E Pluribus Unum

“This motto was born in the early Republic and was central to conveying unity among the newly formed United States. The Latin phrase translates to Out of Many, One and emphasized that although the states were separate, they needed to unite as one.”[http://npg.si.edu/outofmanyone/index.html]

It’s July 4th, a long weekend, that gave this writer the chance to read about its significance. And came across the full-page “spiel” in The New York Times of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “Immigrants. The pride of America. The United States of America remains a land of immigrants. Andrew Carnegie, who founded Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1911, was an immigrant from Scotland. We at Carnegie Corporation salute his legacy, along with the contributions of the millions of other immigrants who have made, and continue to make, our nation strong and vibrant.”

And among the immigrants they paid tribute were two Filipinos: A. Gabriel Esteban, President, Seton Hall and Antonio M. Taguba, U.S. Army Major General, Retired. And on the back page of Section-A of NY Times was a facsimile of “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.”

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Andrew Carnegie is no stranger to us Pinoys. “[Napoleon Hill] was given an assignment to write a series of stories of famous men, and his big break came when he was asked to interview steel-magnate Andrew Carnegie. Mr. Carnegie commissioned Hill to interview over 500 millionaires to find a success formula that could be used by the average person. These included Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, [etc.]

“He became an advisor to Andrew Carnegie, and with Carnegie’s help he formulated a philosophy of success, drawing on the thoughts and experience of a multitude of rags-to-riches tycoons. It took over 20 years to produce his book, a classic in the Personal Development field called Think and Grow Rich.

“I now understand that he didn’t write about some theory of how to think and grow rich. He wrote from experience his numerous experiences and the experiences of America’s most successful.” [Foreword, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill, The Ralston Society, Meriden, Conn, 1938]

And Chapter 1 begins with: “Truly, ‘thoughts are things,’ and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches, or other material objects.”

“He didn’t write about some theory of how to think and grow rich. He wrote . . . the experiences of America’s most successful.” Yet the human condition instead of embracing success stories or best practices would be critical like we Pinoys have been critical of Singapore, Malaysia and China? And, of course, the West and the US?

“E Pluribus Unum . . . Out of Many, One . . . Definiteness of Purpose . . . Persistence . . . A Burning Desire.” That may be the American perspective, but what does the science say? Autonomy or self-responsibility, a sense of purpose and mastery are the key to positive change because they are what truly motivate a person. And it is not materially different from the findings of Hill. 

If that is the best practice, how do we compare? Instead of land of immigrants, we are an island unto ourselves? Instead of Out of Many, One and of definiteness of purpose – e.g., to move from Third- to First-World – we value a hierarchical cacique system and structure, the great divide? And where political patronage and oligarchy have cut us by the knees? Instead of persistence we waste decades to erect anything of major consequence like NAIA 3 or peace in Mindanao? And instead of a burning desire to move forward we indulge in never-ending politics Philippine-style – which, sadly, has been self-serving? The evidence? Family dynasties!

And what is our instinct like? To seek excuses to justify our failings and/or fall into the trap of fatalism while preserving our oligarchic economy by shutting out the outside world? The evidence? “The Philippines is among the more restrictive economies in the Southeast Asian region when it comes to foreign direct investments (FDIs), a recent study by the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA) showed.” [Philippines among most restrictive in SEA on FDI, Danessa O. Rivera, The Philippine Star, 2nd Jul 2015]

“This was among the findings of the ERIA discussion paper titled “FDI Restrictiveness Index for Asean: Implementation of AEC (ASEAN Economic Integration) Blueprint Measures” authored by Shandre Mugan Thangavelu of the University of Adelaide-Institute of International Trade. It compared the situation between 2010 and 2014.”

“Growth in foreign direct investments (FDI) to the Philippines is expected to slow down as investors are expected to be cautious with elections to be held next year, real estate and property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) said. JLL regional director Leslie Orr said in a briefing yesterday next year’s presidential elections may slow down FDIs to the country as investors are expected to shift to a wait-and-see stance.”[Elections seen to slow FDI growth – JLL, Louella D. Desiderio, The Philippine Star, 3rd Jul 2015]

Is that how we view elections or, because of Pinoy abilidad, we see it as a positive consumption-wise given election spending, really, vote-buying? Is that again the ambivalence in our traits and values? When we know poverty cannot be overcome by such mechanisms – which in fact have undermined good governance and by extension economic development and nation building?

