The mystery of “cause and effect.”

How come Juan de la Cruz takes it for granted? How did our neighbors drastically reduce poverty? Are we left but to blame everyone and everything else for the abject poverty in the Philippines? 

Every nation started as an emerging country. Is Juan de la Cruz then destined for poverty – a notion that comes from our caste system and hubris in the elite class?

In other words, we are the masters – with our rank and privilege – and Juan de la Cruz is the servant – and meant to be subservient. 

Or is it about human nature – of taking the path of least resistance – that we resort to “pwede na ‘yan”?

Granted not everyone has a business or an economics background, how come over 10 million Filipinos recognized the cause and effect phenomenon in their personal lives? Because they can’t make both ends meet, they had to pursue employment overseas.

We jumped hoops, for example, the comprehensive agrarian reform, OFW phenomenon, the 4Ps, among others. Yet, we’re still figuring out that an economic unit, whether family or country needs the requisite revenues to thrive?

Country revenues – or GDP – are not to be confused with the taxes Government takes from them. That is why the more significant the GDP, the higher the taxes available for the government to respond to what we demand as a people.

And to better appreciate how we compare against our neighbors, look at the GDP per person (PPP-US$): PH = 8,400; TH = 17,900; MY = 29,100. While Vietnam is still lower than PH at $6,900, their exports are over four times more, $304.3-B to our $70.3-B.  And their poverty rate is down to 5.80% versus our 16.60%.

Vietnam’s biggest exports come from Samsung Vietnam at roughly a quarter. They are high-margin products compared to computer chips that we produce, and they are a drop in the bucket compared to the revenues generated by Vietnam from exporting Samsung products.

Our economy relies on OFW remittances and BPO revenues. Even with their $60 billion combined contributions, Vietnam’s exports are still overwhelming. How come as early as 2014 we celebrated our “manufacturing uptick” and our 6%-6.5% GDP growth for many years?

And we still don’t get it? Why we’re the regional laggard?

We must recognize that superior beings don’t sprinkle family or country revenues like manna from heaven.

Let’s take a third-party example, as Trump – so we can do an academic exercise of “cause and effect” – and not be jaded.

“I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn’t driven by reelection calculations.” [John Bolton’s book expected to allege that Ukraine wasn’t Trump’s only foreign misconduct, Ledyard King, USA TODAY, 12th Jun 2020]

Unsurprisingly, Putin and Xi are celebrating. They can play their games and flex their muscles – as in Ukraine, Hong Kong, the West Philippine Sea, among others. 

In other words, Trump’s vested interests are an open book, straight from the horse’s mouth.

Thankfully, the institutions of America can rise to the occasion even when the supposed leader of the free world undercuts his and the country’s credibility.

“U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines Corps units have been conducting operations in early May in the Asia-Pacific, the U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement.

“The activities have occurred throughout the 7th Fleet’s area of operations, which extends from the middle of the Pacific Ocean to the western coast of India, encompassing most of the Indian Ocean. The ongoing activities are focused on increasing interoperability between the two services.

“These operations at sea focus on interoperability to further develop warfighting concepts, improve distributed maritime services, and enable real-world proficiency and readiness in response to any contingency, the 7th Fleet said in a statement.

“Our forward-deployed naval forces at sea are spread from the Sea of Japan to operations in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean, Capt. Steven DeMoss, the commodore of the U.S. Navy’s Destroyer Squadron 15, said in a statement.

‘I am excited to bring some of those forces together to conduct a large-scale integration of this nature. It sharpens our warfighting readiness while continuing to support regional security, stability, and international norms,’ he added.” [U.S. Navy, Marines Conduct Integrated Operations in Pacific,  Ankit Panda, thediplomat.com, 18th May 2020]

And how egregious are the inclinations of Trump? Joint Chiefs Chair Apologizes for Visiting Riot-Ravaged St. John's Church: ‘I Should Not Have Been There,’ Craig Bannister, CNSNews, 11th June 2020.

“Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apologized Thursday for appearing with President Donald Trump. He cleared protesters outside of the White House so that Trump could walk to nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church and be photographed – calling his decision a ‘mistake.’

“As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it.”

Let’s get back to the Philippines. We continue to cherish the status quo, aka our caste system, that our vested interests – us in the elite class – aren’t undercut despite being the regional laggard. Sadly, Juan de la Cruz pays the price.

But do our “values” as Christians explain why we aren’t predisposed to reform – as in religion is the opiate of poor?

Consider the admonitions of the church and why we value the “preferential option for the poor.” And related to that is the more contemporary business counsel of “marketing to the bottom of the pyramid.“

Yet, there is also the direction, “It is not about giving fish, but teaching people how to fish.” And it opens far greater insights into the dynamism of the universe we live in and the story of creation. For example, the banishment from Eden was the first lesson in personal responsibility. 

Still, given our “split-level Christianity,” it seems that change is not in our bag of tricks?

“Decades ago, the eminent Jesuit psychologist and priest, Fr. Jaime Bulatao SJ wrote about our split-level Christianity, which he describes ‘as the coexistence within the same person of two or more thought-and-behavior systems which are inconsistent with each other.’

“Fr. Bulatao gave examples of the inconsistency of values with behavior from how Filipinos dealt with pornography, infidelity, and corruption.

“He also explained this split-level Christianity. He proposed that: ‘A study of the two levels may bring out the following analysis: the top or surface level is the more ‘Christian’ part. ‘It is made up of rules and beliefs picked up in school or church. In large part, it is conceptualized, or at least verbalized, usually in a foreign language like English, Spanish or Latin. Much of it is learned by rote, from a catechism or books.’

“Fr. Bulatao then argues that the lower or deeper level consists of the rules, beliefs, attitudes and action tendencies which are more common in the environment, picked up at home and in the street than at school. ‘A large part of it is never verbalized, but acts as a sort of unspoken philosophy, spontaneously flowing into action when the occasion calls it forth, and the inhibitory forces discarded.’” [Philippines: Land of split-level Christianity, Dean Tony La Viña, THOUGHT LEADERS, rappler.com 15th Jan 2015] 

Does our “split-level Christianity” explain why we struggle to embrace the sense of community and the common good?

“Filipinos profess the love of country, but love themselves – individually – more.” [Ninoy Aquino, Foreign Affairs magazine, July 1968; Stanley Karnow, New York Times Magazine, “Cory Aquino’s Downhill Slide,” 19th Aug 1990.]

Can we establish the predicate that nationalism isn’t synonymous with parochialism and insularity?

Why do we struggle with these realities? We’re no strangers to the story of creation, of divine oneness, including the photosynthesis phenomenon.

Nation-building is not about the war on poverty or the war on drugs or the war on terrorism. It is traversing the road from “poverty to prosperity.” And it presupposes the sense of community and the common good. It is not about robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is not about the crab mentality.

But then again, why are we amid this perfect storm – of poverty, the drug menace, and terrorism?

Recall 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.

In the previous posting, the blog explained how to forward-think and establish a “recovery” package to fight the pandemic and win.

It is fixing the hindering forces. For example, we must match the magic of Samsung Vietnam and AirPods Vietnam – their export receipts being over four times ours. And also, to lift the marginalized sectors, including agriculture, and provide them life support.

Likewise, to exploit the driving forces. For example, prioritize the eight top listed companies and MSMEs that will deliver the biggest bang for the buck. And also, the vital metro areas of Manila, Cebu, and Davao.

It is not biased for any sector. 

It is inclusive, but not in the way we define it. It is to grant a piece of the package to each sector because to drive the economy aggressively, they each have a role to play – the supply side and the demand side. It is about nation-building, fighting, and winning against the pandemic.

But the efforts don’t stop there. We must keep traversing the road from poverty to prosperity. And that means moving up from a service-consumption economy to an industrial-investment economy. And like our neighbors, we become globally competitive as well. 

Think of Singapore being more competitive than the U.S.

It presupposes the universal law of “divine” oneness. In other words, the sense of community isn’t parochial and insular. And we can be equal partners and not be inferior to other nations as Singapore demonstrated. 

