Impunity to the nth degree

How are we as a people responding to our reality? Here’s a promising one, “[T]he menace of illegal drugs is real and destructive … Let us save the lives of people most people vulnerable to drug dependency: the youth, the poor and unemployed. Words of solidarity without tears and acts of compassion are cheap.

“But my own personal interpretation is that Cardinal Tagle’s main message is a request for unity and a national dialogue. He writes: ‘Let us invite families, national government agencies, local government units, people’s organizations, schools, faith based communities, the medical profession, the police and military, recovering addicts, etc. to come together.’ He then makes this offer: ‘The Archdiocese of Manila would be willing to host such a multi-sectoral dialogue.’” [Spare a Life, Elfren S. Cruz, BREAKTHROUGH, The Philippine Star, 24th Aug 2017]

What if we look outward, say, to South Korea? How are they dealing with impunity? “Samsung Heir Is Found Guilty of Corruption in Blockbuster Trial,” Jeyup S. Kwaak and Paul Mozur, The New York Times, 25th Aug 2017.

“Public perception in South Korea toward the country’s biggest family-controlled business empires has changed in recent years as scandals have mounted and as the economy has matured, making them less appealing in an era of entrepreneurship and start-ups. In the wake of the corruption scandal — which led to the impeachment of Ms. Park — the current president, Moon Jae-in, campaigned on holding South Korea’s corporate empires to account.

‘We hope this will be the first step in cutting the stubborn ties of corruption between politics and business, which has been a roadblock to progress in our society,’ said Yoon Young-chan, senior secretary at the Blue House, the South Korean president’s executive office and residence.”

That is not to say that the effort of Cardinal Tagle for a multi-sectoral dialogue is not to be applauded. We as a people must seize the opportunity and actively participate in undertakings meant to move PH forward – which is the object of the post and the blog’s reason for being – going 8 years … and counting.

Likewise, we must recognize and acknowledge that our culture of impunity demands of the Filipino people to transform. Otherwise our seventy-year old problem of underdevelopment – and the poverty that comes with it, and worse, being the laughingstock of the region, if not the world – shall define what and who we truly are: “mahinang klase, hindi de kalidad.”

Consider: What is the flipside of our high-growth economy? That we are the OFW-economy, and they include graduate nurses and teachers that realized to be maids and servants overseas was the best option to support the needs of their families. And why the blog has discussed the implication of our worldview, i.e., “a foolish man builds upon the sand”!

Yet we celebrate it … with a little help from Forbes, “Duterte’s infrastructure dev’t drive impacts Philippine tycoons’ fortunes,” re Krista A. M. Montealegre, BusinessWorld, 25th Aug 2017. “HENRY SY, Sr. of the SM Group has remained the country’s wealthiest man on the ForbesPhilippines’ 50 Richest List for the tenth straight year, with the economic policy of President Rodrigo R. Duterte playing part in dictating the fortunes of the country’s business magnates.

“Eighteen Filipino billionaires led by Mr. Sy made it to the elite club this year, down from 21 in 2016, as half of the country’s top 50 tycoons saw their net worths take a hit because of the flat performance of the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index and the weakness of the peso against the US dollar, Forbes said in a statement.”

While we may be concerned about the weakness of the peso, what about the weakness of our character? Who can we still believe? On one hand, “Paolo never asked for special favors,” Manila Standard, 25th Aug 2017; on the other, “Lacson’s son is a smuggler,” William Depasupil, The Manila Times, 25th Aug 2017.

And consider: “Peace and order situation worries foreign investors,” Roy Stephen C. Canivel, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 24th Aug 2017. But we have Build, Build, Build – though that is to brush aside its own flipside: “After the infra projects, what (?),” Raul J. Palabrica, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 14th Aug 2017. “While it is true that these projects, once completed, would create some economic activities in their peripheries, e.g., mom-and-pop stores and service outlets, these are not the types of businesses that would make the projects worth the money spent on them.

“These projects deserve something more substantive than small and medium scale enterprises or activities that are in the league of export processing zones that can generate thousands of long-term jobs.”

For example, “Arangkada forum to explore PHL industrialization,” Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan, BusinessWorld, 24th Aug 2017. “[T]he JFC said that it will take on issues like opening up foreign investment, boosting value-added merchandise exports, incentivizing agriculture growth, tourism, infrastructure, mining, as well as the expansion of the BPO industry.

