Foresight is what makes man the superior creature. That it has eluded us explains why PH is the regional laggard – poor and underdeveloped. On the other hand, “pwede na ‘yan” makes us able to rationalize why the world has left us behind? Or is there something else?
Consider: “[S]ociety is structured by elites to preserve their privilege. Beliefs and culture are part of the structure elites use to preserve that inequality. This led … to the assumption that your beliefs are determined by your group’s privilege or lack of privilege, by where your group is within the power structure.” [“Speaking as a white male, David Brooks, The New York Times, 22nd Mar 2018]
Does it explain why ours is a perfect storm? “The reality is that this country is controlled and run by oligarchs in cahoots with political dynasts … It is an archipelago of 7,107 islands, and an oligarchipelago of 100 ruling families. Business oligarchs and political dynasties have combined to turn the opportunity of becoming a democracy into creating a full- blown plutocracy.
“By conflating the word ‘oligarchy’ and the word ‘archipelago’ … gives us a neologism to help us comprehend quickly the true situation of our people and our country today.” [Has the Philippines become an oligarchipelago(?), Yen Makabenta, The Manila Times, 6th Aug 2016]
Question: Why is there no hard-nosed effort to drive industrialization instead of aspiring to be the gambling mecca, for example? Think Arangkada. In the meantime, we are proud of PH tourism. Yet …
“There is a very telling photo of Boracay that captures its problem. It shows Boracay from the air, looking like any neighborhood in Kyusi or Pasay or Mandaluyong. No one would have guessed it is the most beautiful island in the world.” [Carrying capacity, Boo Chanco, The Philippine Star, 23rd Mar 2018]
“Government allowed anyone who wanted to exploit the island to just take what they can for as long as they could. The day of reckoning has come.
“Bhutan does not officially limit the number of tourists they allow into the country, but they have instituted policies that go for quality than quantity... high value, but low impact. Their annual number of visitors is just about 100,000 … The slow increase of tourism has allowed infrastructure to grow accordingly, without destroying the environment…”
When it rains, it pours. Consider: “Baguio will soon be dead, Mary Ann Ll. Reyes,” HIDDEN AGENDA, The Philippine Star, 25th Mar 2018.
“But why stop at sea-based tourism hotspots? Baguio, the foremost land-based tourist destination in the Philippines, is another example of how the absence of an environmentally sound masterplan can lead to urban decay.
“Baguio, the Philippines’ summer capital, has a capacity of 20,000 inhabitants but due to influx of migrants and tourists, it now has a daytime population of about 400,000, which can balloon to more than 1.5 million during the Panagbenga Flower Festival.
“Traffic, which is already bad, worsens so that a typical 15-minute ride could stretch to more than an hour … We haven’t even discussed the problem of lack of adequate water supply, garbage, pollution, wanton and illegal cutting of trees …, a seemingly never-ending levelling of mountain slopes to build hotels and condominiums …, air and noise pollution, overpopulation, among others. The list goes on and on.”
And when we go down south the picture isn’t any different. “THIS year’s first full council meeting of the Regional Development Council of Central Visayas (Region 7) had its moment of drama when Cebu City North District Rep. Raul del Mar walked out in protest over the fate of his proposed infrastructure projects.
“Three underpass projects—worth a total of P16 billion—that the veteran congressman wanted undertaken in his district, were not endorsed by the RDC. Instead, the council recommended that the projects be subjected to further feasibility studies.” [Fixing Metro Cebu’s traffic, Marit Stinus-Cabugon, The Manila Times, 26th Mar 2018]
And here’s a view of our perfect storm: Over 22.5 million Filipinos represent our 21.6% poverty rate. To appreciate how staggering the number is, they outnumber the total population of three of these nations: Australia = 23,232,413; Chile = 17,789,267; Netherlands = 17,084,719; Romania = 21,529,967.
