Bangkok is not perfect. As an
extended family, we flew in to Bangkok in three separate groups and the taxi
fares from the airport to our hotel were three disparate amounts. Between
Bangkok traffic and opportunistic taxi drivers, who knows why? Still, their
airport puts ours to shame and the level of activity would match those in more
developed countries. And going around Bangkok via their public transportation
system isn’t that different from these places either. Yet Thailand’s GDP per
capita is just a fraction of Singapore. But it’s still more than twice that of
PH. Given Thailand isn’t wealthy, we can understand why half of our people say
they’re hungry and poor. That’s our story . . .
President Aquino may want his
cabinet members to spend time in Bangkok to see for themselves what we’re
missing. Singapore may be too far advanced and may discourage them but Thailand
is more doable and could inspire them. Japan and China many years ago did
something similar, sending teams to Europe to learn about progressive Western
ways and “successful capitalist practices.” And both China and Japan in fact
succeeded and together with the US, the three are today the world’s largest
economies.
We may not realize it but our
inward-looking bias hasn’t helped us. We keep reinventing the wheel instead of
learning from others. For example, Thailand is the Detroit of Southeast Asia
and hence their supply of automobiles has contributed to Bangkok’s traffic. But
they believe their work isn’t done yet. They believe that an efficient public
transportation system will make Bangkok a commuter’s city, and New York comes
to mind. And so they’re stepping up the efforts and extending the rail system
(which they call a multi-year mega project) into the suburbs. And the potential
is not lost to developers: new high-rise residential buildings are sprouting to
complement the rail project. It’s forward-thinking no doubt or what Steve Jobs
simply called connecting the dots.
How do we do such
forward-thinking – and connect the dots – in the Philippines? Consider the
following news reports re our infrastructure efforts: “DOTC quibbles anew on
MRT3,” Rosalie C. Periabras, Manila Times, 8th Feb 2015. “LRT-2 is
profitable, so why bid out operations (?),” Jarius Bondoc, GOTCHA, The
Philippine Star, 9th Feb 2015. “A clueless bureaucrat (?),” Boo Chanco,
DEMAND AND SUPPLY, The Philippine Star, 9th Feb 2015.
Are we equipped – in our hearts
and our minds – to populate the 21st century? It is not about hiding behind
studies. “Study after study,” to quote a journalist, hasn’t taught us how to
move forward as a nation.
“THE Department of
Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is quibbling anew on what to do with
Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT). It earlier said it would buy out the current
operator but it is hamstrung by the fact that Congress did not allocate a
budget for the buyout . . . This time it said it is studying the proposal of
Metro Rail Transit Holdings Inc. (MRTH) to extend operations over MRT3 for
another 15 years.” [Periabras, op. cit.]
Study and more study? “A liar
needs a good memory, goes a Latin adage. But that’s lost on officials of the
Dept. of Transport and Communications. Last Jan. 8 at the House of Reps, U-Sec
Jose Lotilla made a big disclosure. DOTC commuter railways – LRT-1, LRT-2, and
MRT-3 – are earning more than enough from ticket sales to cover operations and
maintenance. The admission was a blow to Lotilla’s boss Sec. Joseph Abaya. Only
three days earlier Abaya had hiked train fares 50- to 90-percent on the pretext
of soaring O&M costs. Rep. Neri Colmenares discovered that first
discrepancy.” [Bondoc, op. cit.]
If we don’t hide behind a study,
there is always the option to lie? “We all know that the problem of
congestion at NAIA is on account of its single working runway. (They have stopped
using the other cross runway for safety reasons.) Even if we build 10 terminals
there but if there is only one runway, planes will still have to fall in line
to take off and circle around to land. That is simple and logical even laymen
should be able to understand.” [Chanco, op. cit.]
