Democracy and Christianity

Why is it essential for Juan de la Cruz to internalize freedom?

We won’t recognize our instincts of “privilege and entitlement” if we don’t do a self-awareness exercise. In other words, we can’t embrace the crab mentality at one end and rent-seeking on the other.

Democracy is the mirror image of Christianity, i.e., the imperative of personal responsibility in pursuing the “common good” – as in love of neighbor.

And in the free market, it’s called “horizontal leadership.” In other words, rank is not a prerequisite to exercising personal responsibility. There is no free lunch in a democracy, whether Western or otherwise. Freedom is an inherent right.

“Ibon mang may layang lumipad

Kulungin mo at umiiyak

Bayan pa kayang sakdal-dilag

Ang ‘di magnasang makaalpas.”

Recall my first meeting with my Eastern European friends. “Freedom, democracy, and the free market are not about rules but principles. You must commit to transparency, or I am out the door.”

But Juan de la Cruz will struggle given our instincts reflected by our caste system: We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism and rely on political patronage and oligarchy; ours is a culture of impunity.

Let’s hold it right there. What is at the core of our “learned helplessness” — and it explains why we can’t get over “pwede na ‘yan”? And why we locked ourselves in a vicious circle.” 

Let’s recall the Boo Chanco article again.

“Removing the economically restrictive provisions should help put us in the running for investor dollars. But not enough. Allowing foreign ownership of land won't do much to help us. Investors can't own land in Vietnam and China but have flocked there.

“Neither will all the attractive investment incentives in terms of tax perks convince investors to come here. The Philippines, according to Oxford Economics, is one of the least attractive destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Asia-Pacific because of our poor infrastructure and business environments.”

We have erected a barrier for Juan de la Cruz to traverse poverty to prosperity.

Do we accept that we can’t reinvent ourselves too? The challenge we created is beyond doing our homework. 

Why is Ukraine still alive and kicking — e.g., my friends are doing brisk business on the ground serving their needs — when the Russians were supposed to have overthrown Zelensky in a few days?

The bottom line: We created a Marcos and a Duterte because we are yet to internalize freedom, democracy, and the free market.

Will Juan de la Cruz ever gather the courage to step up to the imperative of personal responsibility? It is beyond “People Power.”

Please leave it to the experts and the hierarchy. In other words, we in the Philippine elite and chattering classes are the “experts and hierarchy” in the company of oligarchy.

What chance does Juan de la Cruz have? Nada! What and who’s next? The blog covered GMA, PNoy, Du30, and BBM. See above; we locked ourselves in a vicious circle. 

And let’s recall Elfren Cruz too.

“History suggests no straight path to the top regarding economic development. Our nation has reached the status of a breakout nation, only to fall back again to being the sick man of Asia. But this only means that we must start over and maybe again and again until we finally reach the status of a breakout nation. Then from there, we may even reach the status of a developed economy.”

But what is the caveat? We can’t fall into the Einstein “insanity” trap – doing the same thing over again and expecting a different outcome – and why the blog’s reason for being is to challenge Juan de la Cruz to reinvent himself.

Yoda: “Do or do not. There is no try.”

And that is why we can’t relate to the real-world experiences the blog has linked to over the last fourteen years.

I shared with several people a model to illustrate why “toss” logical yet linear and incremental thinking and “embrace” forward, lateral, and creative thinking.

Unfortunately, as the Singaporeans recognized, because of the absence of a profit motive in the public sector, there is no body of knowledge to distinguish “drivers” of an enterprise or economic undertakings and “enablers.” 

In the model I shared, because the enterprise netted a 5% loss in 2014 even when revenues grew by 25% (and 12% the prior year), it had to forward think and determine how much revenues must grow to attain at least break-even.

Recall that the blog often speaks about scenario planning. It’s called “analytics” beyond “analysis.” In the referenced case, increasing sales promotion by 33% and advertising by 90% would double revenues and erase the loss. 

In other words, seek economies of scale, not devolution, as in the crab mentality.

In fairness, we kept upgrading the product. It starts with benchmarking against the best in the global market and committing to continual innovation. TikTok elbowed even Facebook. This universe is dynamic, not static. [Why is the Philippine caste system a barrier in our effort to traverse poverty to prosperity?]

