Winning in Trump’s world

Trump appears to be the wrecking ball that will upend the here and now. How can nations and enterprises win in this new era?

Let’s hear from The Economist: “Productivity growth is dismal in the West, companies are fusing at a furious rate, entrepreneurialism is stuttering, populism is on the rise and the old rules of business are being torn up . . . The most striking business trend today is not competition but consolidation.

“Management theorists need to examine their church with the same clear-eyed iconoclasm with which Luther examined his. Otherwise they risk being exposed as just so many overpaid peddlers of dead ideas.” [Management theory is becoming a compendium of dead ideas, Schumpeter, The Economist, 17th Dec 2016]

For an enterprise it is about the desired outcome, beyond the input. Productivity is a process which is an input, a factor of production, like cost reduction. While the desired outcome is sustained growth and profitability. Entrepreneurialism is stuttering? Precisely, given the high cost of entry – a.k.a. competition – in this day and age. Consolidation confirms competition is alive and well. Consolidation is about the natural science.

Economies of scale and point of diminishing returns are as natural as the boom and bust cycle. And an enterprise cannot and must not accept marginal outcomes lest investors run for cover. Is The Economist unnerved by Trump’s politics – of populism – even when it stood its ground against Brexit?

“Donald Trump preaches muscular American nationalism and threatens China with tariffs. Britain is disentangling itself from the European Union. The more far-sighted multinationals are preparing for an increasingly nationalist future.” [The Economist, op. cit.]

MNCs are not new to insular nations and why local subsidiaries aren’t a new phenomenon. India was a closed economy. The boom they belatedly experienced came from the opening of the economy. “McDonald's has over 36,000 locations in over 100 countries” says its website. Will Trump’s Wall make them disappear to sell only in the US? Will Airbus sell planes only in Europe and Boeing only in the US? What about Coca-Cola? And Apple? Eastern Europeans have acquired the taste for Scotch whisky. Remember the Iron Curtain?

Water seeks its own level. Natural phenomena will always guide global enterprises. As the cycle of development around the world takes its due course, business and management initiatives must adapt.

And think Darwin. What about MSMEs? Not every startup can move up to a high-growth company status. Extinction is not unnatural. And there is nothing wrong with mega enterprises given they generate a greater multiplier effect, including the development of auxiliary or clusters of support industries.

The Economist has reported that while Europeans generate more creative ideas than Americans, the latter are better able to turn theirs into commercial successes. Apple took on the once venerated IBM. And a today’s Silicon Valley behemoth could be tomorrow’s IBM? It is the survival of the fittest.

The world is not about to end. Ideas will always find their places in the sun. “The value of education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think,” so says Einstein.

It is about the desired outcome beyond the input or the activity. And the desired outcome is dictated by human need which is a continuum. It is dynamic not static. The mantra for enterprises is to respond to human needs and aspirations. Which is what innovation is about, not innovation for innovation’s sake.

The financial engineering that brought down the financial system and the resulting Global Recession fed on greed. It wasn’t meant for man’s wellbeing. When we add greed in a world with a sprinkling of despots we create a multi-headed monster nourished by people’s fears. And self-preservation and isolation rule.

And taken for granted is “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. Companies gain advantage against the world’s best competitors because of pressure and challenge. They benefit from having strong domestic rivals, aggressive home-based suppliers, and demanding local customers.

“These conclusions, the product of a four-year study of the patterns of competitive success in ten leading trading nations, contradict the conventional wisdom that guides the thinking of many companies and national governments—and that is pervasive today in the United States.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]

And where are we in the Philippines? We must learn to walk before we can run. The world has left us way . . . way behind. And until we shape up, it will take not just a generation before we can right the PHL ship?

“We know that our manufacturing sector is more productive than agriculture and services. However, it employs the fewest workers and in terms of ratio to GDP, this has, in fact, remained stagnant for the last 20 years.