Or is it simply misplaced compassion? Which is a reflection of the condescension that comes with a hierarchical system and structure? Consider that even the Church isn’t exempt: “The Roman Catholic Church should not have “leaders for life” in its ranks, otherwise it would risk being like a country under dictatorship, Pope Francis said Friday.” [Catholic Church should not have ‘leaders for life’ – Pope Francis, Reuters, Manila Bulletin, 5th Jul 2015]

When there is no transparency there is autocracy, and compassion – to compensate for the absence of equality? Take the pork barrel phenomenon, and our complex and flexible budgeting system. “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a report ‘Philippines: Fiscal Transparency Evaluation’ which, while citing the government’s reform efforts, finds the Philippine budgeting system suffering from an unusually large amount of complexity and flexibility that “budget credibility is undermined.” [Editorial: IMF finds too much complexity, flexibility in Philippine budgeting, Manila Bulletin, 5th Jul 2015]

“Budget outturns differ noticeably from the budget law, the IMF report said. As a result, it pointed out, the annual budget law has become an imperfect indicator of the government’s priorities for resource allocation and service delivery.”

It is not about compassion per se which in the case of the Philippines has masked the nurturing of a cacique system and structure that by definition yields insidious poverty. And it is not about growing rich per se but nation building which demands an altogether different set of beliefs than what we’ve espoused for decades? And there is a science to it.

“Dear Mr. Vice President, I am pleased to hear of the efforts you have made as mayor of Makati to improve the lives of the poor and the need to change the imbalance between rich and poor . . . Chief among our national problems is the rotten political system . . . For too long, the oligarchs and family dynasties in this country have dominated the political system to the exclusion of the marginalized sector. Your own family, sad to say, forms part of the established order that resists change. Nancy has been quoted as saying she favors political dynasties. Why? Are they the only ones out of 100 million Filipinos who can govern the nation?” [Letter from VP Binay, Carmen N. Pedrosa, FROM A DISTANCE, The Philippine Star, 5th Jul 2015]

The death of “extraordinary”

Many of us in punditry whether in mainstream media or the alternative media are, wittingly or unwittingly, reinforcing the Filipino culture? 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Every young person has been asked the question.

It is not whether Binay is sinner or saint? Or if Roxas or Poe or Duterte is this or that? It is that we don’t want to see the demise of extraordinary? Worse, to sink into mob rule as one columnist described the spectacle in Makati? The Ampatuan dynasty, if not massacre, is one too many?

News item: Philippines remains in World Bank’s low-middle income category. “The Philippines remained among the ranks of low-middle income countries, failing to join Thailand and Malaysia which moved up to the upper middle economies, the World Bank said.” [Philippines remains in World Bank’s low-middle income category, Ted P. Torres, The Philippine Star, 3rd Jul 2015]

The death of extraordinary. The contrast, in a roundabout way, came as I was listening to the 24-year old daughter of my Bulgarian friend. “My daughter is proud to invite us to Soho House, that she's a member of the club,” my friend said as my wife and I met up with him at the corner of West Broadway and Spring Street. It's in the Meatpacking District and the two daughters were already having brunch and so we had to hail a cab. [“Soho House was founded in London in 1995 as a home from home for people working in creative fields. There are now 13 Houses located in the UK, Berlin, Istanbul, New York, West Hollywood, Miami, Chicago and Toronto. Unlike other club concepts, which often focus on wealth and status, we aim to assemble communities of members that have something in common: namely, a creative soul,” reads their website.]

Recently the daughter came to me while we were in the office in Sofia. She had joined us a year ago and is on to her second project. With the first one she was still learning the ropes and this time she was lobbying to pursue a project she conceived. She explained the parameters of the concept and to drive home her point added: “You always stress the experience dimension; we were in an Italian restaurant in New York not long ago and ‘wow’ – it was like we were transported to Italy. The music and the ambiance and the details were unmistakable.”