That is an Eastern European example. Then recall that I decided to buy an outside technology despite our over a thousand scientists at my former Fortune 500 company. And separately, we had scores of experts in our global marketing organization.

What was the “driver” of the undertaking? Our company and its two bigger competitors were aggressively developing “the next generation” product, i.e., technology was the driver. And that’s why my response to our pharma unit’s CEO when he nervously asked, “What are we waiting for?”

And the technology paved the way for our most significant brand to attain a dominant global market leadership position. Still, we had to iterate the game plan. We test-marketed in three countries to fine-tune every element of the project before we did a global rollout.

The other factor not to miss is that in the free enterprise system, rank is not a prerequisite to exercising personal responsibility or horizontal leadership.

Recall too that in India, I chose a more expensive piece of land in Mumbai for our tech center. It is called “risk management.” The infrastructure risk in Bangalore was too much to take, given that the project was of regional import, i.e., it was not a local facility per se.

And I was alone on that trip. The president was supposed to be with me, but at that time, I still had a Philippine passport and could not obtain a visa on time. We postponed the trip, but when I was ready to fly, the president was not. Did I call the president before I made the decision? No. In the meantime, he instructed the company lawyers to obtain a blue passport for me.

Again, what was the “driver” of the undertaking? Beyond a tech center, we had a high-volume business that we consolidated. Still, I thought the country manager would have a heart attack. He came up via the Finance career track, and spending less was his mantra. And so I said, “How many margin points are we gaining moving from thirteen low-tech contract-manufacturing facilities to the one-robotic factory? Run the numbers.”

Before I flew back to New York, he came to me and, with a wide grin, said, “The team is on Cloud 9, proud of the company’s commitment to the country. We forwarded the requisite paperwork to the approval process, including the board’s policy committee.”

Things don’t happen like clockwork. The real world does not present itself like a well-researched dissertation. And why the blog distinguishes “logical yet linear and incremental thinking” and “forward, lateral, and creative thinking.”

Why can’t we get ahead of the curve in energy development? Why do we generate the most negligible exports when we have over 400 ecozones?

Sadly, we’re too “sabog” to prioritize — as in “the vital few instead of the trivial many” — and connect the dots — as in “coherence” — that we fall into the trap of “crab mentality.”

And our lack of development experience feeds our worldview. Conversely, Singapore gives the US a run for the money, competitive-wise, because of its experience as an economic miracle.

How do we develop self-awareness, awareness of others, and understanding of our universe?

Democracy and Christianity.

Why is it essential for Juan de la Cruz to internalize freedom?

We won’t recognize our instincts of “privilege and entitlement” if we don’t do a self-awareness exercise.

And we are doomed if we tacitly accept that we can’t reinvent ourselves.

Gising bayan!

Self-awareness

Recall Yoda: Your “focus” is your world. However, “focus” is not one-dimensional but three: self-awareness, awareness of others, and understanding our universe.

And that mirrors the elements of cognitive development, which is a function of experience: Beyond binary thinking, there are multiplicity and relativism, i.e., the imperative of context.

And I think Elfren Cruz, in a recent article, reflects the above. Also, in the real world, no idea is final. Iterate. Iterate. Iterate.

Here’s a quote from Elfren: “History suggests that there is no straight path to the top when it comes to economic development. Our nation has reached the status of a breakout nation, only to fall back again to being the sick man of Asia. But this only means that we must start over and maybe again and again until we finally reach the status of a breakout nation. Then from there, we may even reach the status of a developed economy.”

Disclosure: A few times, I shared with Elfren that I disagreed with simply mandating a living wage, given that the Philippines’ income per capita is so meager that it is a fraction of Vietnam’s, Thailand’s, and Malaysia, for example. And it explains why Juan de la Cruz quickly falls into poverty – and noted by ADB – whenever there is an economic shock, e.g., employment, health, or price shocks.

And that is why the blog has been raising the pragmatism of the Ramon Ang Bulacan initiative. Beyond the Bulacan airport is an ecozone that will generate $200 billion in export revenues.

$200 billion is more tangible than a 6%-7% GDP growth target and easier for Juan de la Cruz to grasp and embrace. Recall the GPS model familiar in the private sector, i.e., Where are we; Where do we want to be; How do we get there?

For example, PH needs to raise exports to 50% of GDP to match Thailand, where they have overcome poverty.