“Clearly, manufacturing needs an enabling environment first before it can consider looking at incentives. In a way, the current incentive environment is reflective of the condition that the country is not able to standardize such an enabling environment.

“First, the government has to take stock of all the existing investment agencies that it has created. It will require a substantial effort to harmonize all the rules and regimes offered by each agency and including also those at the local government levels.

“Second, the government has to develop a critical institutional capacity in understanding needs of industries. This means that their role is beyond planning and regulation, but to a certain extent provide directions at different levels of governance.” [Making manufacturing work for everyone, Dr. Alvin P. Ang, Eagle Watch, Business Mirror, 15th Dec 2016]

And one such need is for “the road maps for the different industries [to] be benchmarked abroad.” But what about the entrepreneurs themselves, what is their worldview?

And the reason the writer put up the above article from The Economist is to challenge our entrepreneurs to look beyond the horizon. Shortsightedness is a loser in Trump’s world. Our oligarchic economy rewards cronies but not every enterprise can be a crony enterprise. We have to paddle our own canoe.

And to succeed in business we must be prepared for the worst. There is no free lunch even if political patronage says otherwise. It is Juan de la Cruz that pays the price with the world leaving us behind – and are the regional laggard. Let oligarchy answer for their folly – and the best we can do is to not be like them. Think NAMFREL: “It is better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness.”

To reiterate: It is about the desired outcome beyond the input or the activity. And it applies to the public sector too. For example, infrastructure is ground zero of development. Beyond the NEDA and the administration reporting how many major infrastructure projects have been approved, they must likewise do an accounting of outcomes.

Eisenhower is still remembered for the US Interstate Highway System that is named after him. It pump-primed development beyond the major US metro areas. Eisenhower, during his military stint in Europe, was awed by the German Autobahn System because it gave the German military such mobility.

And hand in glove with infrastructure development is industrialization. The desired outcome being to generate greater wealth beyond OFW remittances. The then new PNoy administration was presented the JFC’s 7 industry winners; and we’re now into the Du30 administration – with no time to waste! But we’re wishy-washy on both imperatives – giving the big boys the playing field to themselves – as Juan de la Cruz suffers?

They are fundamental building blocks of an economy. Not the drug war or the poverty war. Think cause and effect – beyond “Pinoy abilidad” – to overcome our myopia. And learn to own up and grow up? We can’t be perpetual juveniles – which is what underdevelopment is?

Shouldn’t media be doing more to keep them front and center of the national agenda? Instead of nurturing PHL’s elite-dominated democracy – characterized by the curse of parochialism, insularity, hierarchy, paternalism, political patronage and dynasties, oligarchy and impunity? It’s called nation building.

“To the disappointment of many, an elite-dominated democracy replaced Marcos’ authoritarian rule. From 1987, a small number of families started to restore their control of the government and rotate the seats of power among themselves.

“Despite promising national growth rates, the gains appear to have largely benefited the rich. More than 26 million Filipinos remain impoverished. And unemployment rates are said to be the worst in Asia.

“This widening gap between rich and poor, recurrent domestic economic crises, epidemic levels of corruption and failed attempts to significantly reduce criminality, have left the public deeply frustrated.” [How a Failed Peaceful Revolution Led to Rodrigo Duterte, Cleve Kevin Robert Arguelles, University of the Philippines / The Conversation, Time Magazine, 20th Dec 2016]

“Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? And 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]

“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]

“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]

My family joins me in wishing one and all a Healthy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year

A sense of purpose

Beyond the upbeat news about remittances that we can’t help but celebrate – being the driver of PHL’s economy – must be a higher purpose? “The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) sees a sustained four percent growth in cash remittances next year amid strong demand for skilled Filipino workers abroad . . . Cash remittances would hit $27.7 billion in 2017 or $1.1 billion higher than the projected record level of $26.6 billion this year.” [Remittances to hit record $27.7 B next year, Lawrence Agcaoili, The Philippine Star, 8th Dec 2016]

And beyond the war on drugs . . . “P. Digong: Wage peace, not war, save lives,” Fidel V. Ramos, Former Philippine President, Manila Bulletin, 17th Dec 2016. “This was the first time our President/Chief Executive/Commander-in-Chief/Team Leader of our huge and talented (but diverse and divided) national society of 102 million sounded truly loud, clear, strong, and sincere about unity and peace. In that message, which was well applauded throughout the land, he did not speak of killing – for a change.