“The basis for economic growth is currently narrow, according to Julian H. Payne, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, as its drivers remain to be the BPO industry and overseas remittances ... ‘To join the ranks of all the industrialized countries, you’re going to have to diversify the economy considerably. That means really picking up agriculture, really picking up manufacturing, and diversifying it geographically,’ he said.

“Benjie Garcia, executive director of the Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Philippines, Inc. (ANZCHAM) for his part, said that the Philippine BPO sector has reached maturity, raising the need to attract new investors and retain those currently here ... ‘They added that BPO firms should also look into developing capacity in the non-voice and knowledge sector, noting increasing competition within the region.

“Mr. Payne … called for increased infrastructure and technology to accommodate small-scale family farms and help them evolve to more efficient commercial operations. ‘I don’t think we’re going to be able to make huge progress in agriculture without addressing the need for larger, more efficient farming operations with appropriate infrastructure,’ Mr. Payne said.

“The business groups also said that backward and forward integration is the ‘key to success’ in the mining industry, and urged the government to open refineries that will process extracted minerals, enabling the industry to capture more value added. ‘If you want to develop mining, you have to develop in parallel an open environment to foreign investments to manufacturing, and encourage manufacturing,’ Mr. Payne said.”

But why aren’t we truly open to foreign investments? “Senator Manny Villar says oligarchy is the reason why attempts to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution have failed – three presidents (Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) tried to amend the Constitution in the past 15 years, to no avail.

‘We’re still an oligarchy run by a few families,’ Villar says. ‘They’re happy with the present setup now and they will not allow the Constitution to be tampered with.’

‘The media, from what I’ve seen, is also controlled by groups that do not want to change the Constitution,’ the former Senate president adds. ‘And that is why any proposal [to amend the Constitution] will be killed right away.’” [Filipinos to remain at the mercy of oligarchs, Nick Legaspi, Third World Resurgence No. 251/252, July/August 2011, pp 3-5]

What can we learn from South Korea, again? “We hope this will be the first step in cutting the stubborn ties of corruption between politics and business, which has been a roadblock to progress in our society.”

And as the blog has argued, the impunity we live with is a consequence of our way of life: Parochial and insular; hierarchical and paternalistic; political patronage and dynasties; and oligarchic.

Can we transform Juan de la Cruz? For instance, the Dalai Lama goes beyond religion and into education. Which explains why he engages in dialogues with scientists – religion cannot be a barrier in the search of truth, as he would explain. Simply put, he is not an ideologue. Which we can also say of Francis, and why elements within the Curia can’t stand him? Yet Pope Pius XI established the Pontifical Academy of Sciences – learning a lesson after the Roman Inquisition wronged Galileo. Did Padre Damaso wrong Juan de la Cruz too?

How much science should the Philippine Church promote a la the Pontifical Academy of Sciences? Recall the Philippines – the only Christian nation in the region – “lags in Asian university rankings.”

To recap: We can build on Neda’s AmBisyon Natin 2040 and a good starting point is to answer the questions: (a) Where are we? (b) Where do we want to be? (c) How do we get there?

“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]

“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.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]

“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” [William Pollard, 1911-1989, physicist-priest, Manhattan Project]

“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]

Like a carousel, PH is running ‘round in circles …

We have a seventy-year old problem, do we need adult supervision? “All right, so maybe we should be allowed to pop some corks. But after we’re done congratulating ourselves, the question to confront is whether the episode can be sustained.

“After all … growth accelerations are not as rare as one might think … [F]or example, Thailand had two episodes of growth acceleration (1957, 1986), as did Indonesia (1967, 1987), Malaysia (1970, 1988), South Korea (1962, 1984), and China (1978, 1990).

“[China] could add a few more, and an early one could probably be booked for Vietnam as well (1989). The Philippines is an outlier in that it took almost seventy years before it experienced the current — and only — one.”

“[T]he real question is whether the current direction of ‘Dutertenomics’ protects the economy against a possible collapse or renders it more vulnerable … That’s where the picture becomes decidedly mixed — or one might say, clearly murky. Even as we mark a completed growth-acceleration episode, the ‘change that is coming’ in its wake is unsettling.

