We can’t perpetually be in denial

We are too weak and unprepared for the 21st century.

And, for the 2020 pandemic. Of course, even America is unprepared. Except that they can print money to the tune of $2 trillion – the “biggest” relief package in American history, says the NY Times – to fight the pandemic.

We are doing something similar relief-wise, but still, both in the US and in the Philippines, there will be fallouts. Small businesses – including gig workers and freelancers and the self-employed – that aren’t strong and prepared for a disruption of this magnitude will fall by the wayside. And that means unemployment – and economic slowdown. For example, before the US stimulus package is even signed, 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment the prior week.

The pandemic is adding to our humongous challenges in the Philippines.

Let’s digress some: Beyond our tycoons, small enterprises are stepping up to the challenge. That is, to help those in need and their businesses. “How to help the front-liners and the needy in this time of crisis,” Margaux Salcedo, FIRST CLASS, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 22nd Mar 2020. “Donate to the COVID-19 food drive (#Covid19FoodDrivePH). A group of former Enderan students and faculty [came] up with an Adopt-A-Barangay campaign whereby they bring food packed by restaurants to the communities that need it.

“The process is: people donate, organizers give participating restaurants the budget (P50/meal or P500/family meal for 10), the restaurants cook and pack the meals, which are picked up and delivered by army reservists.”

The story became personal to the writer and family. A nephew is part owner of one of the restaurants and sent photos of what’s happening on the ground, including one with an army truck loading the food packs. Says the nephew, “Tito, I’m happy to at least earn and pay ‘sweldo’ (the wage) of my staff during these difficult times. We really can’t stop hustling ‘talaga.’ The moment we stop thinking of ways to grow, that’s when everything will fall and fail.”

He explained the incremental business they are generating from their takeout efforts and the like, quantifying them with hard numbers. The proud tito, the sounding board of their innovative business ideas, being in their late 20s and early 30s, responded with just one word, “Bravo.”

So, let’s resume the posting. 

Five years ago, Bill Gates on TED Talk discussed the likelihood of a pandemic. Yet, everyone is conceding that the US cannot match the swiftness of the South Korean experience in responding to the ongoing crisis. Whether it is the challenge of rapid-fire testing or the commitment to a lockdown, the US has been wishy-washy at best. Ditto for the communications coming from the experts versus the politicians. Unsurprisingly, the US, as of the latest count, “leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases.”

The good news says Gates, in an interview courtesy of TED Talk, is that the experience from this 2020 pandemic will accelerate the development of the world’s readiness for future ones. That is, even poorer nations will benefit because the richer ones won’t withhold the help. The kind of focus such an undertaking demands must explain why Gates has stepped down from his Microsoft role and his board membership at Berkshire.

And, of course, after a recession, there is pent-up demand that can play out into the next boom.

Still, in the Philippines, we are confronted with the challenge of being the regional laggard. And that comes with all the downsides that we can’t seem to overcome. So, like a broken record, the blog will not tire presenting the alternative perspective it has pursued going eleven years. The goal is that, as the US learned from the 2020 pandemic (though it is five years later), we Pinoys will, in turn, appreciate that we can’t perpetually be in denial.

We are in denial when we can’t recognize that our neighbors, if not the world, has left us behind. Think of Adam and Eve. If man blamed God for being banished from Eden and embraced a fixed mindset instead of a growth mindset, he would be extinct by now. He would not have acquired the wherewithal to grow and develop. Think of the first homo sapiens that saw it imperative to migrate from Africa.

There is no perfection and permanence in this world because the story of creation is dynamic. Recall the Franciscan theology against dualism – as in either/or, best manifested by the scribes and Pharisees. On the other hand, the prophets, including Jesus, preached dynamism. Of course, Jesus paid the price for undermining aristocracy.

Then consider 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.

Consider too the dismal state of Philippine higher education. Given that knowledge is not limited to the education system, but includes the home, the church, and the community, we as a generation are failing the succeeding ones. We aren’t demonstrating intellectual curiosity. We are in good company, though, those Harvard graduate students who were unable to figure out how forward-thinking Jeff Bezos was.

