The media could assist Juan de la Cruz develop an outward-, forward-looking and competitive bias? And support the Aquino Administration in its efforts to put us on the ‘straight and narrow’? The other side of ‘news’ is ‘execution’. News reports present events as: ‘Who is doing what, when, where and how’. On the other hand, execution must satisfy the hurdle: ‘Who will do what, when, where and how’. News and execution are two sides of the same coin!
Competitiveness is not measured in isolation. We must be able to measure up against the Asian tigers. It didn’t happen overnight. It took decades for us to become cellar-dwellers – and it behooves us to stop the slide, gear-up and lift ourselves up? ‘Entitlements’ aren’t evergreen – we may have granted them to inefficient and uncompetitive local industries because of the kindness of the Filipino heart. But training wheels outlive their usefulness, i.e., nations grow up as demonstrated by our neighbors – and so they would demand it of us too? Our major players have grown bigger and dominant, i.e., locally; while our economy remains skewed, characterized by massive poverty? Other nations went through the experience, but developed faster and so must we, i.e., via investments, technology, innovation – and thus attract talents, and develop competitive products and services that can win in more markets!
The Aquino Administration has rightly focused on investments – in stepping up infrastructure development – and in the strategic and priority industries it has identified could add incremental revenues or GDP of $100 billion. The good news is local industries and foreign interests have expressed support. One way to get Juan de la Cruz in the loop is for news reports to pursue an execution bias: ‘What industries have we prioritized and identified as strategic – having done our homework? Who are we targeting as major investors, both local and foreign? When do we expect them to invest? Where will the investments be directed? How are we attracting them – as good as if not better than others? How – applying lateral thinking – do we ensure successful execution every step of the way?’
News reports can also drill down each of the priority or strategic initiatives, say, energy infrastructure or power and present news like: ‘Who wants to invest in the energy/power sector, e.g., the UK, oil-rich ME? What projects are they looking at – will they deliver our goal of energy sufficiency and competitiveness; are they prioritized to generate the targeted contributions from energy, to the $100 billion in incremental GDP? When are the projects to begin and be completed? Where will the projects be carried out? How will we work with them and proceed with the undertaking? How – applying lateral thinking – do we ensure successful execution every step of the way?’
The ‘straight and narrow’ means being principle-driven and not reliant on the personal? Otherwise it’s just rhetoric? And motherhood statements won’t suffice given our reality – we’re playing catch up, competing for investments and addressing massive poverty. As importantly, transparency is achieved when news reports are presented in a proactive manner. The (FOI) Freedom of Information legislation is ideal. But to get transparency truly functioning, the people through the media will have to be assertive. The FOI by definition is reactive. As (TQM) total quality gurus preach, quality has to be built into the process – i.e., transparency has to be built into the process of news reporting.
OFW remittances were not the magic bullet – there is no magic bullet! What we need is a strong economy – i.e., sustainable, driven by strong fundamentals – and in the 21st century, it means it is producing globally competitive products and/or services. The electronics and BPO industries today may be flying high. And so this is the time for them to invest and ensure we move up the value chain. Pay lip service at their peril – and ours! The Asian tigers are investing heavily on innovation. We can’t afford to do less! Thus, news reports about the strategic initiatives of these industries should likewise be presented as more than news – with a clear-cut execution bias.
We won’t get there overnight, but clearly we won’t get there at all if we don’t pursue industrialization proactively? How? Move beyond our parochial instinct – develop the character, the confidence and the competitive spirit? But then again, given our culture of corruption and/or to preserve the status quo, there are forces that will undercut serious efforts by Juan de la Cruz? Will journalism, the spirit of public service and sense of country save us?
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