On the other hand, if we can’t toss our caste system and mentality and overcome our bias against foreign interests, including foreign direct investment, we will remain isolated, beset by poverty and victims of “cause and effect.”

Gising bayan!

“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)]

“Here is a land in which a few are spectacularly rich while the masses remain abjectly poor. And where freedom and its blessings are a reality for a minority and an illusion for the many. Here is a land consecrated to democracy but run by an entrenched plutocracy, dedicated to equality but mired in an archaic system of caste. 

“But the fault was chiefly their own. Filipinos profess the love of country, but love themselves – individually – more.” [Ninoy Aquino, Foreign Affairs magazine, July 1968; Stanley Karnow, New York Times Magazine, “Cory Aquino’s Downhill Slide,” 19th Aug 1990.]

“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]

“True social reform has little to do with politics. To unmoor ourselves from the burdens of the past, we must be engaged in the act of continual and conscious self-renewal. All men are partially buried in the grave of custom. Even virtue is no longer such if it is stagnant.

“Change begins when we finally choose to examine critically and then recalibrate the ill-serving codes and conventions handed down to us, often unquestioned, by the past and its power structures. It is essentially an act of imagination first.” [David Henry Thoreau; American essayist, poet, and philosopher; 1817-1862]

“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]

“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]

It’s still the same old, same old

That is a reaction to this piece: “Powering the Philippine recovery: The Duterte Administration’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan; Action For Economic Reform,” Yellow Pad, BusinessWorld, 7th Jun 2020.

In fairness, it is an excellent analysis. It recognizes the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 and prioritizes “sectors capable of producing medical supplies (e.g., Physical Protective Equipment, N95 masks, testing kits) that may need additional support to streamline their supply chains and expand their operations.”

Therefore, “large-scale infrastructure projects whose viability may be severely affected by physical distancing may have to be put on hold for a more extended period. They include airports, tourism infrastructure, commuter railways, mega-bridge projects.”

Let’s leave it up there for now as we go through the rest of the article.

“Fiscal stimulus is necessary to boost the economy in this crisis, but fiscal discipline should be maintained.” 

That is a remarkable statement, although pretty motherhood. For example, the recommended recovery package – covering both supply-side and demand-side – is not very clear. Given our debt to GDP ratio is very healthy, how much should we invest to power this recovery?

If the Philippine economy will contract between 2%-3.5% and want to keep to a 6% growth, a scenario to consider – and economists can run the numbers – is an investment north of 6%. Or up to 9.5%. And even more. The key is to visualize several scenarios. It’s a good exercise in lateral and creative thinking – and overpower the absolutist trap.

Let’s pause right there: If we again fall into the trap of insanity – of the same old, same old – we can kiss “tomorrow” goodbye. It is not about writing a policy or legislating a solution that is preconceived in our heads. There is no simple answer to the challenge we face. 

If we have not tried forward-thinking before, we better do it now. We want to fight this fire and win. 

But it is beyond the war on poverty – or the war on drugs. And why are we troubled by terrorism? Because ours is a culture of impunity! When a Marcos or an Estrada or Arroyo can be above the law, why not Juan de la Cruz?

The following caveat is on point. “It is wasteful and inefficient to allocate tens or hundreds of billions of pesos for specific projects that Congress dictates, some of which are redundant, some of which are questionable, and commercial interests drive some.”

Here’s another noteworthy recommendation: “While we see the proposed CIT reduction as an immediate fiscal stimulus to firms during the COVID-19 pandemic, we also take note that the literature on corporate income tax cuts is ambivalent on their effect on business investment and employment.

“Firms can choose to spend the windfall from tax reduction in various ways, including those that do not trickle down to the rest of society (e.g., distributing dividends, replacing workers with automated technologies).

“We urge making CREATE’s CIT cut conditional on job preservation or job creation by individual firms.

There are the MSMEs, too; and so, “In conjunction with job preservation and creation, we emphasize propping up MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) to ensure that not only formally registered corporations but also those in the informal economy benefit from the fiscal stimulus.”

