It appears Philippine economic managers are doggedly pushing investments and priority projects. Indeed their tasks are daunting. They would miss it here and there but that’s reality. The key is for them to keep their North Star – i.e., constantly prioritizing via the 80-20 rule. For instance, not every revenue-generating initiative pitched by every sector is a priority. A low-lying fruit may appear to be so but if it undermines the building blocks of key investment or innovation or reform efforts then it’s a ‘no-no’. Net, we can’t afford to contract another ‘Dutch disease’?
There are two areas where President Aquino and his trouble shooter could likewise focus their attention and efforts. One is agribusiness and the other is reconciling national and local agendas. As we go through the negotiations of foreign trade agreements, the instinct to deemphasize agriculture for now should not equate to a repeat of decades of underdevelopment? We’ve not help the farmers all these years; and we won’t help them still if we stick to the old mindset – of taking decades to move reform forward. Politics and political patronage always rear their ugly heads – and why it is imperative to slay corruption. Could the Church be involved, i.e., corruption has eroded our moral fiber? It’s encouraging that the private sector has opted to be proactive.
It is understandable that we first want to raise agriculture’s readiness before it could be a driver of global trade or a strategic industry. But in order to prevent a repeat of failed initiatives, we need a well thought out and a prioritized plan for agribusiness. Beyond the imperative to overcome our cacique past via individual farm ownership, it is important to recognize that the vision or our end goal is sustainability. And that means agribusiness must attain efficiency, productivity and competitiveness via economies of scale.
How do we reconcile individual ownership and economies of scale? We need to understand that land and resources must be pulled together and so do modern agribusiness interventions – from infrastructure to business development, i.e., from production to logistics to marketing. In short, overcoming a cacique past does not end with individual ownership. Our agribusiness efforts must win in the marketplace. Even ex-socialist countries have learned that.
The other challenge for the administration is reconciling national and local agendas. Proximity to local political leaders makes parochialism at the local levels inherent. And if the administration does not become an element of the equation, national priorities would be undermined. To aggressively push strategic priority industries, for example, the administration needs first-rate efforts to reconcile its agenda with the needs of local communities. (But as a nation we have to learn that subsidies or similar short-term programs, for instance, don’t necessarily address structural problems, i.e., reform means tough-minded reform?)
Even MNCs deal with local challenges – when marketing to 200 countries headquarters must remain part of the equation otherwise the broader company agenda could be undermined by local priorities. At Apple, Jobs no. 2, Tim Cook, ‘relentlessly works’ with key elements of the supply chain to get products out on time and at planned margin levels. And for President Aquino and his trouble shooter, this is truly a big job. He may not be campaigning for reelection, but he needs to campaign to successfully execute his agenda. And it means investing time and effort. Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, saw succession planning as his personal initiative because GE has over a dozen Fortune 500-sized companies that must have world-class leadership teams – and so he literally spent half of his time in succession planning sessions and meeting face-to-face with promising talents wherever they were in the world.
There is now an effort between the Executive and the Legislative to work together, there must be a similar discourse between the Executive and local governments to ensure there is congruence and synergy in their initiatives. Politics and political patronage though may have their tentacles traced back to politicians in the Executive or Legislative or even local governments, e.g., they are godfathers and godmothers of GOCCs and/or local kingpins. In short, there has to be a truly vigorous campaign to slay corruption – because every positive and promising initiative could be undermined by insidious corruption. “The human spirit is never satisfied with things as they are and seeks the better life. It always plans something better than what it now has,” says a Jesuit priest. Amen!
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