On the way to Soho House my friend said that the daughter “is about ready to present her project.” And in jest I warned him that sooner than later she would stop asking and begin telling. And he thought probably not in the next 25 years. Sooner than later he would know which is which.

The younger daughter was in town to look at colleges. “Princeton I like because it’s probably me, but my sister and father asked if that is me ‘today’ yet be different ‘tomorrow.’ So I’m looking at schools in the city too: NYU, Columbia, The New School.” It was a complete turnaround. Not that long ago she wanted a university in Europe with a program that allows a year in a US college. She knew my daughter did something similar but in reverse, one year in a European college (Bologna).

Must be the influence of the big sister. “I joined Soho House in London where I studied but having spent time in New York, I realized that here people are very welcoming of ideas. In Europe chances are we would first frown on a new idea because I think we Europeans dread and wish to avoid failure.”

“Europe has a long history of world-changing inventions, including the printing press, the optical lenses used in microscopes and telescopes and the steam engine.” [A Fearless Culture Fuels U.S. Tech Giants, James B. Stewart, The New York Times, 18th Jun 2015]

“But recently? Not so much. King Digital Entertainment, creator of the video game sensation Candy Crush and now based in London, was founded a decade ago in Sweden, which has emerged as a hotbed of video game innovation. A German, Karlheinz Brandenburg, is credited with the invention of the MP3 format for digital music, and the telecommunications application Skype was created by a group of two Scandinavians and three Estonians. But Apple created the iPod MP3 player and eBay bought Skype in 2005. (It’s now owned by Microsoft.)

“This hasn’t gone unnoticed in Europe. Last month, the European Union unveiled its ‘Digital Single Market’ strategy aimed at fostering European entrepreneurs and easing barriers to innovation. European countries have tried to replicate the critical mass of a Silicon Valley with technology centers like Oxford Science Park in Britain, ‘Silicon Allee’ in Berlin and Isar Valley in Munich, and ‘Silicon Docks’ in Dublin.

“‘They all want a Silicon Valley,’ Jacob Kirkegaard, a Danish economist and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told me this week. ‘But none of them can match the scale and focus on the new and truly innovative technologies you have in the United States. Europe and the rest of the world are playing catch-up, to the great frustration of policy makers there.’

“Petra Moser, assistant professor of economics at Stanford and its Europe Center, who was born in Germany, agreed that ‘Europeans are worried.’”

Can we Filipinos relate to that? Rizal was the epitome of idealism. Do we need the 21st century Rizal?

“Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake… We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.” [How to Be Extraordinary: William James on the Psychology of the Second Wind and How to Release Our Untapped Human Potential, Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, 15th Jun 2015]

“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake,” Henry David Thoreau wrote in contemplating what it really means to be awake, adding: “Only one in a million is awake enough for effective intellectual exertion, only one in a hundred million to a poetic or divine life.” Those rare individuals are the ones who lift themselves out of ordinary life’s mediocrity and, through the sheer force of their creative and intellectual wakefulness, rise to the level of the extraordinary. They are the people we come to celebrate as luminaries, those whose ideas endure for centuries. But what is this mysterious force that jolts a human being into such wakeful aliveness from which greatness blossoms?

“That’s what legendary philosopher and founding father of modern psychology William James (January 11, 1842–August 26, 1910) addressed half a century after Thoreau’s famous words, in a superb speech he delivered before the American Philosophical Association at Columbia University in December of 1906. It was published in the January 1907 issue of the journal Philosophical Review under the title “The Energies of Men” and was eventually included in the out-of-print 1967 compendium The Writings of William James: A Comprehensive Edition (public library), which remains the finest record of James’s mind to date.”

Juan de la Cruz must've been asked during his younger days, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Clearly, where we are today isn’t what he said he wanted to be? Have we killed idealism and extraordinary altogether?

“It takes a village”

It takes an ecosystem to develop a growing and sustainable economy and move from Third- to First-World. “It takes a village” came to mind upon reading the following: (a) “6 of 10 Pinoys do not believe PH corruption has lessened” and (b) “Connecting the Philippine economy to national, global competitiveness.” And then these: (a) “Doing business beyond borders;” (b) “Wanted: enabling government” and (c) “Gov’t lacks ability to implement.”