“Until recently, a current-account surplus — even in the face of rapid growth — used to distinguish us from neighbors like Vietnam, Indonesia, and even India.

“Now however the country is about to experience its first current-account deficit in 15 years and anticipates a balance of payments deficit to boot. No surprise, therefore, that the peso has depreciated to its lowest level in more than a decade, well out of line with its peers and global trends.

“But this trend has been encouraged by the administration’s own fiscal signals. (Remember the twin-deficit formula.) It has clearly announced its willingness to widen the fiscal deficit to as much as 5% of GDP.

“At the same time, it seeks to convince Congress to raise new taxes to support an ambitious infrastructure plan — which is itself bogged down in ‘absorptive capacity’ problems (Gerry Sicat) alias ‘execution problems’ (Boo Chanco) involving procurement, right of way, and inadequate planning and design skills in government.

“Let’s see, so on the one hand, the Dutertenomists have indicated their willingness to loosen the purse strings, even as they signal (no, demand) that new funds shall be forthcoming … Meanwhile, it is common knowledge that actual infrastructure spending will inevitably fall short of what is planned.

“The predictable effect is to encourage populist proposals in aid of election or patronage: free irrigation, free college tuition (et tu, Bam Aquino!), increased retirement pensions, new rice subsidies to 4P beneficiaries and to uniformed personnel and so on — not to mention fat unaudited intelligence funds to reward those incorruptible and human rights-loving police.

“To be sure, none of these events or doubts is likely to be fatal in a single year. But can or will these directions be sustained over six to eight more years? One cannot help wondering then if Dutertenomics has not started out on the wrong foot.

“What if the Dutertenomists had focused instead on improving the investment climate, particularly direct foreign investment? What if, rather than antagonizing the US, the EU, and the UN, the administration had instead simply reaffirmed its traditional economic and political partnerships, even as it vigorously encouraged trade and investment deals with new actors like China and Russia?” [Growth accelerations, Emmanuel S. de Dios, Introspective, BusinessWorld, 21st Aug 2017]

“Constitutional amendments needed to boost FDI,” Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan, BusinessWorld, 18th Aug 2017. There we go again … how long have we been talking about amending the Constitution? Do we look like a carousel that just keeps running ‘round in circles?

“THE GOVERNMENT needs to amend the constitution to open up industries currently restricted from foreign participation, to unleash the economy’s full growth potential, economists said.

“[F]ormer Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cielito F. Habito said that efforts to open up new sectors for foreign direct investment (FDI) require comprehensive efforts to amend the charter, noting that current tweaks to redefine ‘Public utilities’ to allow more FDI will have only a temporary impact.

“The reason we continue to lag behind our neighbors, despite dramatic improvements already made, is still because of these legal constraints to more foreign participation in our industries.” [Tubayan, op. cit.]

“[W]hat if — rather than pursue the ‘war on drugs’ — they had immediately resumed and championed the Bangsamoro peace process and ratified the Bangsamoro basic law?

“Would we then have seen a stronger, more varied wave of foreign direct investments that could have covered the incipient deficits in the current account and the BoP?” [de Dios, op. cit.]

“President Duterte has had the majority of the people at his back since the beginning of his war against illegal drugs. Even while sometimes expressing great apprehension at the methods used and, more specifically, the conduct of the police, strong support has been reasonably consistent during the past year.

“The shooting to death by the police of Kian Loyd Delos Santos may be the turning point in the people’s trust of Duterte and his policies.

“Malacañang better realize very quickly that a failure of trust about the war on drugs will negatively affect the public’s view about all of the president’s initiatives, from foreign policy to local transportation. A lack of trust in a person is not confined to the immediate matter at hand. If a company cannot trust an executive about a small expense account item, can it trust that same person not to reveal trade secrets?

“Presidential Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella, describing the killing as an ‘isolated’ incident, is, perhaps, the weakest possible answer to this potential crisis of trust and confidence. The next few days and weeks, as the investigation into the killing continues, may well determine what the next five years of the relationship between the President and the people will be and whether his presidency will be a success.

