Excellence is a habit

Sadly, mediocrity is a habit too. And why the blog often distinguishes a vicious circle from a virtuous one. In other words, if we can’t connect the dots and mirror a sustainable ecosystem – as in how living things thrive – we are consigned to be the region’s pariah, aka the regional laggard.

There is a difference between inefficiency per se and a dysfunctional system. It explains why we take “quick fixes” for granted, especially given our hierarchical and paternalistic instincts. The master rules and the servant follow, end of the story.

Dualism isn’t how the world was founded, as in either/or, i.e., black or white. It is in living color, as the writer reminds his Eastern European friends. It comes from their unending stories from their past, the communist rule when they chose from two black and white propaganda TV channels. No wonder they found liberation when MTV arrived and saw Madonna performed in her quirky wardrobe.

“With digital technology advancing in leaps and bounds today, there is no reason why airlines can’t have better customer service. Something as necessary as communicating to the customer isn’t hard nor expensive to do.

“The situation is unacceptable. [Airlines] should be required to make it a practice to text or email their passengers of flight status or be penalized for failure to do so.

“Even if they are unable to provide certainty because they are waiting for government authorities to open the airport, they should still communicate and say so with a promise to text or email again.

“Our domestic airlines should drastically upgrade customer service by harnessing the latest technology. No justification for the information blackout I just experienced.” [“Customer service,” Boo Chanco, DEMAND AND SUPPLY, The Philippine Star, 17th Jan 2020]

“[W]hen I was eighty, Sam Vaughan, my Random House editor, sent me an article on the world’s great writers that didn’t get the Nobel, Tolstoy and Graham Greene among them. I have always admired Norman Mailer, expected him to get the Nobel, and when he died without winning it, all my hopes faded. 

“Now, being 95, I no longer dream of the Nobel, but I continue to dream, to long for the revolution that will finally bestow justice and prosperity to my unhappy country.

“But while I continue to dream, I am also constantly aware of the possibility that this dream may also fade. At a brilliant lecture recently at the Ateneo, Conchita Carpio Morales, former Ombudsman and chairman of the Akademyang Filipino, decried the rampant corruption that is corroding the very foundation of the nation. She named the Marcoses, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. And so, I asked her – why then are they back in power? She said, ‘that is the question I should ask the Filipino people.’

“Alas. In the end, we are our worst enemy.

“In her brilliant autobiography, Carmen Guerrero Nakpil concluded, ‘It’s all vanity.’ Sure, I wrote for I, myself and me, work is the law of life, and God knows I worked hard to please myself – yes, but also to give meaning to this mundane life. Sure, I also worked for others in the hope that our people will be free from poverty. Yet through all these years, that poverty has deepened, so has moral decay and apathy. God, we need that revolution now to end all these, and to ensure that this metastatic republic will survive and prevail.” [“Writing the revolution,” F. Sionil Jose, HINDSIGHT, The Philippine Star, 13th Jan 2020]

We are our worst enemy. And why the blog never tires of raising our instincts: We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism and rely on political patronage and oligarchy that ours is a culture of impunity. They make for the perfect storm that won’t leave the Philippines because we created a vicious circle. Yet, we take them as a given and thus pay the price: we are our worst enemy.

Sadly, parochialism is a blinder that keeps us from benchmarking – i.e., more nations are well ahead of us in civilization, progress, and development. What we see are the faults and inefficiencies even of the more advanced wealthy countries, and we conclude that we know better.

It reveals our perceptive judgment and our inability to distinguish inefficiency from a dysfunctional system, as in our structure does not work.

Consider: How many times have we attempted to undo the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution? Simply put, we can’t frame the challenge into a simple proposition: “getting the best of all worlds.”

Every time there is a foreign element to the equation, there is a red flag that stops us dead in our tracks. On the other hand, Lee, Mahathir, and Deng all embraced foreign money and technology.

And in many former Soviet satellite states, they sought the US military – think Ukraine and the Baltic states, among others – while we kicked them out.

How come we understand the global supply chain – and why we are an intermediate producer of electronics components – yet can’t come to grips with the imperative of foreign money and technology – in the pursuit of progress, as in industrialization, innovation, and global competitiveness? It explains why we can’t be a final product manufacturer like Vietnam and before them, China and the Asian Tigers.

Ergo: we can’t fathom what scale is like and how to leverage it and confine ourselves to MSMEs and livelihood undertakings that won’t suffice to raise the well-being of over one hundred million Filipinos. Even worse, the combined output of our top 8 listed companies in the Forbes list pales in comparison to one enterprise, that of Samsung Vietnam.

Parochialism robs us of the sense of community and the common good, which puts our professed Christianity to the test.

“Both Jesus and Paul passed on a collective and historical understanding of the nature of sin and evil. Yet, individuals still had to resist but in which they were usually complicit. Jesus and the prophets judged the city, nation, or group of people first, then the individual. That is no longer the starting point for many people, which leaves us morally impotent. We do not reproach our towns, our religion, or our nation, though Jesus did so regularly (Matthew 11:20-24; Luke 10:10-16).