Should we be surprised that “Six out of 10 Filipinos do not think there is less corruption in the past three months, based on the latest Ibon Foundation survey results”? [6 of 10 Pinoys do not believe PH corruption has lessened, Ellalyn De Vera, Manila Bulletin, 25th Jun 2015]

“The nationwide survey conducted last May 13-23 among 1,496 respondents found that 59.8 percent have disagreed that there was less corruption in the last three months, while only 23.8 percent said corruption was less. This is an increase from the previous round of 54.7 percent share of respondents who do not think there was less corruption in the country.

“In the same survey round, seven in 10 Filipinos believe that poverty has not lessened in the past three months. Ibon found 72.3 percent of the population saying poverty incidence has not lessened in the past three months, while 17.9 percent said otherwise. The result is consistent with the poverty rate of 67.2 percent, which was earlier released by Ibon Foundation.

“The survey results were released amid government efforts to intensify its anti-poverty program. Based on the latest data by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the government’s conditional cash transfer program, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program has expanded to 41,519 barangays in 144 cities and 1,483 municipalities with 4,424,705 registered households nationwide.

“The program is currently in its seventh year of implementation having started in 2008. Since then, roughly P200 billion was spent for the program.”

This blog has pointed out that fighting poverty will not be the answer to the state of affairs we’re in. Like an individual or enterprise a country needs to fend for itself. That is why economic development is fundamental to nation building. The evidence? Despite government efforts to intensify its anti-poverty program, poverty remains alarming.

And in today’s world, the challenge inherent in nation building is even more daunting. “The quest for new streams of revenue is stimulated by change. The change can be negative or positive. The discovery of vast prairies was eventually exploited by the formation of many great cattle ranches. But when in time ranching declined, some innovator coped with the problem by creating the first dude ranch. U.S. business history is rife with the discovery of endlessly new revenue streams in response to technological development, and the buzz about new revenue streams surrounding the Internet is just the most recent example. Change creates opportunities, the ability to see a potential and then to exploit it—that's what creates new revenue streams. The change may hurt or may entice. Either way, effective innovation makes use of the stimulus.”[http://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/revenue-streams.html]

In the case of the Philippines, that means we must go beyond services – or OFW remittances and the BPO industry – and higher up the value chain, and with a balanced portfolio that includes agribusiness and industry. And comes the 7 industry winners from the JFC that we haven’t embraced? Because of crab mentality – or is it “Pinoy abilidad”? We can talk but not walk Pareto? But then again, that is why visionary and strategic leadership is imperative.

“Most people seem to see the Asean Economic Community (AEC) as something that our country is not ready for, and will bring us great problems. The fact is, we are already more Asean-engaged than most people appear to think, and many Philippine businesses of various sizes are already reaping the benefits of doing business with our Asean neighbors. It seems to me that the first hurdle we need to overcome is the self-defeating mindset that ‘we are not competitive enough,’ ‘we are not prepared,’ or government has not done anything to prepare us for the AEC.’” [Doing business beyond borders, Cielito F. Habito, No Free Lunch, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 23rd Jun 2015]

Is it the people or is it government? “‘Why is it that government wants to put every obstacle it could possibly think of in the way of small businesses?’ an exasperated young entrepreneur asked me the other day. I had been quietly pleased to see him pursue entrepreneurship after having spent several years working for different companies. For many years, I have been calling on young people not to be content with getting a job to work for someone else, but rather to aspire to create jobs for others; and not to settle for earning a salary, but rather to create wealth. Thus, I was glad to see one more young person heeding the call.” [Wanted: enabling government, Cielito F. Habito, No Free Lunch, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 16th Jun 2015]

“We actually have a law—Republic Act No. 9178 or the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise (BMBE) Law of 2002—that seeks to attract small businesses with less than P3 million in assets to come out from the shadows of the informal or underground economy. Qualified enterprises may apply for inclusion in the BMBE Registry of a town or city, and be issued a certificate of authority that would entitle the BMBE to various benefits.”

“That is all good in theory, but it turns out that in most places, the BMBE Law is the best-kept secret in town, especially in the city or municipal hall itself. In our own barangay office, no one has even heard of it (or at least that’s what the people there claimed). I once wrote in this column about the travails of a colleague who tried to register her business under the law at Quezon City Hall, but was given the classic runaround until she eventually gave up on the idea.”