“The President and his advisors are at a crossroads. Any indication of a lack of transparency in the investigation or attempts to diminish the seriousness of this potential crime will be met with increasing outrage. Someone once said, ‘Trust is like a vase. Once it is broken, though you can fix it, the vase will never be the same again’.” [Losing trust, BusinessMirror, Editorial, 21st Aug 2017]

Don’t we take pride in our being the only Christian nation in the region – the solitary country without divorce, and takes reproductive health as evil? How could we for a moment imagine that EJK exemplifies our values?

Didn’t we say “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” … in the case of Marcos? Yet we are poised to add insult to injury, setting the stage for Bongbong Marcos to assume the throne? Who cares if this family fits the PH culture of impunity to a tee?

Like a carousel, PH is running ‘round in circles … We have a seventy-year old problem, we do need adult supervision? Could we learn from the Joint Chiefs despite the US president being the commander-in-chief? Not if we can’t toss our leader-dependency and subservience, a consequence of our hierarchical and paternalistic instincts?

“They were speaking directly to the force and to the American people: to the force to make clear that that kind of racism and bigotry is not going to stand inside the force. And to the American people, to remind them of the values for which we stand in the U.S. military, which are reflective of the values of the United States.

[In other words, the Joint Chiefs are providing the 71-year old boy occupant of the White House adult supervision.]

“It's rare for active high-ranking members of the military to engage in political statements, and especially to publicly appear to distance themselves from the president.” [Joint Chiefs Denounce Racism After Trump's Comments, James Doubek, npr.com, 17th Aug 2017] 

If such is a rarity even in America, recall that in a previous post the blog spoke to transformation. And the Dalai Lama comes to mind. Can we instead learn to turn away from our self-regard and wipe the tears from the eyes of another – as in community and the common good? Our inward-looking bias makes it counter-intuitive, but it’s the true secret to joy per His Holiness and Archbishop Tutu. [The Book of Joy, with Douglas Abrams; Penguin Random House]

“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]

“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.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]

“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” [William Pollard, 1911-1989, physicist-priest, Manhattan Project]

“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]

The elite class holds the key to the transformation of Juan de la Cruz

Translation: We are a disaster waiting to happen because the elite class is not predisposed to change – given we cherish that we belong? “If people keep growing, their various false selves usually die in exposure to greater light. That is, if they ever let greater light get in; many do not.” [What Is the False Self (?), Richard Rohr’s Daily Mediation, 7th Aug 2017]

Let’s start with education – which in more ways than one explains how we stitch up institutional failures. Where do we stand? And do our actuations reflect our standing? We still believe that we are God’s gift to mankind? “Philippines lags in Asian university rankings,” Janvic Mateo, philstar.com, 16th Mar 2017. Unsurprisingly, those of us that can afford, do send our kids to the West. And why should we send them to local schools? Yet, we’re the ones not predisposed to transformation? [More to the point, we need more than the K-12 initiative, for instance. See below re our culture of impunity. It explains why whether in the regional or global arena we’re in a downward if not death spiral. And consider what Einstein says about education: It is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think.]

“The ranking is based on 13 performance indicators grouped into five areas: teaching (the learning environment), research (volume, income and reputation), citations (research influence), international outlook (staff, students and research) and industry income (knowledge transfer) … [T]he Philippines was not included in the countries identified to have the potential to follow the footsteps of Asian higher education powerhouses such as China and South Korea.” [Mateo, op. cit.]

But do our actuations square with reality? “My spirits were … buoyed when Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said that “build, build, build” was about not only infrastructure but also human capital.” [Unity of purpose now, Peter Angelo V. Perfecto, Business Matters, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 12th Aug 2017]

What is reality? “Execution problem,” Boo Chanco, DEMAND AND SUPPLY, The Philippine Star, 14th Aug 2017. We have a habit of electing officials who talk big, encourage us to dream big, but fail to deliver. They seem to think that their only obligation is to make feasibility studies. Never mind implementation or execution. That’s why they call their programs, The Dream Plan.

“I just came upon a memo dated April 11, 1995 jointly signed by then DTI sec. Rizalino Navarro and then finance secretary Roberto de Ocampo that suggested we should have had a new international airport at Clark 20 years ago. That’s right – two decades ago. That Navarro and de Ocampo memo was approved by FVR May 18, 1995.”

