Can we find the needle in the haystack?

Not if we keep the cobwebs in our heads. Why is Juan de la Cruz so “sabog”?

Think of our crab mentality; it dismisses the imperative of personal responsibility for the common good.

Yet, it is unsurprising given 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.

In other words, how can we explain our inability to course-correct? How often have we – in the chattering classes – raised that we can’t remain a consumption-service economy? That the OFW phenomenon and the BPO industry have driven PHL’s economy.

Unsurprisingly, beyond the Asian Tigers and China, Vietnam is the latest neighbor that has overtaken us in industrial development.

Let’s pause right there.

By the end of the Duterte administration, we would have wasted a dozen years pursuing industrialization. At the beginning of the Aquino administration, the blog was pretty hopeful about our chances of finally moving forward because of Arangkada.

But given the cobwebs in our heads, it isn’t surprising that we’re back to square one.

And it comes from our instincts. And why the blog keeps raising that despite our professed faith, we are yet to bridge the gap between Christianity and the reality of Juan de la Cruz: Democracy is the mirror image of Christianity, i.e., the imperative of personal responsibility for the common good.

The good news is that we are not alone.

Where we suffer is our inability to overcome our inward-looking bias. Our parochialism and insularity will explain why we remain the regional laggard.

And we won’t find the needle in the haystack if we can’t come around to this reality.

And how do we clear the cobwebs in our heads? If we care to look outward, we can learn from others.

Indeed, the haystack is a maze. Yet, our neighbors demonstrated that humankind could thrive in this universe despite its complexity.

For example, there are universal principles, if not laws, that can crystallize how to put method behind the madness.

Sadly, our model missed it totally and completely. Think of Padre Damaso. And why the blog asserts that we are the present-day Padre Damaso.

But then again, even within the Vatican, there are the conservative and progressive wings. Yet, the Vatican called out to the US bishops that the faith is beyond one-dimensional.

Sadly, we are the least able to comprehend that because of our instincts.

How do we put method behind the madness? Recall that the blog often refers to the dynamism of this universe. For example, the galaxies are in constant forward motion – that it is getting farther and farther away from planet Earth – and expansion. And if the Hubble telescope can’t keep up with the galaxies, how can we find a method?

Take the photosynthesis phenomenon. It is a very concrete demonstration of the dynamism of the universe, and not to forget, its character of interdependence.

Dynamism and interdependence: are these the starting point of finding the method behind the madness – of finding the needle in the haystack?

If they are, consider our instincts: We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism and rely on pollical patronage and oligarchy that ours is a culture of impunity.

Let’s again pause right there.

“Digital technology key to driving PHL recovery,” Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte, Beatrice M. Laforga, and Arjay L. Balinbin, BusinessWorld, 27th May 2021.

“THE PHILIPPINES should continue to develop digital infrastructure to drive economic recovery, as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic helped accelerate digital transformation initiatives for both the public and private sector.

‘COVID-19 did more for digital transformation than executives did for their organizations,’ Ayala Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in a keynote speech at the BusinessWorld Economic Forum. ‘Organizations should digitally transform themselves to remain relevant.’

“Digital transformation, which combines technology and a firm understanding of stakeholder needs, is indeed the way forward towards a more resilient, progressive, and equitable country. As we build a digital economy founded on reliable infrastructure, digital identity and access to services, and airtight cybersecurity, we all have much to contribute.

“Martha Sazon, president and chief executive officer of Mynt — the operator of GCash, said the pandemic highlighted the need for safe and convenient access to digital payments. GCash currently has over 40 million registered users as of April 2021, up from 33 million as of end-2020.

‘Because of the change in the conditions that we’ve seen, people must reimagine the business to service the customers in a way that will reach the customers even better,’ Ms. Sazon said.

“This was echoed by Boston Consulting Group Managing Director and Senior Partner Anthony Oundjian, who said that digital transformation, in the first place, does not start with technology.

‘I would say it starts with the consumer pain-points and the design of simple solutions to address these pain-points,’ Mr. Oundjian said.

“The rise in electronic payments in the Philippines during the pandemic could be an indicator that the digital divide in the country has narrowed, a World Bank economist said.

‘The digital divide may have narrowed in the Philippines given the increase in digital payments. Still, there is much catching up by aggressively breaking the barriers,’ World Bank Senior Economist Kevin C. Chua said at the “BusinessWorld Virtual Economic Forum through greater participation and investment.”

“Meanwhile, National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon said the Philippines should loosen up its restrictions to foreign players in the telecommunications industry and make it easier for investors to do business to help the digital sector grow faster.

‘Fostering competition in the telecommunications sector could boost internet connectivity and lower costs,’ Ms. Edillon said, which will give Filipinos more access to the internet.”

What’s the bottom line? Indeed, digital technology is upon us. And just like “technology and innovation” in general, we must play catch up. And to leapfrog the effort, we must tap foreign investment and technology. Think of dynamism and interdependence.

But, and it’s a BIG BUT.

How come no one is talking about our economic platform – i.e., a consumption-service economy?

In other words, yes, digital technology will advance our consumption-service economy, but we will still lag our neighbors and be the regional laggard.

That is where our economists must educate Juan de la Cruz on the import of the “multiplier effect.” The multiplier effect is much more significant in an industrial economy, including creating far more and higher-paying jobs.

In other words, the reason Vietnam put poverty in the rearview mirror is that they leapfrogged industrial development. They are the regional manufacturing hub of Samsung smartphones and Apple AirPods – while we are still in chips.

On the other hand, if we are to be in chips, we better match the speed and expertise of the Taiwanese.

We cannot keep our heads in the sand. We must industrialize like yesterday.

Let’s pause once more and raise the familiar, i.e., NEDA’s Ambisyon natin: 2040 and Arangkada.

What if we move to version 2.0 of both these initiatives?

For example, instead of defining nirvana as a GDP growth rate of 6%-7%, we set it as an incremental GDP objective of $200 billion? Because that means beating the hell out of our neighbors, including Malaysia. That is a vivid way to explain benchmarking. We cannot be academic with the exercise.

Why? That will facilitate putting the method into the madness. Recall that we’ve had the 6%-7% growth rate for several years, yet we remain the regional laggard – because we’re stuck as a consumption-service economy.

Moreover, we must – sooner than later – overcome our crab mentality. And starting with an incremental GDP goal of $200 billion should impel us to prioritize. Think of the Pareto principle.

In other words, we must prioritize our top exports because they will have far greater chances of delivering much of the $200 billion. We cannot think of 50 industry road maps. That is too academic.

Recall the Ph.D. candidate I mentored: I will only assist you if you commit to employing the outcome of this dissertation to a real-world challenge. And she did. Today, she is the global marketing director of one of the world’s most popular brands. Many of us may even be using her brand.

But how did she do it when she’s not from the West? She showed her company that she could traverse the road from benchmarking against the world’s best to attaining state-of-the-art – and be the leading edge.

But back to the $200 billion incremental GDP.

Our economic managers and legislators must lead the efforts to identify the priority industries and products that will deliver the most extraordinary revenues. And then figure out the must-do policies and initiatives to attract suitable investments and technologies. In other words, CREATE and SIPP must come down to their most granular levels.

We have challenges related to infrastructure, including power and logistics, but if we can be laser-focused on our priority export industries, we can figure out the requisite infrastructures.

Can we find the needle in the haystack?

Not if we keep the cobwebs in our heads. Why is Juan de la Cruz so “sabog”?

Think of our crab mentality; it dismisses the imperative of personal responsibility for the common good.

Gising bayan!