Those who read the blog may recall the AA 12 steps. And parallels exist between the Exercises [of St. Ignatius] and the 12 Steps. The first is to admit that we are powerless as we recognize that our lives have become unmanageable. In other words, self-awareness.

Successfully driving change entails exploiting the “forces driving the change while addressing the restraining ones.” Self-awareness is related to the bodies of knowledge behind “change management,” postulated by Kurt Levin [and reflected in my business leadership career. See below; 21st-century skills, central to the efforts of my former MNC company when we developed an in-house education and training curriculum, as did other Fortune 500 companies, to overcome the shortcomings of the US education system exposed by Japan Inc.]

It is no longer laughable that we are the poster boy of Einstein’s “insanity.” We keep tripping ourselves that our challenge now appears way over our heads.

But there is no such thing. Humankind has overcome every challenge it faced, including the 2019 pandemic.

How? We upended old mindsets – and invented new ones like WFH and zoom meetings, for instance.

Our challenge is way beyond our heads. [See above; cognitive development is a function of experience, which our neighbors have from their journey to prosperity.] I am referring to Boo’s recent article, “Attracting investments,” which is putting words in the mouth of Boo Chanco. I apologize.

“Removing the economically restrictive provisions should help put us in the running for investor dollars. But not enough. Allowing foreign ownership of land won’t do much to help us. Investors can’t own land in Vietnam and China but have flocked there.

“Neither will all the attractive investment incentives in terms of tax perks convince investors to come here. The Philippines, according to Oxford Economics, is one of the least attractive destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Asia-Pacific because of our poor infrastructure and business environments.”

Disclosure: I shared with Boo and a few others the following note:

Quoting Oxford Economics is what I mean by distinguishing the academic from the real world. [And “drivers and enablers” of enterprises or economic undertakings.] Vietnam does not have over 400 ecozones. We do. In other words, we are spreading our resources thinly because of our inability to distinguish the vital few from the trivial many.

Vietnam could tailor an incentive plan, including getting Samsung to spend on infrastructure because the revenues envisaged were over $50 billion. [That is as much as we get from both OFW remittances and the BPO revenues. And they are the drivers of the Philippine economy.]

In other words, FDI is an investment that will yield healthy returns. And those familiar with the blog would recall that I am a practitioner, i.e., representing FDIs, pursuing business restructuring in-house and M&A-related, and driving innovation in product development and best practice models. And the blog has shared these personal real-world experiences that won’t neatly fall into a treatise, e.g., Oxford Economics.

For instance, take self-awareness. The blog keeps raising our misplaced celebration of the “manufacturing uptick” in 2014 because our mindset would become so set that it would narrow our ability to do scenario exercises.

When the blog speaks to iterating, it reflects the adage that there are six ways to Sunday. And it is consistent with forward, lateral, and creative thinking. Then recall the skills demanded by the 21st century: Critical thinking, Creative thinking, Collaboration, and Communication.

And that is why the blog urges our economic managers to do a rigorous benchmarking exercise against the Vietnam incentive model, for example, to determine the big-scale products, technology, and investment we must attract.

In other words, it is a targeted and proactive mindset akin to doing due diligence upfront instead of a reactive, low-hanging fruit perspective and, worse, accepting “pwede na ‘yan.” Why did we get to over 400 ecozones and the least able to attract FDIs? 

If our economic managers are listening, take an “averaging” perspective, and we bring home the “trivial many instead of the vital few.”

Question: Why have we failed to get ahead of the curve in energy development? We plan our electricity needs consistent with our GDP growth-metric mindset of 6%-7%. We can’t move beyond logical yet linear and incremental thinking. On the other hand, establishing a $200 billion export zone in Bulacan will lend itself to forward thinking.

That’s why the blog often differentiates “analysis” and “analytics.” In other words, we don’t distinguish “growth mindset and fixed mindset.” It comes from our instincts of “privilege and entitlement” courtesy of our caste system.

Recall my Eastern European friends and their forwarding thinking, i.e., putting up twelve robotic factories. We included an in-house solar-powered energy source because local electricity is costly.

Why won’t it work in a $200 billion ecozone? Spreading over 400 ecozones across the Philippines doesn’t lend itself to economies of scale, electricity-wise and otherwise. 