And the recommendations move on to the regions.

“PH-Progreso must be made more responsive to region-by-region differences – to overcome the country’s economic dependence on infection-prone Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.

“At present, the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa (BP) program, as established by Executive Order 114 on 6th May, falls short of the Government’s recovery program’s localization.

“There is little indication that this approach will work given persistent barriers, e.g., governance issues, supply chain gaps, access to markets.

“If past experiences with such initiatives in the Philippines (e.g., SEZ development drives) are any indication, the BP program would likely not deliver upon its intended outcomes.

“Indeed, Rosario Manasan (2013) and the Philippine Human Development Network (2013) have emphasized that SEZs outside of Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon have typically underperformed for the reasons mentioned above.

And agriculture is covered too: “Beyond recovery, we must build a more resilient, sustainable, and pandemic-proof agro-industry.

“Government should beef up its support for sustainable investments in agriculture and agro-industry, particularly for R&D towards stronger agro-industry linkages in the rural areas.

“These will be investments in agro-industries and resource-based industries with potential for producing and health/medical supplies and for sustainable construction materials (e.g., abaca masks, and coconets for infrastructure projects).

“The agro-industry investments will promote domestic food supply, absorb displaced workers, and provide raw materials for key industry sectors.”

The bottom line: How do we move beyond the same old, same old?

Let’s assume for the moment that we have established the magnitude of the “recovery” investment. And it is $35 billion, for example. How do we then allocate it and ensure that we get the biggest bang for the buck?

It cannot be the same old, same old. Think Pareto. And not to forget, the force-field analysis: Fix the restraining forces and exploit the helping ones – where we get the biggest bang for the buck.

And so, we can start with the largest enterprises in the country. Take the eight top listed companies in the Forbes list. The country’s top corporations are less than one percent of total registered enterprises yet have a more significant impact on the economy than MSMEs.

And we can then follow through with the exercise: For example, how many do they employ and what is the average wage per employee? How much taxes do they pay? We can go deeper, say, what is the compounded growth rate over the last ten years? How much is the capital expenditure over the same period? How competitive are they; can they sustain their growth rate?

If they have overseas businesses, we can ask the same questions.

And we must probe deeper: How has the lockdown affected them? What are their plans and budgets for the balance of the year and the next three years? How do they expect to recover? How much access do they have to outside financing? What can they do differently from what they do now that will make them a far greater competitive enterprise, whether locally or overseas?

Do they have any financial obligations to any government or government-owned entities?

In other words, are these eight top listed companies worth supporting, and if they are, what options must the Government explore? That at the end of the day, they must be beneficiaries of the Government’s COVID-19 “recovery” package?

Then the Government can go through a similar assessment for the next tiers of large enterprises.

And after them, we will come to the MSMEs; but then again, the question must be: Where will we get the biggest bang for the buck among the MSMEs?

And then the regions, starting with Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao. And then the next-tier towns.

In other words, we Filipinos must stand up against the crab mentality. It’s insanity! It is not about giving fish but teaching people how to fish. It is the universal law of cause and effect. 

What about those enterprises and cities and towns that will not qualify because of the above vetting process? And they will include those in the informal economy and smaller LGUs like the barangays. What can we do?

Here is where the demand side of the equation steps in. Because the supply side will take its course before the economy gets the ship, we call the Philippines on an even keel. 

That is why the blog said we must throw in money to fight this fire in the last posting.

And so, the marginalized sectors must be provided life support. 

They will be recipients of direct subsidies to keep them above water. Many of them may not be profit-generating enterprises. But that is why we need a humungous recovery package, north of 6% of GDP – or even beyond 9.5%.

And that is why our economic managers will have to run several scenarios to visualize how each one will play out. For example, how will a $35 billion “recovery” package play out? Will it be impactful? What about inflation or debt service? Will it still leave our debt to GDP healthy?

That is why we must accelerate the efforts to drive revenues. And very aggressively.