I remember a friend telling us,
“If you have a dinner appointment in Makati at 7 on the Wednesday that you are
returning from Cebu, better get a much earlier flight. Most flights are delayed
an hour.” Lo and behold, we thought we were comfortably buckled awaiting
takeoff in Mactan when the pilot interrupted our thoughts: “We are being asked
to hold for 45 minutes because of traffic congestion in Manila.”
I tried a simple analogy to
explain where we are as a nation to folks in Cebu and suggested to imagine
going through layers while putting up the building blocks of an economy. It
starts with infrastructure. And when they're extensive enough, we can overlay a
set of strategic industries – that are competitive and will reach far and wide.
Because industries need a platform. And then visualize an ecosystem that will
sustain them. That means we need science, technology and education over the
longer term – borrowing a page from the playbook of Deng Xiaoping.
And because we’re missing said
layers and building blocks, we’re confronted with: “But here our question
for Mr. Fuji: If the existing investment incentives are so great in the
Philippines, why did Japanese companies invest over $10 billion in Thailand in
2013 and only $1.2 billion in the Philippines?” [Foreign investment
incentives: What to change, Business Mirror Editorial, 8th Feb 2015] “We
have examined both countries investment laws and incentives. The major
difference is that the list of excluded types of business is much less in
Thailand and Thailand allows up to 100 percent foreign ownership unlike the
Philippines which requires 60 percent local ownership.”
Surprise, surprise! Isn’t that an
old song? And so my wife and a brother-in-law would ask: How could the Thais
build a transportation system like this? They know that I covered Thailand for
10 years as an MNC regional manager. And had shared with them that we put up a
regional facility in Thailand, after visiting different Asian countries where
we were shown their respective “special economic zones.” It’s about the
ecosystem.
Think 360 degrees. What would
make a special economic zone truly attractive to investors? For example, power
is one and at the other end is the port from where to ship products out. And
between the site and the port are roads and bridges, and in some countries also
navigable rivers and rails. There is also the soft elements. Take the Bureau of
Customs and its culture of impunity, which is how Pinoys working on cruise
ships explained why industry bosses avoid the Philippines. In sum, an ecosystem
connotes efficiency, productivity and sustainability.
But are they what we value? Or is
our parochial, hierarchical system and structure most preeminent? And the
evidence: “We have examined both countries investment laws and incentives.
The major difference is that the list of excluded types of business is much
less in Thailand and Thailand allows up to 100 percent foreign ownership unlike
the Philippines which requires 60 percent local ownership.” [Business Mirror Editorial, op. cit.]
And when it gets down to
developing a game plan if not formulating a vision, our kneejerk is to employ
“Pinoy abilidad”? Which is in fact reactive and short-term – not proactive and
strategic and long term? See above re “DOTC quibbles anew on MRT3” and “LRT-2 is profitable, so why bid out
operations (?)” and “A clueless bureaucrat (?)” . . .
Ergo: “Before investing in PH, Japan firms raise nagging issues,” Amy
R. Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 7th Feb 2015. “[T]hey continue to stress
the need for the government to address pressing concerns, such as lack of
adequate infrastructure and high power costs, which are necessary to create a
more conducive environment for trade.”
Is it our cacique culture or
inability to formulate a vision and forward-think or is it incompetence or a
culture of impunity? Infrastructure projects are mired in delays and rebids,
challenges and whatever, but what’s truly behind them? True or not, after being
in town over the last few weeks, I would still be dumbfounded to hear: “Do you
know the story behind NAIA 3? Imagine how many administrations had a hand in
it. If behind every infrastructure project is such impunity, what do you do if
none of the spoils comes your way having arrived late to the party?”
We took a tour to Ayutthaya (old
Siam) and I was reminded of how we were stuck in Bangkok traffic many years ago
– when we were with our daughter, then a grade-schooler. Today they have the
expressway, and they make the journey even more interesting, the return to
Bangkok is via a river cruise. And the boat is more upscale than the one my
wife and I took in New Orleans last summer. Why does Thailand attract investors
and tourists much more than we do?
How do we face the 21st century?
Doing it the same old way – over and over again – is insanity?
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