“This was P. Duterte’s earnest appeal in the presence of young Filipinos during the lighting of the Christmas tree at Malacañang last 10 December, which was also the eve of International Human Rights Day.”

“[H]igher purpose can be framed as a hypothesis, and that evidence for or against the hypothesis can be marshaled. But I will say that the evidence I see for purpose includes not just the direction of biological evolution, but the direction of technological evolution and of the broader social and cultural evolution it drives — the evolution that has carried us from hunter-gatherer bands to the brink of a cohesive global community. And if the purpose involves sustaining this direction — becoming a true global community — then it would seem to include moral progress. In particular, our purpose would involve transcending the psychology of tribalism that can otherwise divide people along ethnic, national, religious and ideological lines.” [Can Evolution Have a ‘Higher Purpose’ (?), Robert Wright,  THE STONE, The New York Times, 12th Dec 2016]

Transcending tribalism and division equates to moral progress – an imperative in the pursuit of national prosperity? No different from the rule of law being an imperative in the pursuit of freedom and democracy? Do we need to pause and think that through? Think Rizal and our love for tyranny that it has defined us?

“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. [Translation: A nation may have the requisite factors of production but if its products and services aren’t marketable they’re for naught.]

“A nation’s competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade. Companies gain advantage against the world’s best competitors because of pressure and challenge. They benefit from having strong domestic rivals, aggressive home-based suppliers, and demanding local customers.

“In a world of increasingly global competition, nations have become more, not less, important. As the basis of competition has shifted more and more to the creation and assimilation of knowledge, the role of the nation has grown. Competitive advantage is created and sustained through a highly localized process. Differences in national values, culture, economic structures, institutions, and histories all contribute to competitive success. There are striking differences in the patterns of competitiveness in every country; no nation can or will be competitive in every or even most industries. Ultimately, nations succeed in particular industries because their home environment is the most forward-looking, dynamic, and challenging.

“These conclusions, the product of a four-year study of the patterns of competitive success in ten leading trading nations, contradict the conventional wisdom that guides the thinking of many companies and national governments—and that is pervasive today in the United States.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]

Forward-looking. Dynamic. Challenging. Are they right up our alley? Is Juan de la Cruz predisposed to be forward-looking or dynamic or embrace a challenge? Try “Pwede na ‘yan”? How do we square Metro Manila’s infrastructure deficits with what we call Imperial Manila? Imperial Manila has a nice ring to it but that can’t hide the truth of PHL underdevelopment – against the enviable Asian tigers on the other hand?

To add insult to injury, ours is a narco-state – with a drug problem that is pervasive, controlled by drug lords at various levels of the bureaucracy? How many would know about Albuera? “Albuera is a third class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 40,553 people.” [Wikipedia]

And so we have Imperial Manila with a Third-World infrastructure at one end and local drug lords at the other – and underdevelopment across the board? How do we square that again? Are we forward-looking and dynamic – when for decades missed to address the challenge of growth and development? And can’t “transcend the psychology of tribalism that can otherwise divide people…”? And Federalism is the silver bullet – when we could have more not less Albueras? – like OFW remittances and the BPO industry were to be? Ergo: development like any major undertakings isn’t one-dimensional?

“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 . . .” [Think about our reliance on OFW remittances?]

Consider: “A new theory must move beyond comparative advantage to the competitive advantage of a nation . . . We need a new perspective and new tools—an approach to competitiveness that grows directly out of an analysis of internationally successful industries, without regard for traditional ideology or current intellectual fashion. We need to know, very simply, what works and why. Then we need to apply it.” [Porter, op. cit.]