For example, we must replicate the magic of Samsung Vietnam and AirPods Vietnam because that is how to leapfrog economic growth, beyond the annual 6%-6.5% that we have been celebrating.

And that will mean, depending on the requirements of the foreign enterprise that will partner with us, rapidly completing the requisite infrastructure initiative that must come with the partnership.

“‘Tailor-fit’ perks eyed to lure investments, Julito G. Rada, manilastandard.net, 24th May 2020. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said he was pushing for a more proactive, targeted investment promotion strategy in a briefing. Of directly approaching the kind of foreign investors that the Government wants to relocate here and offering them a set of tax and non-tax incentives tailor-fit to their needs, as part of the efforts to reenergize the economy and create more jobs.

“Dominguez said the government should discard its old ‘one-size-fits-all’ incentives program, and shift to a demand-driven approach. That means it identifies the types of industries that the economy needs to flourish, so incentives can be granted based on the industry players’ specific requirements that it wants to set up shop in the country.

“These industries include those that are labor-intensive and, thus, create stable, decent-paying jobs, provide excellent technology transfers that improve the country’s workforce skills, and have stable markets, Dominguez said.

‘We must identify these industries and then go to each of the companies, i.e., the leading companies in those industries around the world—and asking them: what do you need for you to come to the Philippines? Instead of waiting for them to apply, we should be going to them and offering them a package,’ Dominguez said.

“Dominguez said the obsolete ‘one-size-fits-all’ formula of attracting prospective investors failed to make the Philippines an investment magnet. That is why the country persistently lags its Southeast Asian counterparts in terms of the volume and amount of foreign direct investment inflows despite being among the region’s leading economies to offer fiscal incentives.

“On top of the massive infrastructure gap, which the Duterte administration is now fixing through its ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, and the constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership is the outmoded investment promotion strategy. That was among the reasons why the country lagged in the region in terms of FDI inflows despite the Philippines’ status as one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.”

Is it about time we challenge the way we think, benchmark versus our neighbors, and be the next economic tiger?

For example, the Asian Tigers focused on driving revenues, and all of them drastically reduced poverty better than we did despite our focus on poverty.

It’s a 24/7 dynamic universe we live in, and we can’t keep standing still when the rest of the region is like dynamos, especially Vietnam.

Gising bayan!

“True social reform has little to do with politics. To unmoor ourselves from the burdens of the past, we must be engaged in the act of continual and conscious self-renewal. All men are partially buried in the grave of custom. Even virtue is no longer such if it is stagnant.

“Change begins when we finally choose to examine critically and then recalibrate the ill-serving codes and conventions handed down to us, often unquestioned, by the past and its power structures. It is essentially an act of imagination first.” [David Henry Thoreau; American essayist, poet, and philosopher; 1817-1862]

“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]

Change and the social sciences

Like a broken record, the blog recycles past discussions because events offer “teachable moments” and don’t happen every day.

“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, achieving 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]

The blog, come January, will be in its twelfth year. Its genesis is on its website: “I started writing to 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 previous trips. My first thought was: with so many talents and skills, how could the country be the basket case of Asia? Are we simply too nice as a people?”

Since then, while keeping abreast of developments in the Philippines, the blog has summarized 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.

Beyond COVID-19 and the money we must throw in to fight this fire, how can we move forward as a nation? How can we traverse the road from poverty to prosperity?

Sadly, for the nation, but comfortable for us in the elite class, the status quo remains the most likely scenario for this country. Why?

Enter: force-field analysis.

“It is a development in social science. It provides a framework for looking at the factors (forces) that influence a situation, originally social situations. It looks at forces driving the movement toward a goal (helping forces) or blocking movement toward a goal (hindering forces). The principle, developed by Kurt Lewin, is a significant contribution to social science, psychology, social psychology, community psychology, communication, organizational development, process management, and change management.” [Wikipedia]

We have more hindering (than helping) forces that are of our making that explain why we’re the regional laggard. We are starting below the ground, not above. And the more countries like Vietnam can zoom pass us, the more unlikely that we can progress as fast as we must as a nation.