“In 2013 the first Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) ranking was implemented. Being voluntary in nature, about 285 cities and municipalities participated in the first round. The number has increased to 534 local governments in 2014. For the 2015 round, it is expected that about 1,000 local governments out of the total 1,634 local government units will participate. With this number, it is now possible to aggregate results to provincial levels and have provincial competitiveness index, as well. This will bring us closer to the idea of creating indicators that emanates from the local government levels that can be aggregated to provinces, then to regions, then national and, eventually, connect it with our global rankings.” [Connecting the Philippine economy to national, global competitiveness, Dr. Alvin P. Ang, Business Mirror, 25th Jun 2015]

“For example, data on the business registrations, including the gross revenues of firms, jobs created, productivity, among others, emanate from the business permits data. This data can be aggregated to represent the size of the local economy and comparing them into two periods will allow us to estimate growth. Hence, in a way, the indicators already show the local economic growth.”

That sounds promising. But are we in fact out of the woods? “For years, the excuse for lousy infrastructure is we don’t have enough money to build decent ones. Today, however, that is no longer the problem.” [Gov’t lacks ability to implement, Boo Chanco, DEMAND AND SUPPLY, The Philippine Star, 26th Jun 2015]

“We have enough funds in government and in the private sector to finance the construction of much needed infrastructure such as railroads, roads, flyovers, dams and airports. Government, by its own admission, is awash with funds, but they don’t have what it takes to implement approved projects . . . This is not good for the country. In fact, our economy stalled over the last quarter because of what Budget Secretary Butch Abad calls a technical deficit or the lack of ability on the part of implementing government agencies to get their projects going. It is also called lack of absorptive capacity.” 

Indeed it takes a village. But if we are to fend for ourselves, we better internalize that the world will not wait for us. Our track record is dismal! We are infamous for our inaction, wasting decades without batting an eyelash? The evidence? NAIA 3 and Mindanao . . .  and on and on . . . we go!

What are we missing? A sense of purpose? Focus? Conviction? Does Juan de la Cruz need to be stout-hearted?

“Fundamental and unpredictable changes”

“At a time when four powerful forces are disrupting the global economy, upending most of our assumptions, such pronouncements on the future, shaped by intuitions based on the past, are even more likely to be wrong. Each of these four ‘great disruptions’ is transformational on its own, and all are amplifying the effects of the others, producing fundamental and unpredictable changes on a scale the world has never seen -- and that will prove our intuitions wrong.” [The four powerful forces are: (a) the shift of economic activity to emerging-market cities; (b) the acceleration of technological change; © demographic; (d) the world’s increasing interconnectedness, with goods, capital, people and information flowing ever more easily across borders; Managing the age of disruption, Richard Dobbs, James Manyika, and Jonathan Woetzel, are directors of the McKinsey Global Institute, Project Syndicate, Business World, 18th Jun 2015]

Sadly, we Pinoys are stuck in our own little world? “Hijacked justice; delayed justice; selective justice (the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the Disbursement Acceleration Program) and ignored justice (SAF44 and Malampaya) are inimical to our national interest. Reversing this shattering condition calls for a long-term makeover of the system.” [A shattered justice system, Rafael M. Alunan III, To Take A Stand, Business World, 22nd Jun 2015]

“We need to break free if we are to survive in the long run. Reflating patriotic fervor, regaining our ethical and moral moorings; and restoring meritocracy are prescribed solutions to end the battering. We must instill a culture of doing the right things and doing things the right way to bring our ship of state headed in the right direction at full speed.”

“Remember that Salim acquired PLDT in 1998 for $749 million, while Meralco was captured – as these series will explain – with the Indonesian bringing very little new capital into the country . . . So much for the argument that foreign investments bring in much needed funds to a capital-deficit country. In the case of Salim’s operations, it has resulted in capital outflow – $2.7 billion in 14 years or $200 million yearly, or nearly fourth of the average foreign equity inflow over the same period.” [The Indonesian billionaires behind the ‘MVP Group’: UNMASKING AN EMPIRE, RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO, The Manila Times, 2nd Jun 2015; First of a series]

“And as this series will also explain, Salim’s companies have always used local borrowings for much of its operations and acquisitions, even managing to borrow billions of pesos from government banks such as the Development of the Philippines and the Land Bank.”