Look outward not inward. Benchmark. Benchmark. Benchmark.

In other words, “Pinoy abilidad” – the outcome of our being parochial, insular, hierarchical and paternalistic, if not political patronage and dynasties, oligarchy and culture of impunity – hasn’t worked, but does it in more ways than one override our values, culture, economic structures, institutions and history? How can Juan de la Cruz free himself from this vicious circle?

Recall Marcos couldn’t get off the back of the tiger and had to be disgraced? Now, how does Du30 get off the back of his own tiger when he has to offer excuses for the EJKs? Does he have an endgame? Is giving fat bonuses to police bosses – of killer cops – the endgame because we’ve won the war? Did he “begin with the end in mind,” a critical element in the effective and successful pursuit of ambitious undertakings? Or did he start off on the wrong foot? 

But let’s get back to the essence of Porter’s treatise. And here’s what it could be like within the walls of a private enterprise. “Yuchun Lee of Allego: The Value of a Daily Mistake,” Adam Bryant, Corner Office, The New York Times, 16th Dec 2016. [Yuchun Lee is C.E.O. and co-founder of Allego, a Boston-area start-up focused on sales education]

“I’ve developed a few core philosophies about how to run a company. The first is the ability of the company to know what is true, what is not true, and what’s real and what’s not real. That grounds everything. You can have a group of supersmart people, but if they have the wrong view of the world, they can waste a lot of energy going down the wrong track. So I tell every employee, if something’s fishy, question it. The foundation is all about truth.

“The second is how you behave as a team to solve problems. A lot of energy can be wasted, because in an unchecked environment, 80 percent of what’s being said is posturing, and it’s got nothing to do with the problem . . . they’re solving a problem that’s completely different than what’s on the table.

“The third is about mistakes . . . So we try to train and tell every employee that if you can truly embrace your mistake, and not feel this visceral defensive reaction when someone tells you that you did something wrong, you’re going to go so much further than anybody else. You need to see mistakes as opportunities to improve.”

The writer can relate the above article to the real world: his career in an MNC and his current commitments in Eastern Europe. Why do enterprises commit mistakes time and time again? In both these experiences, the writer would fix problem businesses – that brought the need to develop a proactive approach to the exercise. And Mr. Lee is spot on: “You can have a group of supersmart people, but if they have the wrong view of the world, they can waste a lot of energy going down the wrong track. So I tell every employee, if something’s fishy, question it. The foundation is all about truth.”

It is about the sense of purpose. Which to a practitioner can be translated into the GPS model: Where are we; Where do we want to be; How do we get there. In other words, it is beyond knowledge. “The value of education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think,” so says Einstein.

And that is very evident from the experience of US industry where they had to call out the educational system for its shortcomings in three skill areas: communication, teamwork and critical thinking. Communication is best defined by an enterprise’s ability or inability to articulate its reason for being.

And it’s no different from nation building. Nation building is about development – not the war on drugs or poverty. The evidence? The Asian tigers! Let’s get real – and toss “Pinoy abilidad”?

“Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? And 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]

“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]

“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]

My family joins me in wishing one and all a blessed Christmas!

“The youth is the hope of the fatherland”

In this day and age, we may want to say “the millennials are the hope of the fatherland” and Rizal wouldn’t mind? “Mr. Paolo Campos III . . . a next-gen leader summed it up when he said: ‘in the past and previous generations, I might have been more concerned with the stability of employment, having one career rising up the ranks in one company. But now, the key decision factor is more about purpose, more about meaning. It’s more about the buying into the vision of the company and believing in how a company operates in terms of its values, and motivating and providing meaning in the vision that the millennial workforce can get behind.’” [The next-generation leader, Mary Jade T. Roxas-Divinagracia, MAP Insights, Business World, 13th Dec 2016]

What about a Rizal refresher? “Professor Jose David Lapuz . . . on the life of Dr. Jose Rizal [from a speech delivered to . . . O.B. Montessori Professional High School and college students.] “From 1896, the year of the death of Dr. Jose Rizal up to now, the third millennium, we have not yet produced a Filipino who can equal the extraordinary greatness, as well as the spectacular eminence of Rizal.