Consider: What package of monetary and fiscal interventions will it take for us to generate over four times our current exports? That is how swiftly Vietnam surpassed us as an economy, as embarrassing as to how Samsung Vietnam outdistanced our eight top listed companies revenue-wise, combined. And how they drove the poverty rate down to a third of ours.

It is not rocket science, but the universal law of cause and effect. Sadly, it’s in one ear and out the other. How many times, especially us baby boomers growing up as Catholics, have we heard that it is not about giving fish but teaching people how to fish?

Yet, successful as we are in our respective callings, we are not predisposed to question long-held beliefs. And that is glaring in the case of the polarization of the American political system.

Consider: We’ve focused our efforts on addressing poverty. At the same time, Vietnam, borrowing from the playbook of our neighbors, kept driving their revenues, especially in the highly competitive and high-margin industry, i.e., technology manufacturing of consumer products.

Recall that in 2014, at both the Ateneo and UP economic briefings, the writer questioned the celebratory mood behind the mirage we called “manufacturing rebound”? See below why we study history.

Indeed, because of our consumption economy, principally driven by OFW remittances and BPO revenues as well as the global supply chain, we saw an uptick in manufacturing. Still, analytics demands forward-thinking.

It will take a generation for the Philippines to see the light at the end of the tunnel even at 6%-7% GDP growth rate. Yet, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel if we simply learn from our neighbors. But not if hubris gets in the way like a hindering force. 

There is no free lunch. And losers like us have given friendly nations so much ground that we are too overwhelmed with challenges.

The welcome news is that humankind is hardy and robust, and that includes us.

That’s why we study history. “It is the study of change. The world is constantly changing, so understanding the role of change in society helps you interpret the world in its current state. History provides you with a firm grasp of why things change, the mechanisms driving change, and its significance.” [https://www.umultirank.org/study/history/]

Granted that in the age of Trump, there is revisionism – e.g., he compares himself to Churchill, who must be turning in his grave – we want to validate historical narratives.

Here’s something from a Filipino historian: “Students learn how to dig up primary sources online or from a physical library when they are allowed to open. More importantly, they must be able to compare the above with other sources to validate its reliability or truth. They should explain why they used one document over another not because of their personal biases, but by research and the practice of the historical method. Unlike the old way of ‘learning’ when rote memory of textbook and teacher lectures merited a high grade, this method provides the student with a sense of how historians do their work.” [Learning history from primary sources, Ambeth R. Ocampo, LOOKING BACK, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 3rd Jun 2020]

Be that as it may, we are where we are. We can’t just sit idly by when this universe is spinning 24/7. Whatever time it is where we are now, somewhere in the world is a happy hour or cocktail time.

How can Juan de la Cruz celebrate with our favorite cocktail drinks when he can’t even have water or electricity or an efficient public transportation system? But we can cover his rice and be the largest importer in the world. That is no different from our pathetic national per capita income and cover it with OFW remittances and BPO revenues.

“Isang kahig, isang tuka.” That is why we must be ahead of the curve. That is why we must forward-think.

If we are to overcome the forces that are hindering our progress, two things must happen. We fix those forces that are standing in the way and exploit those that are driving us forward.

Should we pause right there and ponder? For example: Where are we? Why are we here? Where should we be? If those vegetable seeds that we plant in our garden can grow and be our nourishment, what more for a people that produced a Jose Rizal? 

Sadly, we now own the “Dutch disease.” We keep bragging about our forex reserves and lower debt levels blind to the reality that we owe it to over 10 million OFWs. We are not fixing the forces that are standing in the way.

And that means moving up from a service-consumption economy to an industrial-investment economy. For the longest time, we have relied on monetary and fiscal policies to pursue growth and development.

That’s why the world, including the West, was stunned when the Asian Tigers surpassed many of the wealthier countries in the developed world. Singapore is more competitive today than the US, for example. They figured out how to beat a Western system. And we can’t. Because our education system is from the West?

That’s why the blog brings it out a lot: Fortune 500 companies took matters into their own hands because the Western education system has many shortcomings.