Why are our export revenues a mere fraction of our neighbors’? Ditto for our income per capita.

The exercise cannot be a product of one higher-math effort. It must be plunging into several scenario options reminiscent of the “one-percent inspiration and 99% perspiration” mantra.

Recall, too, that our neighbors were all third-world countries. In other words, they faced infrastructure challenges, corruption, and an inefficient and ineffective public sector. Yet, they all left us in the dust.

But they started somewhere: Begging for Western money and technology.

We ruined and mismanaged this country.

What is the latest example? “NEDA ordered to conduct a study on delayed devolution timeline.”

The bottom line? We succumbed to devolution, as in the “crab mentality,” and why we have over 400 economic zones yet are the least able to attract FDI.

We are too “sabog” to prioritize and connect the dots.

Recall Yoda: Your “focus” is your world. However, “focus” is not one-dimensional but three: self-awareness, awareness of others, and understanding our universe.

Gising bayan! 

The caste system undermines Juan de la Cruz.

It blinds us from fundamental givens. It starts with our inability to internalize democracy. And our proudly professed faith: freedom is the mirror image of Christianity – beyond self is the “common good,” as in love of neighbor.

Then take the parable of the talents and Pareto, the earliest known econometric model.

And if we could only take our blinders off, we would readily see, for example, that people born and raised as socialists under Soviet rule could teach us a thing or two.

Can we stand for freedom like the Ukrainians, Slovaks, or Poles?

News item: Poland, Slovakia urge allies to send fighter jets to Ukraine.

I’ve lived and worked with these people for twenty years.

On the other hand, we worry about China invading Taiwan, and then PH being impacted if China does it or because we signed up to EDCA.

Question: Do we see – from current events – the common denominator between Putin, Trump, and Duterte? Of course, Bato de la Rosa is clueless.

Zoom in, then zoom out – for perspective.

“People in Ukraine are dying. We can help them,” Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said Thursday on Facebook. “This is inhumane and irresponsible.”

“Slovak and Polish officials have made the calls before but have recently renewed their appeals. Both countries are NATO members.” [(helenair.com)]

We have a team on the ground in Ukraine doing business with products trucked in from Bulgaria. They are risking life, but we’re among the few able to supply some of their needs. And their valor and bravery are contagious for the bigger team that aren’t Ukrainians.

On the other hand, because we can’t look in the mirror – to recognize how the caste system undermines Juan de la Cruz – we resort to “panakip butas.”

“The annual budget for the 4Ps grew from $422.31 million in 2011 to $1.77 billion in 2019. [Up to $2 billion in 2021.] The target beneficiary households increased from 2.30 million to 4.25 million.

“Despite the steady economic performance between 2012–2019, levels of poverty and inequality in the Philippines remain high. Approximately 14.2 million people live just above the line and are vulnerable to falling into poverty.” [ADB website]

Why is Juan de la Cruz vulnerable to falling into poverty? Because our income per capita is a fraction of Thailand’s, Vietnam’s, and Malaysia’s.

We deluded ourselves into believing that the only metric is the 6%-7% GDP growth.

See below; fourteen years ago, our GDP was twice Vietnam’s, yet as the first posting in the blog pointed out, Vietnam already demonstrated sanity. They cornered far more FDI than PH. In other words, we were on a slippery slope, yet in 2014 we celebrated the “manufacturing uptick.”

The bottom line? We have been traversing the wrong path for decades, and what have we done?

What did the blog say when the wife and I arrived at NAIA in January? It’s organized confusion. We ruined this country beyond mismanaging it. And I was a party to that, spending the first 20 years of my career in the Philippines.

Recall that “focus” is tri-dimensional: self-awareness, awareness of others, and understanding our universe.

Sadly, we’ve fallen into “learned helplessness.”

We can’t eliminate corruption at the Customs and BIR and in the public sector in general so long as impunity reigns. Families like Marcos, Arroyo, Estrada, and Duterte, among others, continue to call the shots.

To add insult to injury, we even lionize oligarchy. Unsurprisingly, we include ourselves among the chosen few, the Philippine elite and chattering classes.

None of us was smart enough to determine how to outperform our neighbors.

We even tried Arangkada, AmBisyon, the PDP – and the scores of industry road maps. Yet, we’re still screaming “poverty!” In other words, throwing tens of millions and now billions to overcome poverty brought us nowhere.