Recall a recent post re sub-optimization … and here is another example: ‘Outages’ send tourists packing, Robert A. Evora, Manila Standard, 14th Aug 2017. “[Puerto Galera Mayor Rockey] Ilagan lashed out at [Ormeco general manager Pat] Panagsagan and NPC manager Maximo de los Reyes for ‘holding the town hostage’ since they just announced in a recent public consultation that the 69 kv rehabilitation was approved since last February.

“In between the months of February and July or for six months, Ormeco and NPC did not tell Puerto Galera officials that there would be a major rehabilitation of the 69 kv line that would affect power delivery in the municipality.”

And what about something truly mind-boggling? Or have we already turned callous and blasé? “P25-B discrepancy in Malampaya Fund,”EDITORIAL, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 14th Aug 2017. “It seems that the multibillion-peso Malampaya Fund will never be free of controversy. Four years ago, former president Gloria Arroyo and her top officials were charged with plunder for the reported diversion of P900 million in Malampaya money meant for typhoon victims to bogus foundations of alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.

“Three members of then President Benigno Aquino III’s economic team also faced graft charges at the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly failing to account for P136 billion worth of royalties from the Malampaya natural gas project.”

What is our saving grace? “Not too late for manufacturing (Part I),” Bernardo M. Villegas, Manila Bulletin, 13th Aug 2017. “One of the worst consequences of the Philippine economy descending to the level of ‘the sick man of Asia’ in the last century was the lackluster performance of its manufacturing sector … This weakness of the Philippine economy was highlighted in a Special Report of the Hong Kong-based think tank CLSA entitled ‘Quest for a champion:  ASEAN manufacturers.’ 

“The Philippines was readily discarded as a potential winner because of its past poor performance in this important part of the industrial sector (which comprises in addition to manufacturing such other sectors as mining, construction, and public utility).

“The contest, though, remains open; the country that resists protectionism and opens its economy fully to trade and foreign investment will ultimately be champion.”

But can we resist protectionism and open PH economy fully to trade and foreign investment? As the blog has argued, ours is a culture of impunity, the outcome of our way of life: Parochial and insular; hierarchical and paternalistic; political patronage and dynasties; and oligarchic. And they kill inquisitiveness, imagination and creativity.

And that is why we’re not even in the game. But because we’re between a rock and a hard place, we must do our homework. Take this classic article, for instance: “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail,” John P. Kotter, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1995.

“Over the past decade, I have watched more than 100 companies try to remake themselves into significantly better competitors. They have included large organizations (Ford) and small ones (Landmark Communications), companies based in the United States (General Motors) and elsewhere (British Airways), corporations that were on their knees (Eastern Airlines), and companies that were earning good money (Bristol-Myers Squibb). These efforts have gone under many banners: total quality management, reengineering, right sizing, restructuring, cultural change, and turnaround. But, in almost every case, the basic goal has been the same: to make fundamental changes in how business is conducted in order to help cope with a new, more challenging market environment.

“A few of these corporate change efforts have been very successful. A few have been utter failures. Most fall somewhere in between, with a distinct tilt toward the lower end of the scale. The lessons that can be drawn are interesting and will probably be relevant to even more organizations in the increasingly competitive business environment of the coming decade.

“The most general lesson to be learned from the more successful cases is that the change process goes through a series of phases that, in total, usually require a considerable length of time. Skipping steps creates only the illusion of speed and never produces a satisfying result. A second very general lesson is that critical mistakes in any of the phases can have a devastating impact, slowing momentum and negating hard-won gains.

“Perhaps because we have relatively little experience in renewing organizations, even very capable people often make at least one big error. [And among them …]

“(1) Not Establishing a Great Enough Sense of Urgency; (2) Not Creating a Powerful Enough Guiding Coalition [Major renewal programs often start with just one or two people. In cases of successful transformation efforts, the leadership coalition grows and grows over time]; (3) Lacking a Vision; (4) Under communicating the Vision by a Factor of Ten; (5) Not Removing Obstacles to the New Vision; (6) Not Systematically Planning For and Creating Short-Term Wins; (7) Declaring Victory Too Soon; (8) Not Anchoring Changes in the Corporation’s Culture [In the final analysis, change sticks when it becomes ‘the way we do things around here,’ when it seeps into the bloodstream of the corporate body. Until new behaviors are rooted in social norms and shared values, they are subject to degradation as soon as the pressure for change is removed.]”