“Rizal cultivated all his qualities in order not to perfect them, but he practiced them in order to bring about the moral betterment of the race. Rizal possessed a great mental caliber and he, therefore, demonstrated that the Filipino race was able to give birth to individuals endowed with the highest attributes, who could be considered an honor to the human race.

“Before, Filipinos were always considered stupid, lazy, and lacked dignity. Well, Jose Rizal proved the opposite of all these qualities. He showed the finest characteristics of the race, and was called “Una Perla del Ombre” or Pearl of a Man.

“Finding his country inert, disunited, voiceless and unconscious of its own miseries, Rizal galvanized it, united it and inspired in it sentiments of solidarity, self-respect and dignity . . . Rizal lived loving the Philippines virtuously, disinterestedly and with profound religiosity. Virtuously, meaning with virtues of character. Disinterestedly or unselfishly means thinking of others before himself.

“Rizal has been dead for a long time now . . . Still, we see the injustice in our country, as well as the widespread poverty. Because of that poverty, there is injustice and oppression.

“What Rizal said still applies. During Jose Rizal’s time, the oppression came from the political structure. Now, we have a constitutional and liberal democracy, but we still have poverty because of economic misplanning. This poverty will produce oppression, injustice and a great amount of unhappiness. Thus, Rizal’s dream has not yet materialized.

‘Those to whom much is given, much is expected.’ Thus if you have a social conscience, you start asking, why is this happening to our Mother Filipinas? What have I not done that I can do? This should be asked by all Filipinos.

“We need the Concept of a Nation – This is where the word Nationalism comes from, ‘the advocacy of the interest of a nation.’ Nationalism is ‘the advocacy, the promotion, the persevering pursuit of what is good for the nation.’

“First, we should relate ourselves to a nation advancing the interests, the good, and the welfare of our nation, which we call Nationalism. Then, we relate that nation to other nations, which we call internationalism. So, step by step – the Self, the Family the Nation and then the Family of Nations under the auspices of an Almighty God.

“Rizal is a great Internationalist as well as a Nationalist. Being a nationalist does not mean Rizal is anti-foreigner or he won’t go to other countries. The more he traveled abroad, the more he became profoundly a Filipino by interrelating with other nations and cultures. We should not become a closed nationalist, so that we become a Fascistic nationalist. We should be open to a larger world so that we become Cosmopolitan Internationalist even as we are nationalistic. This is the life of Jose Rizal.

“The desperate search for true leaders today. What is a true leader? A leader originates and does not imitate. A leader keeps his eyes on the distant horizon and sees what an ordinary person does not. This is the evidence of his leadership. He does not accept the status quo, but instead challenges it. They follow their genius not just the party line.” [Dr. Jose Rizal, the symbol of ideal leadership today, Preciosa S. Soliven, A POINT OF AWARENESS, The Philippine Star, 30th Jan 2014]

With that as backdrop, should we pause and ask ourselves how we measure against the ideal that is Rizal? Or is “ideal” even in our consciousness? “Should Philippine society just ignore the killings (?),” Atty. Joey D. Lina, Former Senator, Manila Bulletin, 12th Dec 2016. But . . . “We are a narco-state,” Ma. Lourdes N. Tiquia, The Manila Times, 13th Dec 2016.

“It is disturbing to note that many view the victims as the expendable dregs of society who, in life, posed a constant menace to ordinary citizens. If they were killed with impunity, then so be it. As far as decent people are concerned, that is a public secret that is not worth talking about or investigating.