Over forty years ago, I was on a PBSP committee, and we each pledged to lead a poverty-reduction effort beyond the broader PBSP undertaking personally. I worked with Fr. Beltran to provide a sustainable business enterprise to a group of young people in Smokey Mountain. It was easy for us. My company provided the initial inventory of products they would peddle. And the kids were able to replenish them from the proceeds of their sales.

It was “panakip butas.” Philippine poverty exploded in the 21st century.

Zoom out, then zoom in.

That’s how to “train the brain” in “coherence.” Coherence, per neuroscience, is not a given. And why [the three dimensions of] “focus” is foreign to most people.

Why? Because daily life demands the exact dimensions, education gave us, i.e., logical yet linear and incremental thinking. 

Recall the CEO of a startup and product of MIT; she confirmed what the blog has repeatedly said about the challenge posed by the real world. 

No idea is final. 

Iterate. Iterate. Iterate. 

And that explains why Juan de la Cruz can’t fathom Pareto – the distinctions between the “vital few and the trivial many.” It is instrumental that we’re stuck with the one dimension of poverty, forgetting the lesson of the parable of the talents. And the church does not help any.

But it’s not surprising. The Franciscans are non-stop in calling out the far-right in the US for following the footsteps of the scribes and Pharisees instead of Christ. And yet even in the Vatican, there is a left and right divide. 

Of course, it’s not binary. For example, religious fanatics and self-righteousness are on the way to undo the successes piled up by Israel. Recall why I’ve kept my commitment to assist my Eastern European friends, “You must commit to transparency, or I’m out the door.” See above; the challenge to internalize freedom and democracy.

The bottom line: Perfection is not of this world. Neither is underdevelopment. 

Sadly, our caste system reflects self-righteousness, as rank has its privileges. Moreover, it undermines Juan de la Cruz, which explains why we’re the laughingstock of the region.

When the blog started fourteen years ago, our economy was twice the size of Vietnam. Now their income per capita is 31% greater than ours.

Question: Does communist Vietnam know more about the parable of the talents?

Zoom out, then zoom in.

I was delighted that Ciel Habito is working with the BOI and MAP to focus on the drivers of the economy.

But then, we read that MAP is looking at child malnutrition. The 4Ps were supposed to address that!

Can MAP double the 4Ps to $4 billion? But we already jacked it from $400 million to $2 billion. That’s five times bigger. How much more?

In other words, let’s check our “sabog” instincts.

Ramon Ang teed up a sharper focus, i.e., beyond the Bulacan airport is the ecozone that will generate $200 billion in exports. That is roughly 50% of the total GDP. That matches Thailand’s profile. Vietnam’s exports make up its entire GDP.

We have a restrictive Constitution, yet Duterte overcame it in more ways than one. In other words, we shall overcome the restriction if our economic managers can take personal responsibility in gearing their economic efforts to drive exports consistent with the Ang initiative.

For example, we must redesign TRAIN and CREATE accordingly.

But our economic managers must determine what export products must constitute the “vital few” before we get bogged down for whatever reason.

It means tossing the 6%-7% mental block or GDP metric. That’s how the real world – as in the private sector – works. 

It is called the GPS model: Where are we; Where do we want to be; How do we get there?

How do we overcome our “sabog” instincts?

Zoom in, then zoom out.

It’s called coherence, as in connecting the dots.

Gising bayan! 

Zoom out, then zoom in – for perspective

How do we overcome Juan de la Cruz’ “sabog” instincts?

Boo Chanco writes that child malnutrition is perhaps the most crucial crisis we must do something about quickly. Consider these articles: (1) World Bank: Philippines has one of the “widest” wealth gaps in East Asia; WB website; (2) FAQs about the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). The program aims to break the cycle of poverty by keeping children aged 0-18 healthy and in school so that they can have a better future; World Bank; (3) Proposed Loan; Republic of the Philippines: Expanded Social Assistance Project; ADB website; (4) Problems with 4Ps. The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, or 4Ps, is meant to help families deal with extreme poverty, but abused by millions of families or individuals; (5) What if P44-B smuggling loot spent for our children; (6) “Bansot.”