Why are we a disaster waiting to happen? Beyond our culture of impunity, consider: (a) we lack the sense of urgency; (b) foresight is not in our bag of tricks that we can’t formulate and agree on a vision and be focused and engaged; (c) we can’t anticipate and banish obstacles to change; (d) we don’t prioritize and seek quick wins and get the biggest bang for the buck to boost our confidence in the change efforts; (e) we like to declare victory prematurely; (f) we can’t internalize the imperative of change especially when outside our comfort zones.

“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]

“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.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]

“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” [William Pollard, 1911-1989, physicist-priest, Manhattan Project]

“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]

Sub-optimization mindset behind PH underdevelopment

“Sub-optimization is a situation where a process, procedure, or system yields less than the best possible outcome or output, caused by a lack of best possible coordination between different components, elements, parts, etc.” [businessdictionary.com]

This is not the first time the blog raised sub-optimization – aka “pwede na ‘yan” – as a barrier to PH growth and development. And it boils down to our inability to demonstrate foresight – and why community and the common good is alien to us.

“But as the old Bob Dylan song goes, the times are a-changin’. There are at least four trends [(a) unemployment rate; (b) deployment of OFWs has slowed down; (c) quality of domestic jobs improving; (d) the economy is growing on a broader base, both on the supply and demand sides] in the economic data that suggest growth is getting more inclusive, and benefiting a wider range of our people, including the poor … These are indeed clear signs of more inclusive growth. We must have been doing something right in the past several years. Whatever it was, we need to keep doing more of it.” [Inclusive growth is finally happening, Cielito F. Habito, NO FREE LUNCH, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8th Aug 2017]

In other words, given OFW remittances and the BPO industry bring roughly $50-B or 17% of the economy, we must be doing something right. And we need to keep doing more of it.

A consumption economy (that accounts for 73% of GDP) like ours generates what economists call the multiplier effect of investment – though not to the extent an investment economy does – and at the end of the day, it explains why the economy has been growing in the 6%-7% range; as well as our lead in industrial production growth of 8.4%, against Vietnam’s 83% of PH, Malaysia – 50%, Indonesia – 42%, Thailand – 37%.

Oishi, Jack ‘n Jill and Jollibee (foods) and Islander (flip-flops) are popular, successful and growing Philippine brands and businesses, to name just a few, and they benefit from our consumption economy – and are among those behind the uptick in investment. Although Islander can learn from the others by thinking regional, if not global, and compete against global brands like Havaianas.

As the blog has argued, we must learn to look outward and forward, not keep to our backward, parochial and insular instincts. Take investment in fixed capital which represents the supply side of the economy, how do we compare against our neighbors? Ours stand at 22.3% of GDP while Thailand is 108% greater than PH; Vietnam – 115%; Malaysia – 117%; Indonesia – 148%.

That is what the blog means when it talks about our need to rapidly erect an economic platform that is world-class – i.e., to overcome decades of deficits in infrastructure development, industrialization and innovation and competitiveness.

Figure out if indeed ours is an inclusive economy given our income per person (GDP at PPP) which stands at $7,700 when Indonesia is 152% better than PH; Thailand – 218%; Malaysia – 353%. And we cannot celebrate that Vietnam is behind us at 83%. Vietnam beats us in FDI (183% more) and exports (443% greater) and the compounding effect will leave us in the dust.

Those are staggering numbers that we must overcome and they explain why it will take a generation even at 7% GDP growth for PH to truly be an inclusive economy. And that is assuming we get our act together to keep that pace of growth. And the blog has pointed out the obvious: the generation of the writer is toast!

Consider: “The flow of Japanese investments has started to slow down in the Philippines, blamed partly on certain policy changes such as the government’s pivot to China and Russia.

“Preliminary data from the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) showed Japan’s outward foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Philippines plunged 56.6 percent in the first five months of the year to $561 million.

