposed,”Ronnel W. Domingo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 27th Feb 2016.

“Emil Q. Javier, Camp spokesperson and a former president of the University of the Philippines, said . . . that the debate held in Cagayan de Oro City was a big disappointment. ‘We waited for them to discuss their plans to uplift our agriculture sector, but what we heard were lofty words bereft of meaning . . .’

“AF2025 spokesperson Roberto Amores agreed . . . future debates should have agriculture as a topic for discussion. ‘We want to hear about their programs for agriculture which . . . will be part of their commitments if elected . . . Coalition convenor Ernesto M. Ordoñez agreed . . . ‘farmers need more than just a few seconds of sound bites.’

“The five groups submitted their proposed priority initiatives . . . including making the Department of Agriculture an effective bureaucracy . . . [L]ike the Department of Trade and Industry, the DA should submit to the Philippine Institute of Development Studies a road map for the agriculture subsectors.

“The DA should also require its units to achieve a globally accepted management system such as ISO 9000 . . . Second . . . the DA should form agriculture and fisheries councils that would ensure the participation of stakeholders, especially in monitoring how the department spends its budget. Third . . . the DA should provide support to some 17,000 agriculture extension workers who were working within local government units.

“Fourth . . . greater funding that would provide farmers and fishers better access to credit and insurance. Fifth, provide farmers and fishers subsidies and technical support in order to make Philippine agriculture globally competitive.

“Sixth . . . the new President to ensure that farmers and fishers actually benefit from initiatives such as agrarian reform, fisher resettlement program, competitiveness-enhancing measures for food self-sufficiency, and the fund and assets from the coconut levy.”

Those are legitimate arguments from the sector. And what about the industry group? Where are they? “Five critical issues affecting business environment: PCCI lists priorities for next President,” Amy R. Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 26th Feb 2016.

“PCCI: Bring electricity prices down first before burdening consumers again with FIT rates for renewable energy projects . . . The country’s biggest business organization has sought to gather the economic advisers of presidential candidates . . . to sound off five key issues that it wanted the next administration to prioritize.

“George T. Barcelon, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), said . . . the PCCI will be submitting a wish list containing the issues they seek to be prioritized as well as the recommendations needed to resolve these concerns.

“[T]he group’s position paper would focus largely on five main areas, namely infrastructure, agriculture, micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs), tourism and education.

‘Moving forward, we think the new administration should look at and prioritize all these concerns so that all of these can be resolved . . . A lot of PPP projects remained pending and these are infrastructure projects that affect (the business environment).’

“What we want in the next president is for him or her to hit the road running. He or she must already know the issues, what should be done and how to muster the resources. That’s why I would heavily consider experience, or who has been here before,” Barcelon said . . .”

Clearly, erecting the building blocks of an economy and moving forward as a people and nation is not a cakewalk. And we Pinoys must always be conscious of “crab mentality?” It’s human nature, as the Americans are finding out in their own election process.

Is the GOP missing Reagan? “What Today’s Republicans Don’t Get About Reagan,” Jacob Weisberg, The New York Times, 24th Feb 2016. “The core beliefs that got Reagan elected and re-elected were conservative: lower taxes, smaller government and a stronger, more assertive military. But Reagan was also a pragmatist, willing to compromise, able to improvise in pursuit of his goals and, most of all, eager to expand his party’s appeal.

“The current field of Republican presidential candidates invokes Reagan as a patron saint, but the characteristics that made him a successful politician seem lost on them. Instead, they’ve turned his party into a swamp of nativism, ideological extremism and pessimism about the country’s future, in direct opposition to Reagan’s example. And they’ve transformed primary season into a reality show of insults, betrayals and open feuds, defying the so-called 11th Commandment that Reagan espoused: Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican.

“Once in office, Reagan said that anytime he could get 70 percent of what he wanted from a legislature, he’d take it. Today’s congressional Republicans won’t settle even for 99 percent: Their mentality has shifted away from having policies and governing and toward a kind of bitter-end obstructionism.”

It sounds like Reagan knew about Pareto while the Tea Party (alluded to in the above article?) demonstrates absolutism (forgetting biology?) and is the epitome of crab mentality, having shut down the government for not getting their way in the budget impasse? Do we Pinoys see the Americans as the un-Pinoy? Do we like to mirror the Tea Party?

And if we don’t want the Malaysians to run rings around us, we better figure out what they see that we don’t?

“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]

“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]