In other words, the above articles confirm what is common knowledge. And it becomes more tangible when we see how much our neighbors have left us in the dust.

For example, our neighbors dwarf our income (2021) per person: (a) Thailand = 211%; (b) Vietnam = 131%; (c) Malaysia = 325%.

Says the World Bank, “The conditional cash transfer (CCT) program locally known as Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program, or 4Ps, is a government program that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor in the Philippines. The program aims to break the cycle of poverty by keeping children aged 0-18 healthy and in school to have a better future.

“The program is implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, with the Department of Health, the Department of Education, and the National Economic and Development Authority as partners.

“Households receive cash grants if children stay in school, get regular health check-ups, monitor their growth, and receive vaccines. Pregnant women must get pre-natal care, with their births attended to by professional health workers. Parents or guardians must participate in monthly community-based Family Development Sessions to learn about positive child discipline, disaster preparedness, and women’s rights.

While ADB has this to say: “The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) attributed the increase in the income of the poorest 30% to, among other things, the implementation and expansion of the government’s social assistance programs, especially the 4Ps.

“The annual budget for the 4Ps grew from $422.31 million in 2011 to $1.77 billion in 2019. The target beneficiary households increased from 2.30 million to 4.25 million.

“Despite the steady economic performance between 2012–2019, levels of poverty and inequality in the Philippines remain high. Approximately 14.2 million people live just above the line and are vulnerable to falling into poverty. Employment shocks can cause vulnerability (e.g., seasonality of employment, job loss, and decline in wages); health shocks (e.g., serious illness, death of a breadwinner, catastrophic health expenses, and unwanted pregnancies); price shocks (e.g., food price spikes); and natural hazards that result in the loss of life, assets, and livelihoods.

“The consumption-based Gini coefficient is higher in the Philippines (0.40 in 2015) than in Thailand (0.38 in 2013) and Viet Nam (0.35 in 2014). The COVID-19 pandemic is worsening these different types of shocks and the underlying levels of inequality further. An estimated 5.5 million Filipinos will fall into poverty, increasing from 16.6% in 2018 to 20.7% in 2020.”

The bottom line: Juan de la Cruz makes a mere portion of his counterpart in Thailand and Vietnam, for example, and unsurprisingly, quickly succumbs to employment, health, and price shocks.

Not even the much-touted 4Ps can address the hunger, malnutrition, and poverty of Juan de la Cruz. What if we spend the P44-B smuggling loot for children per the above article, that’s less than half the P100-B we spent in 2021 or $2-B.

Should we then come down to earth and say it in the vernacular? Our focus on poverty to the tune of $2-B is “panakip butas”? [See above; East Asia’s “widest” wealth gaps.] Wasn’t the OFW phenomenon supposed to be a stop-gap? And so was the “call center” industry that we were to move up the value chain?

Aren’t the World Bank and ADB being tactful; what they want to say is that the challenge of Juan de la Cruz is way over our heads.

Let’s hold it right there.

Freedom, democracy, and the free market can’t flourish in a caste system. Neither can they in an autocratic, socialistic system – and that is why the blog often relates the story of my Eastern European friends.

“You must commit to transparency – or I am out the door.” It was to drive home the point that freedom, democracy, and free enterprise are not about rules but principles.

Of course, to be principled is not a walk in the park. There is no free lunch. And that was the message.

Zoom in, then zoom out – for perspective.

How do we overcome Juan de la Cruz’ “sabog” instincts?

Recall Yoda, that “focus” isn’t one-dimensional, but three: “inner,” “other,” and “outer.”

Disclosure: I shared the following note with several people.

Recall the distinctions between “drivers” and “enablers.” 

“Logistics” are enablers. The drivers are the priority farm products that lend themselves to economies of scale. That there is a big market that we can penetrate and generate enormous revenues and healthy margins especially given scale, productivity, competitiveness, and profitability.

Our think tanks must figure out which farm products we must prioritize. Not every farm product is a priority.

And our tycoons can bug the think tanks to do just that if they have no expertise. And Axelum is a great benchmark.

It is suitable for our tycoons to “spot” opportunities like logistics, but they have enough resources to “create” opportunities.

For example, Ramon Ang must push the TMCC initiative, and if that is not playing out, he must look at other industries that will accelerate the drive to raise exports to $200 billion.