“On the other hand, Japan’s FDI in other Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore increased by double digits in the same period.” [Japan investments plunge 57%, Richmond Mercurio, The Philippine Star, 8th Aug 2017]

In other words, for a guy playing catch up, we truly know how to mess things up. Consider too: “Is MRT 3 hopeless (?),” Boo Chanco, DEMAND AND SUPPLY, The Philippine Star, 11th Aug 2017.

“That visit to Clark and the news that BCDA’s Vince Dizon is all set to bid out construction of the airport very soon is good news. Vince PMed me to say that the ‘Terms of Reference’ or ‘TOR’ will be released this week. Interest has been expressed by 12 parties, all foreign and with experience in building airports. 

“More specifically, the pre-bid conference is set for Aug 22; opening of bids on Oct. 28 (two months to prepare proposals); award to be made on Nov. 28; groundbreaking on Dec. 19 and first quarter 2020 for turnover of the facility. Since it will be on a turn-key basis, there will be no money problems to delay execution.

“Back in Manila, it is back to reality. Is the MRT-3 hopeless?  A recent column of my colleague, Jarius Bondoc, seems to indicate it is. Our last hope, the new Chinese-made trains, is a no-go.

‘The 48 coaches from China bought by former DOTC Sec Jun Abaya at the cost of P3.8-billion in 2013 is a total waste. Jarius reported that the coaches are 3,300 tons too heavy. Specifications were for a weight of 46,300 tons for the 48 coaches. What the Chinese manufacturer delivered totaled 49,600 tons.

‘The new units cannot be driven up the hundred-million-peso jack for periodic inspection and upkeep of the bogey frames, wheels, and brakes. There is no space at the depot to install a new jack just for the faulty trains. Mechanics have no elbowroom to repair or replace crucial under-chassis parts.

“I suppose this means they are back to square one.”

“Here's why your attitude is more important than your intelligence,” Dr. Travis Bradberry, World Economic Forum, Industry Agenda, 9th Aug 2017; Dr. Travis Bradberry is Coauthor of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 2.

“When it comes to success, it’s easy to think that people blessed with brains are inevitably going to leave the rest of us in the dust. But new research from Stanford University will change your mind (and your attitude).

“Psychologist Carol Dweck has spent her entire career studying attitude and performance, and her latest study shows that your attitude is a better predictor of your success than your IQ. Dweck found that people’s core attitudes fall into one of two categories: a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

“With a fixed mindset, you believe you are who you are and you cannot change. This creates problems when you’re challenged because anything that appears to be more than you can handle is bound to make you feel hopeless and overwhelmed.

“People with a growth mindset believe that they can improve with effort. They outperform those with a fixed mindset, even when they have a lower IQ, because they embrace challenges, treating them as opportunities to learn something new.”

This is not the first time the blog spoke to the growth mindset. In our case, do we in fact value being static as opposed to dynamic? We appear to be in the Benedict camp, does it mean we don’t buy the theology of Francis?

“What Is the False Self (?),” Richard Rohr’s Daily Mediation, 7th Aug 2017. “Your egoic false self is who you think you are, but your thinking does not make it true. Your false self is a social and mental construct to get you started on your life journey … It is largely defined in distinction from others, precisely as your separate and unique self. It is probably necessary to get started, but it becomes problematic when you stop there and spend the rest of your life promoting and protecting it.

“Jesus would call your false self your ‘wineskin,’ which he points out is only helpful insofar as it can contain some good and new wine. He says that ‘old wineskins’ cannot hold any new wine; in fact, ‘they burst and both the skins and the wine are lost’ (Luke 5:37-38). This is a quite telling and wise metaphor, revealing Jesus’ bias toward growth and change. ‘The old wine is good enough’ (Luke 5:39), says the man or woman set in their ways.

“The false self, which we might also call the ‘small self,’ is merely your launching pad: your appearance, your education, your job, your money, your success, and so on. These are the trappings of ego that help you get through an ordinary day.

“Please understand that your false self is not bad or inherently deceitful. Your false self is actually quite good and necessary as far as it goes. It just does not go far enough, and it often poses and thus substitutes for the real thing.

“The false self is bogus more than bad; it pretends to be more than it is … If people keep growing, their various false selves usually die in exposure to greater light. That is, if they ever let greater light get in; many do not.”

“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]

“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.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]

“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” [William Pollard, 1911-1989, physicist-priest, Manhattan Project]

“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]