There is no one universal system to explain the success of our neighbors – they were able to traverse the road from poverty to prosperity. It is not surprising. In high school economics, we learned that the Soviet model was centralized planning. 

At the same time, that of the US, while free enterprise in character, was a mixed system, i.e., the federal government regulates interstate and foreign commerce, declares war and set taxing, spending, and other national policies.

We keep saying the American system will not work for us, yet we like to talk about their federal system – forgetting that we are coming from a unitary system while they were the opposite. America needed to pull the different states together. In other words, the needs are different.

Our need is to fix the incompetence and inefficiency at the national level. And here we can learn from our neighbors. Think of Lee, Mahathir, and Deng. They are the best examples of visionary leadership.

In other words, a nation that cannot produce visionary leadership cannot fix the incompetence and inefficiency at the national level, nor can it pull different regions together as America did.

Or Malaysia. Mahathir prioritized the national interest, and that meant KL over his hometown. Town mates criticized him, but the nation applauded the rapid progress and development of the country. He fought parochialism and the crab mentality for the community and the common good.

That is our first failing. And it comes from our instincts. See above why ours is a culture of impunity.

Are we on the road of a “failed nation?” Yes, we are. We are now in the company of Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Brunei – because our neighbors have left us behind.

Why can’t we step up to the plate and recognize that reality? Because we are parochial and insular, to benchmark is foreign to us. Instead, we rely on political patronage and oligarchy. But they are no different from us; they are not only parochial and insular, but they also value hierarchy and paternalism as we do. That is why we cannot overcome aristocracy and entitlement and will continue to eschew personal responsibility. 

“The powerful truly lord it over us mere mortals. I should not be writing about this at a time when Filipinos need to come together for the common good. But I can’t keep silent about this.” [Inequality prevails: Welcome to the Philippines, Emil Jurado, Manila Standard, 26th Mar 2020.]

So, what are we left? The path of least resistance – as in “pwede na ‘yan.” Then think of what the 21st century is. As the blog has stressed, innovation and global competitiveness characterize this century.

Recall how Vietnam, more impoverished than we are, succeeded in becoming the manufacturing hub of Samsung’s electronic manufacturing in the region. They generate more revenues than our top eight listed companies in the Forbes list combined – and are poised to overtake not just us but Singapore too.

How did they do it? Like the rest of our neighbors, they looked outward, not inward. They tapped foreign money and technology. They had visionary leadership.

On the other hand, we complain that the GVCs or global value chains confine us to the low-margin pieces of the manufacturing process, orchestrated by the MNCs. We gloss over the character that the Vietnamese displayed. They are dynamic to boot.

Because of the pandemic, we again see the hype – as in dole-outs – courtesy of our top enterprises. We must be thankful but not retreat into our shell – aka our instincts – otherwise, we shall perpetuate our culture of impunity.

In other words, we can’t be dynamic and proactive and forward-looking if we can’t undo our instincts. And we won’t because we are ensconced in dualism. Think of China, though communist, embraced the free market.

Then consider: How can our neighbors beg for Western money and technology. How come we boxed ourselves in choosing who are friends should be? Why do we have to choose between China and America? Did Padre Damaso neuter our dynamism? 

For example, we kicked out the US military. Did we get our wish, “a government that is run like hell by Filipinos”? How come several others, including former Soviet satellite states, are begging for the US military to protect them?

It manifests our value of analysis but a failing in analytics. More evidence? How come we now own the “Dutch disease”? Does it explain why we turn a blind eye on the two drivers of the economy, i.e., OFW remittances and the BPO industry, and instead stomp our chest for our supposed excellence in the pursuit of fiscal and monetary policies?

We are not only adding insult to injury given the social cost of the OFW phenomenon; we are stunting the progress and development of the Philippines by indulging aristocracy – as in political patronage and oligarchy. See above Jesus undermining aristocracy.

But then again, analytics, beyond analysis, demands forward-thinking. To foresee, to be ahead of the curve, and distinguish the vital few from the trivial many. Sadly, the crab mentality reinforces our built-in blinder and barrier.

Why are we too weak and unprepared for the 21st century and the 2020 pandemic? See above our instincts.

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]