“What quickly come to mind in our case are the inconclusive reports from the recent Senate hearings on extrajudicial killings and the hitherto unheralded investigation conducted by the Department of Interior and Local Government. By failing to pinpoint responsibility, and, in the case of the Senate hearings . . . they may have unwittingly served the cause of impunity.” [The production of impunity, Randy David, Public Lives, Philippine Daily, Inquirer, 11th Dec 2016]

For example, “The National Bureau of Investigation has branded as murder the killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa by policemen. But the President has said none of the policemen will be punished. No mass denunciation of the President’s pronouncement was heard.

“When Martial Law is imposed once again, let us not ask how that happened. We are letting it happen.” [We are letting it happen, Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. To Take A Stand, Business World, 13th Dec 2016]

Why? “One looks to authority figures for help in obtaining a job. Benefits come by way of patronage and gift . . . The authority figure must be followed even when insisting on old-fashioned ideas.

“[T]he sacrifice of one’s individual needs for the . . . deference to authority . . . [was a] defining feature of the ‘psychology of Filipinos’.” [The psychology of Filipinos and the deep roots of authoritarianism and gender inequality, Rachel A.G. Reyes, The Manila Times, 13th Dec 2016]

On the other hand, a sense of purpose –  and meaning and values – is something the generation of this writer must learn? We’re the regional laggard for a reason: “Pinoy abilidad is overrated”? OFW remittances will compensate for underdevelopment then BPO – and now Federalism? For a people defined by “crab mentality” – and are parochial and insular – Machiavelli can only celebrate? It’s about the common good?

What about cause and effect – when we want to beat the symptoms of our woes black and blue? With due respect, we are a narco-state because we subordinated the rule of law to a culture of impunity? Impunity – on top of impunity – is the way to develop a sense of purpose and meaning and values? Did Marcos not execute a drug lord in Luneta to scare “the industry”?

But Marcos (amongst the world’s top ten most corrupt leaders) is a hero because if he didn’t declare martial law we would be communist by now? So let’s have Bongbong in Malacañang since we can’t have the father?

But the Du30 administration is in fact entertaining communism? Do we know freedom and democracy in the first place – before we entertain another system? Let’s start with the rule of law and free enterprise – as opposed to an oligarchic economy. They are pillars of freedom and democracy. In Clinton’s lingo, “It’s the economy, stupid.” And there is an Asian version, as in the Asian tigers?

While we remain the regional laggard? “$100-billion exports target getting more elusive,” Catherine Pillas, Business Mirror, 7th Dec 2016. “THE private organization Export Development Council (EDC) had been forced anew to scale down expectations of growth for the sector, this time projecting export receipts to finally breach the $100-billion mark by 2019.

“The EDC earlier set a more optimistic expectation of P92.1 billion in export revenues by end-2016 and $99 billion to $104 billion in 2017.”

With due respect, until we craft and put in place (and put oligarchy in check as South Korea did) a coherent industrialization initiative, we shall continue to set overly ambitious goals that will simply frustrate us: we reap what we sow.

And even more fundamental is for us to develop a sense of purpose and values because nation building is not a walk in the park. For instance, it demands a set of building blocks that would make up an ecosystem. Yet we believe the war on drugs is such a building block – when it is a symptom of a bigger problem?

Consider: “Economic forecasts for 2016-2018,” Romeo L. Bernardo, Introspective, Business World, 12th Dec 2016. “Expect the unexpected . . . Our unease has grown after observing the President’s decision-making habits, which do not appear to benefit fully from consultations with his cabinet or wider stakeholders.

“His capacity to create policy shocks on his own and his seemingly narrow focus on a handful of issues (mainly drugs, peace, security) translate into higher political risk that may adversely impact economic policy. The more immediate of which are the executive’s proposed tax reform package, still not yet filed in Congress, and the sought-for emergency powers for solving traffic congestion. It is also unclear whether and how the President’s own preferences would factor into resolving policy differences in areas where economics intersects with sector departments manned by crusaders, whose policy prescriptions may do more harm than good.”

“Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? And 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]

“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]

“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]