And he can push the think tanks to redesign TRAIN and CREATE and attract the right technology and investors. 

Or, again, he can push his people to do that precisely. The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone and the Samsung-Vietnam partnership are great replicable models.

The big picture is industrialization. To flesh it up, we need $200 billion in exports. TMCC plus whatever and Axelum plus whatever are good starting points and platforms.

Zoom out, then zoom in – for perspective.

We are in on a sprint in our race to the bottom.

We nurture and perpetuate “privilege and entitlement.” Our caste system and instincts make us value the “trivial many” instead of the “vital few.” And that brings us farther away from and, of course, in our journey from poverty to prosperity. Our economists must know better. Pareto is the earliest known econometric model.

In other words, we know that tinkering with the Constitution is perilous. Have we asked ourselves what it takes to model TRAIN and CREATE, our latest investment incentive scheme, after the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone or the Samsung-Vietnam partnership?

If we see the Constitution as sacred, how could that apply to the work of BOI and our economic managers, as in TRAIN and CREATE?

The BOI came about in 1967, almost half a century ago, yet we have the least FDI among the neighbors. Einstein called that insanity, i.e., we’re spending $2-B in the war on poverty when it won’t cover our income per capita shortfall.

It is beyond bringing out the best in Juan de la Cruz, and it’s called national pride.

Zoom in, then zoom out.

We want to industrialize. That’s what it means to traverse the journey from poverty to prosperity that our neighbors did. And if that is the focus, we can fine-tune it by establishing an export target of $200 billion. And we have the BOI and think tanks and tycoons to determine how to get us to the number rapidly.

Eminent economist Ciel Habito has raised our challenge regarding the shortfall in exports.

Forget about “What’s in it for me/us?” Let’s learn about the imperative of personal responsibility in pursuing the common good.

We need to traverse the journey from poverty to prosperity rapidly. It is not mysterious. Our neighbors did it one after the other.

Zoom in, then zoom out.

Gising bayan! 

A culture of impunity

Ciel Habito asked, Are Filipinos too selfish? Let’s hold the thought and run through some of the more recent articles in the media.

Here goes: (1) Every Panganiban sugar landing can fetch a life term; (2) Death by ‘elected position’; (3) The best way to stop ICC; (4) The Leila de Lima conundrum and a compromise; (5) Get “tough,” Mr. President.

In the meantime, we don’t run out of prescriptions, e.g., (1) PHL agri tech deficit found to have widened after modernization law; (2) Jeepney modernization; (3) Playing around with trains, gov’t afflicts commuters; (4) Bad Banker; (4) Cooperatives; (5) Labor welfare; (6) Revenue Oriented Teaching Courses; (7) Water.

Are Filipinos too selfish? But why?

Our culture of impunity is the outcome of our caste system and instincts. How? The two things we nurture and perpetuate are “privilege and entitlement.” And one comes with the other. Those high in the hierarchy enjoy rank as its privilege, including rent-seeking, if not incompetence. And those lower are entitled – to paternalism.

The bottom line: We are in on a sprint in our race to the bottom.

The evidence? Because of privilege and entitlement, we value the “trivial many” instead of the “vital few.” And that brings us farther away from and, of course, in our journey from poverty to prosperity. Our economists must know better. Pareto is the earliest known econometric model.

And our economic managers know the “present value” concept, that time is gold because of the compounding effect. Yet, we keep recycling them despite their adherence to “insanity” – the only reason we have been growing at the 6%-7% GDP metric is because of Juan de la Cruz, the over $50 billion he brings in from remittances and the BPO revenues. Neither is a creation of our economy. It is the outcome of “pwede na ‘yan.”

Recall that I disagreed when our economic managers and economist celebrated a “manufacturing uptick” in 2014. See below; “focus” is three-dimensional.

And the more glaring evidence is the millions upon millions of hungry and poverty-suffering Filipinos. See above; some of the more recent articles in the media and our non-stop prescription offers.

Consider: We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism and rely on political patronage and oligarchy; ours is a culture of impunity.

“Unpatriotic acts don’t only come from criminals, but also from bureaucrats in the national and local governments who seem to delight in throwing as many hurdles as they can in the way of getting something from the government.