We’re neither here nor there? How can a foreign interest be able to walk in like that, if not walk all over us? Yet we lag the region in FDIs! See above re “the world’s increasing interconnectedness, with goods, capital, people and information flowing ever more easily across borders.” But are we still hedging on the imperatives of FDI? Salim may not define its positives for us but that doesn’t change the reality that Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir Mohamad and Deng Xiaoping were more prescient that we are! How much more do we expect to sink in the abyss of parochialism?

“The proposal to amend the Constitution—despite enjoying the support of the business community and was among the main legislative agenda of the previous administrations—has been rejected repeatedly by no other than President Aquino. The 1987 Constitution was ratified during the term of his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino.” [Another administration, another failure for economic Cha-cha ‘choreographers,’ Catherine N. Pillas & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz, Business Mirror, 22nd Jun 2015]

“President Aquino asserts that investments are coming in despite existing restrictions limiting ownership by foreign investors in certain sectors. The President also announced his stance against Charter change (Cha-cha) until 2016, saying Congress is wasting time on it . . . Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said he has yet to see a signal that the President had relented on his firm belief that there is no need to amend the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

“Besides Mr. Aquino, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is also opposing the proposal changing the so-called highest law of the land. CBCP President Archbishop Socrates Villegas said the proposed amendments should first undergo in-depth analysis.”

“Also, according to the survey by Pulse Asia, about three of five Filipinos do not want the 1987 Constitution amended at this time, though nearly half of them are open to having it amended sometime in the future.”

If we Pinoys think that we can be an island unto ourselves and at the same time fight poverty and have an inclusive economy, aren’t we in fact turning back the hands of time to a different world, even more primitive than that of our ancestors?

“Trade between China and the Philippines probably started centuries before the advent of the Sung Dynasty. The "A Collection of Data in Chinese Classical Books Regarding the Philippines" was published by the Institute of Southeast Asian History of Zhongsan (Sun Yat Sen) University, Guangzhou (1900). It states: “During the T’ang (Thang) dynasty China (in the 7th to the 9th century AD) the two peoples of China and the Philippines already had relatively close relations and material as well as cultural exchanges.

“During the Sung (960-1127 AD), Arab traders brought Philippine goods to southwestern China through the port of Canton. Chinese posts were established in coastal towns of the Philippines with the import of Chinese goods. The trade culminated when Chao Ju-Kua wrote of the barter trade between the Chinese and the natives of Mayi (Mindoro). The Chinese exchanged silk, porcelain, colored glass, beads and iron ware for hemp cloth, tortoise shells, pearls and yellow wax of the Filipinos.” [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/philippines/history-early-china.htm]

And being anachronistic by definition puts us on the wrong side of the rule of law? “In the month in which we celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, it is perhaps timely to reflect upon some of the fundamental legal principles that the UK, the Philippines, the United States and many other countries around the world share.” [Why agreements must be kept, Iain Mansfield, Business World, 23rd Jun 2015; he is the director of trade and investment at the British Embassy]

“One of the most important of these is the avoidance of retroactivity. While any government has the right to pass what laws it chooses to, it should not make these laws apply retrospectively. The government may, if it so wishes, pass a law that imposes a tax on me for wearing a purple hat, or for riding on a jeepney, but it is deeply unfair to make that law apply retrospectively and thence to demand 10 years of back taxes. In the Philippines, this fundamental principle is enshrined in the Constitution, where Article III, Section 22 specifically states: ‘No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.’”

“Related to this principle is the equally important maxim of Pacta Sunt Servanda, or ‘agreements must be kept.’ Quite simply, two parties should be free to enter into a binding contract with one another and that this contract will then be as law between them. Once entered into in good faith, such an agreement must be kept.”

Why are we all over the place – “sabog”? This blog has discussed the imperative of developing a sense of purpose as a nation. Can the Church help us to define who we are? We like to invoke Francis who he is so far out in front in governance, being the number one critic of the Curia. Yet recognizes a higher purpose and a higher being?