For example, in the writer’s old MNC-company, they tapped resources to understand where the education system was. They then created an in-house curriculum better than a typical MBA, for example. But even more fundamental to the challenge is, how should learning be imparted?

Take leadership. For example, how is “leadership” developed? Or how should companies hire? And how does an organization get the best out of its talents? As necessary, how does an enterprise create a virtuous circle so that it thrives in the 21st century? And that challenge will not disappear despite the efforts described above. 

Democracy and leadership are fundamental in this universe because they build on their dynamism. And here is where we struggle because the status quo is our security blanket. While it took ages to learn, human development taught humankind how to thrive in this very dynamic milieu.

And our value of hierarchy and paternalism – aka our caste system, i.e., static – has no place in that reality. We like to blame the isms while failing to recognize the log in the eye of Juan de la Cruz.

Where do we begin? How can this generation take matters into its own hands to understand where the education system is and create one that tracks and enhances human development – not undermine it? How do we move up from dualism or absolutism to relativism and recognize when we must question how we think?

But that is why rapid development is critical because of metacognition; it presupposes experience. That is why Singapore has surpassed the US in competitiveness.

Can we internalize the riots going on in America because of George Floyd? How come other countries followed suit? Recall we applauded extrajudicial killings because we supported the war on drugs? And because we love tyranny?

Recall “Cut and cut cleanly, Laxalt advises Marcos.” [And now we know the Marcos unexplained wealth remains unexplained.] It’s called American exceptionalism that Trump does not understand that he undercuts American credibility in spades. He says these people are thugs. There were as was Satan in the garden. 

But Trump is tone-deaf to miss the import of the protests. Consider: He has the sword of Damocles over his head, given the number of cases he is yet to deal with, including when he steps down as president. 

Unsurprisingly, he has divided even the Republican Party given countless of them are higher up in human development. At the same time, Trump represents the absolutist Padre Damaso to miss the reality of Satan. 

In fairness, the 2008 Global Recession’s greed reflects America’s decline despite the collapse of the Soviet empire. And the populism that Trump rode makes it worse.

And Putin and Xi can only celebrate.

Consider: Three wealthy nations keep the three most massive US military presence outside America: Japan, Germany, and South Korea. Has any of them lost the respect of the world?

But because Merkel was the first to beg off from the G7 meeting to be hosted by Trump, he wants to reduce the US military presence in Germany. Putin can’t hide his glee. He wore a long face after the Baltic states hosted NATO, and despite Trump’s offer of a “quid pro quo,” Ukraine got their piece. Recall Trump wants a Trump Tower in Moscow. 

Then consider what is happening to Hong Kong. Between the West Philippine Sea and Hong Kong, how much ground has China now got covered?

Recall what the blog has raised. Perfection is not of this world, as Eden demonstrated. Yet, the universal law of divine oneness does not disappear like cause and effect. We will always need to reach across the seas as our forebears did via the barter trade, for example, and we better recognize where “oneness” as in the rule of law is valued as opposed to tyranny.

We are toddlers compared to the Americans in living out the ethos of democracy. There is no free lunch. If the Americans have their work cut out for them, so do we – and in spades.

And are we going to embrace this teachable moment? That democracy is a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

It’s called personal responsibility. We can be comfortably ensconced in our world, but there is no such thing. Recall the universal law of “divine oneness.”

It is beyond Franciscan theology. Recall the photosynthesis phenomenon. We are born to thrive in this universe. 

And our neighbors are showing us how. We can’t be behind the curve in a world that history tells us is “constantly” changing.

Gising bayan!

“True social reform has little to do with politics. To unmoor ourselves from the burdens of the past, we must be engaged in the act of continual and conscious self-renewal. All men are partially buried in the grave of custom. Even virtue is no longer such if it is stagnant.

“Change begins when we finally choose to examine critically and then recalibrate the ill-serving codes and conventions handed down to us, often unquestioned, by the past and its power structures. It is essentially an act of imagination first.” [David Henry Thoreau; American essayist, poet, and philosopher; 1817-1862]

“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]