What to do? “How then must we proceed in the next five decades? Two basic guidelines to follow, and these are: Instead of simply complaining about our dynastic, semi-feudal politics, with a perennial tendency towards rule by strong personalities and unified control by populist politicians, we can roll up our sleeves so that in every public sector institution — whether it is a national government agency or local government unit — we get leaders with a commitment to the public welfare; who insist on participatory involvement of stakeholders; and who abide by the demands of accountability and transparency. Moreover, such leaders must aim for transformative changes through the enterprises they lead and serve.
“Instead of constantly sniping against the immense control of a few personalities over increasing swaths of the economy, we work towards ensuring that entry into business sectors and industries remains open; that competitive rules of the game are strictly enforced; and we keep virtually all sectors of the economy open to competitive economic agents, whether local or foreign, who wish to take reasonable risks in our economy.
“These two basic guidelines sound like pie in the sky. They really are. But the good news is that these pies have been brought down from the sky in many instances, and they have been made to work in more instances that we care to admit.” [From weak internal systems, Dr. Jesus P. Estanislao, Manila Bulletin, 23rd Mar 2018]
What does it say about the war on drugs and the debate re government system? Recall the world drastically reduced poverty despite contradictory government systems when nations opened their economies. Are we barking at the wrong tree? Consider: “Bill Gates tells Nigerian leaders to ‘face facts’ so they can make progress,” David McKenzie and Brent Swails, CNN, 26th Mar 2018. “Nigeria is routinely rated as one of the most corrupt nations on the globe.”
Foresight allows us to imagine and visualize and be ahead of the curve. And it informs our ability to describe our concept of the future. And Bhutan appears to demonstrate what foresight is as well as the notion of their future in tourism. Foresight and perception are critical if there is to be coherence in our own efforts to move forward as a nation. And the challenge is magnified in this age of disruption – aka the 21st century.
To quote from an earlier post, “Democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Yet it is not anarchy but community and the common good. It is a dynamic tension that passiveness and subservience on the part of Juan de la Cruz is unpatriotic – if that is the language that resonates to us.
“On the other hand, leadership demands foresight and the commitment to take Juan de la Cruz where he has never been before. In the case of the Asian Tigers, their leaderships were forward-looking – they had visions of being first-world nations – and figured out how to traverse the journey from poverty to prosperity.
“The dynamic of a successful enterprise calls for: (a) a forward-looking leadership with a strong sense of foresight; and (b) a people that is committed to the responsibility and accountability inherent in freedom and democracy, including active involvement in institution-building.”
In America people in rural communities – where Trump won the presidency via the Electoral College – feel left behind. And so, “A Princeton sociologist spent 8 years asking rural Americans why they’re so pissed off,” Sean Illing, vox.com, 13th Mar 2018.
“They recognize themselves as being left behind because, in fact, they are the ones in their family and in their social networks who did stay where they were. Most of the people … grew up in the small town they currently live in, or some other small town nearby. Often their children have already left …
“In that sense, they believe, quite correctly, that they’re the ones who stayed in these small towns while young people — and really the country as a whole — moved on … [M]any of the people [express] nostalgia for a bygone world or a world that probably never really existed in the first place.
“Yes, the world has changed; it’s always changing. And the sense of loss some people feel … is understandable … but at some point, we have to acknowledge that culture evolves and stop trying to unwind the historical clock.”
We Pinoys must likewise recognize that time marches on. And PH will be characterized by incoherence, unable to demonstrate foresight and define our concept of the PH future if “pwede na ‘yan” is our default-setting. Winners radiate dynamism. Its absence explains much of our poverty.
“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]
“Now I know why Paul dared to speak of ‘the curse of the law’ (Galatians 3:13). Law reigns and discernment is unnecessary, which means there is little growth or change in such people. When you do not grow, you remain an infant.” [Faith and Science, Open to Change, Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, 23rd Oct 2017]
“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]
No comments:
Post a Comment