But we Pinoys have always confused faith and governance? Because of our hierarchical system and structure? Not surprisingly, we lag in innovation and competitiveness when we must be equipping ourselves to thrive in the 21st century – where “fundamental and unpredictable changes” are the constant? Sadly, without a sense of purpose, we will always have vested interests and the elite class pulling us in different directions – “super sabog”?

Reality, Reality, Reality

“THE PHILIPPINES slipped for the second time in a row in the latest Fragile States Index that ranks countries on levels of instability and the pressures they face, as its performance worsened in more than half of a dozen measures.” [Annual ranking finds Philippines more ‘fragile’ second year in a row, D. E. D. Saclag, Business World, 19th Jun 2015]

Unfortunately, we have gotten so used to such bad news that we simply laugh them off invoking “Pinoy resiliency”? Or is it fatalism?

“‘It is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown,’ wrote pioneering polar explorer Ernest Shackleton in reflecting on the feat that nearly took his life, adding: ‘The only true failure would be not to explore at all.’ This vitalizing power of exploration applies as much to the exterior world we inhabit as it does to the interior. Upon turning eighty and looking back on his extraordinary life, Henry Miller observed: ‘Perhaps it is curiosity — about anything and everything — that made me the writer I am. It has never left me.’ And yet in the century since Shackleton and the decades since Miller, despite the proliferation of access to knowledge, we seem to have lost our appetite for this singular human faculty that propels us forward. We’ve lulled ourselves into a kind of complacency, where too often we’d rather be right than uncertain or — worse yet — wrong, forgetting that ‘useful ignorance,’ to borrow Thoreau’s beautiful term, is precisely what helps us transcend the limits of our knowledge and stretch our ability.

“That vital force of self-transcendence is what Arts University Bournemouth student and self-taught animator Georgina Venning explores in her immeasurably delightful stop-motion animation of an excerpt from Ian Leslie’s RSA talk, based on his book Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends on It.” [A Stop-Motion Love Letter to the Power of Curiosity, Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, 17th Jun 2015; The mission of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) is to enrich society through ideas and action.]

Are we a curious people? “It takes shedding the common inward-looking, defensive posture of many of our firms, in favor of an aggressive outward-looking one, to realize that many of us are creating ghosts where we could otherwise be finding ‘gold mines.’” [Doing business beyond borders, Cielito F. Habito, No Free Lunch, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 23rd Jun 2015]

“Other ideologies bend but rarely break. A libertarian nominated by a major party is more likely to break than bend. The good news is that if Paul were to win the Republican nomination, libertarianism’s unfitness for the modern world would be revealed for all to see. The bad news is that the poison of its extremism would enter into the body politic, perhaps never to be fully ejected.” [What do libertarians and Stalin have in common? Plenty, Alan Wolfe, REUTERS, Business World, 21st Jun 2015; he is a professor of political science at Boston College and also director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life]

“You see, I study traditional culture. More specifically, I study the ways in which today’s culture manufactures and reinforces traditions through mass media. Folklorists have a unique disciplinary perspective for this sort of analysis because there was this period of time when the field was mired in ‘romantic nationalism.’ The ‘true character’ of a people was said to be rooted in the culture of the volk and was glorified and incorporated into more modern political movements. Like Nazism. So folklorists have a keen interest in serving as the sort-of keepers of cultural authenticity, if you will. If anyone should be highlighting the ways in which ‘traditions’ are being manufactured, distorted, and consumed, it is us… me.” [Yes, you’re a racist… and a traitor, John E. Price: In the immortal words of Jean-Paul Sartre, “Au revoir, gopher,” Medium.org, 19th Jun 2015]

Extremism can be a slippery slope. And not surprisingly, Francis would ask, “Who are we to judge”? “The leader of a rightwing group that Dylann Roof allegedly credits with helping to radicalize him against black people before the Charleston church massacre has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republicans such as presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum.