“In the 1990s, a visiting delegation from Harvard Medical School was here to scout for an institutional partner for a Harvard teaching hospital and must have recognized Filipino medical practitioners as among the best in the world. Thus, our country seemed a logical place to establish its brand in Asia.

“Months later, I learned we lost them to Singapore, which rolled out the red carpet and even offered building space. I could only shake my head in dismay. They supposedly got turned off that among the first questions they consistently faced in their meetings here was “What's in it for me/us?” [Habito, op. cit.]

Recall that AIM came about in 1968 in partnership with Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Harvard Business School, the Ford Foundation, and visionaries of the Asian academic and business communities. [Wikipedia]

Question: Where is AIM today? But what’s in it for me/us? Let’s “Filipinize” the faculty, including the GMAT; the latter is too expensive for Juan de la Cruz.

In other words, Juan de la Cruz, the local and national government bureaucrat, and professionals like physicians and educators can succumb to “what’s in it for me.”

Are we surprised farmers can’t succeed in organizing and running cooperatives? What about modernizing agriculture or the jeepney? What’s in it for me? Or think of the Marcos family, the Arroyo family, or the Estrada family. You can add more names.

Let’s hold it right there. 

As Ciel Habito rightly put it, agriculture must be productive, competitive, and profitable. In other words, we must determine the “vital few” farm products that will lend themselves to productivity, competitiveness, and profitability.

That’s why the blog keeps hammering the “vital few.” We must learn to prioritize, not succumb to the crab mentality.

For example, Axelum identified the portfolio of industrial and consumer products that command healthy margins that respond to human needs, especially in the US and other continents.

That means there is a market that we can penetrate and attract economies of scale. Coconuts are a great example because we are the second largest producers.

That premise will dictate whether we want to compete aggressively in agriculture. Our challenge is beyond paternalism and poverty. It is about innovation and global competitiveness. That is how our neighbors became first-world economies. And their people became wealthier than Juan de la Cruz.

And the North Star for Juan de la Cruz is exports of $200 billion teed up by the Ang Bulacan initiative. Beyond the Bulacan airport is an ecozone that will generate said export revenues. For example, we can replicate the Axelum model in Bulacan.

And agribusiness is a subset of nirvana, aka industrialization.

Those who read the blog may remember my first caveat to Eastern Europeans. Freedom, democracy, and the free market are not about rules but principles. They wanted to be the best in the business and toss the socialism they knew. And that’s how they give Westerner global behemoths a run for their money, i.e., learning by doing, guided by the above caveat.

Here’s a quote from an earlier posting. “Yoda: Your focus is your world. However, “focus” is not one-dimensional, as in binary thinking. It is three-dimensional among those who excel especially great leaders. And they are inner, other, and outer.

“In other words, in the case of Juan de la Cruz, inner means knowing himself as in self-awareness. But because “no man is an island,” he must also know his neighbors – i.e., other. Moreover, he can’t ignore that we are a subset of this universe – i.e., outer.

“Some science comes in for those keen to read up on neuroscience. For example, inspiring leaders assessed on a brain measure of “coherence” – the degree to which circuits within a region interconnect and coordinate their activity – showed a high level of coherence in this vital inner and another awareness area. The specific “region” was in the prefrontal area of the right side of the brain. [Focus: The hidden driver of excellence, Daniel Goleman; Harper]

“On the other hand, the dots connect amongst (a) freedom, democracy, and the free market; (b) the 3Cs of the hardy mindset: challenge, commitment, and control; (c) democracy is the mirror image of Christianity – the imperative of the personal responsibility in pursuing the common good; and (d) the elements of cognitive development – i.e., that beyond binary thinking are multiplicity and relativism – the imperative of context.’

The bottom line: We won’t establish a working and functional democracy if we can’t embrace that democracy is the mirror image of Christianity – the imperative of personal responsibility in pursuing the common good.

Even our worldview is a function of the embrace of our caste system.

The evidence? Our instincts tell us that the West is arrogant, i.e., they don’t dispense paternalism, so we would rather lionize autocratic nations like China and Russia. And now Iran and Saudi Arabia. See above; democracy is the mirror image of Christianity.

Ciel Habito asked, Are Filipinos too selfish? Let’s hold the thought and run through some of the more recent articles in the media.

Are Filipinos too selfish? But why?

Our culture of impunity is the outcome of our caste system and instincts.

Gising bayan!