“I hope that this recognition of Jesus’ and Paul’s emphasis on the cooperative nature of evil will increase both personal responsibility and human solidarity, instead of wasting time on feeling bad about ourselves, which helps nobody.

“Early Catholic moral theology taught that there were three prime sources of evil: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

“Yet, up to now, most Christians have placed almost all our attention on the ‘flesh’ level. We have had little education in or recognition of what Paul meant by ‘the principalities of the world’ and even less understanding of what he said by ‘the ruler who dominates the very air’ (Ephesians 6:12).” [Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, “Bigger Than Personal Moral Failure,” 14th Jan 2020]

Parochialism undermines our ability to foresee or forward-think. That is why the knee jerk and quick fixes are our response yet will always fall short considering our challenge, that of the perfect storm. The evidence? Why did we allow infrastructure development to bring us decades back? They reveal our sins of omissions and commissions.

“Here’s another ‘massive failure,’ on a different but no less consequential front, and likewise backed by telling numbers: According to the Commission on Audit, the government’s National Greening Program (NGP) missed a whopping 88.17 percent of its target within the covered years of 2011-2019.

“The NGP, the government’s biggest reforestation project, was launched in 2011 during the Aquino administration to jump-start the country’s recovery of forestlands. By then, the Philippines had already lost 60 percent of its total forest cover, with approximately only 6.84 million hectares of the 16.90 million hectares in 1934 remaining.

“The Forest Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had previously said the country loses about 47,000 hectares a year due to deforestation.

“The culprits? Illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming, and mining.

“Enter NGP, which aimed to regain 1.50 million hectares of forest lands by planting 1.50 billion trees within six years, or from 2011 to 2016. It was later extended into a long-term program to try to recover the entire Philippine forest cover.

“The DENR was given a total budget of P47.22 billion from 2011 to 2019 to implement the program. However, after eight years of implementation, the forest cover yielded a marginal increase of only 177,441 hectares — or 88.17 percent below the target of 1.50 million hectares.

“Even more interesting said COA, most of the forest gains were attributed to ‘natural growth’ that could have been due to the government’s moratorium order on logging, and not to deliberate reforestation efforts.

“The DENR appeared to have resorted to shortcuts that only sabotaged the program. In 2016, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies already advised the national government to review the NGP, particularly regarding the mix of tree species planted, as many were not always appropriate to the site.” [“Reforestation fail,” EDITORIAL, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 9th Jan 2020]

In the meantime, Indonesia continues to follow the footsteps of our other wealthier neighbors. Consider these recent news reports: (a) “Indonesia is spending $33 billion to move its capital from a sinking city to an island where forests have been burning,” Aria Bendix, Business Insider, 27th Aug 2019; and (b) “The most beautiful Indonesian island you’ve probably never heard of,” Ron Gluckman, CNBC, 16th Jan 2020.

“From the veranda of the Ayana Komodo Resort, a long wooden pier snakes into the rough sea off Waecicu Beach. At sunset, the sky explodes with hot showers of color. It’s a perfect picture for the Instagram Age, with dozens of delicious, chocolate-chip shaped islands sprinkled across the horizon.

“It’s part of a massive infusion of infrastructure designed to distinguish Flores from Indonesia’s other 18,000 islands, including the country’s most famous Bali island. Fittingly, the ambitious plan is called “Ten New Balis.”

“Announced by the Indonesian government in 2016, the plan was met with great fanfare — and for a good reason. Bali has become a global icon, attracting 40% of Indonesia’s foreign visitors, many who venture no farther.

“Progress is visible everywhere around Labuan Bajo. What was once a small fishing village is now supercharged with boom-town zeal and non-stop construction of restaurants and hotels.”

On the other hand, this is what we showcase to the world: “Construction sector loses as much as 35% of costs to corruption — economist,” Jenina P. Ibañez, Reuters, BusinessWorld, 9th Jan 2020.

“THE CONSTRUCTION industry spends as much as 35% of its costs on paying corrupt officials, higher than its profit, according to a think tank.

“Building companies allot 15% to 35% as ‘other costs of doing business,’ economist Ronilo M. Balbieran told an industry conference, referring to corruption.

‘Ask any contractor what your net profit rate is, they will all say 8% to 10%, maximum 15%,’ Mr. Balbieran, vice-president at REID Foundation, said.

“And then they will all tell you ‘something is happening out there’ — and how much is that? 15% to 35%,” he added, alluding to corruption.”

Indeed, mediocrity, like excellence is a habit.

Gising bayan!

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

“You have to have a dream, whether big or small. Then plan, focus, work hard, and be very determined to achieve your goals.” [Henry Sy Sr., Chairman Emeritus and Founder, SM Group (1924 - 2019)]

“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]