“Earl Holt has given $65,000 to Republican campaign funds in recent years while inflammatory remarks – including that black people were ‘the laziest, stupidest and most criminally-inclined race in the history of the world’ – were posted online in his name.” [Leader of group cited in 'Dylann Roof manifesto' donated to top Republicans, Jon Swaine, The Guardian, 22nd Jun 2015]

“With technology, classroom teachers will be unnecessary and even obsolete. Teachers even impede learning because they spoon-feed students, promote rote learning, and teach to test. You don’t actually need to know anything, you can find out at the point when you need to know it. It’s the teacher’s job to point young minds toward the right kind of question. A teacher doesn’t need to give any answers because answers are everywhere.

“Students will learn from each other using resources and mentoring, not necessarily in the same room but even from far away. [It is called] Self Organized Learning Environments (SOLE). Children need to be taught to think and study for themselves. It’s quite fashionable to say that the education system’s broken—it’s not broken, it’s wonderfully constructed. It’s just that we don’t need it anymore. It’s outdated. We need to look at learning as the product of educational self-organization. It’s not about making learning happen; it’s about letting it happen.” [The future of learning, Moje Ramos-Aquino, Fpm, The Manila Times, 19th Jun 2015]

The opposite of extremism is curiosity? “Against conventional wisdom . . . Constant learning and adaptation . . . Bold experimentation . . . Iterative customer involvement . . . Excellence in execution . . . Beyond fashion . . . Simplicity in design and use.” In other words, “Think Different” . . . [Design thinking and innovation at Apple, Stefan Thomke and Barbara Feinberg, Harvard Business School, 4th Mar 2010]

“Curiosity is a muscle — use it or lose it. It’s something that we consciously have to nurture in ourselves, in our families, in classrooms, at work.” [Popova, op. cit.]

“Sometimes I hear that curiosity and creativity are killed by too many facts — but, actually, the opposite is true: The more you know, the more you want to know. Not only that, but the more you know, the more connections you can make between the different bits of knowledge that you have in your head and therefore the more ideas you have, which is why curiosity is really the wellspring of creativity.

“Technology is replacing routine work — and that’s what technology replaces first and has done throughout history. So intellectually curious people — people who are capable of learning throughout their career, of asking questions (good questions), of adapting and collaborating with others from different disciplines; people who are capable of really thriving in this world of non-routine work, in other words — are the people who are going to do better.”

Where are we? “Business will operate in an increasingly unpredictable environment where we will see the rise of the ‘emerging,’ the development of the ‘underdeveloped,’ and the retreating of the ‘developed.’ In this disruptive landscape, there is no tempo, no even rhythm, no predictable ending in organizational stories.

“Such developments will trigger massive shifts in mind-sets. Those who have invested in capability will now have to invest in imagination; move from an independent economy to a collaborative economy; from evolving to continuously disrupting. The expanded opportunity will spread progress, but the balance can tilt anytime. It can be volatile yet vibrant; uncertain yet unlimited in potential, complex yet connected and ambiguous. Organizations will be in a continual state of tension to stay in place.” [Innovation is not optional, Alma Rita R. Jimenez, M.A.P. Insights, Business World, 22nd Jun 2015]

We don’t want to touch fragile state with a ten-foot pole. But that means we have to learn to “think different”!

Standing on our own two feet

That would presuppose that we are indeed “independent” like we celebrate every year? “And now, what will her future be? Rizal goes on to examine different scenarios and their varying conditions of possibility. At some points, he writes, the impulse for freedom may be strong, but the people are not ready. There might be too much dissension at the top, and general apathy below.” [If Rizal had been a Moro, Randy David, Public Lives, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18th Jun 2015]

“Political dynasties are the modern resurrections of the discredited monarchs, kings and queens of the Medieval Age. These political dynasties, like the kings and queens of the Dark Ages, believe that political power comes from the bloodline, that political power is inherited, and that political power does not come from the ballot box.” [(SPEECH) Ex-Chief Justice Puno makes a call for ‘bagong sistema, bagong pag-asa,’ Manila Bulletin, 18th Jun 2015; Full transcript of speech made by former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno at the launch of  ‘Bagong Sistema, Bagong Pag-asa: A Call for System Change’ on June 6, 2015 at San Andres Sports Complex, Manila]

“We will never attain true democracy until and unless we eliminate these political dynasties, for in a true democracy political power cannot be the monopoly of a few but should be in the hands of the many. And we cannot eliminate political dynasties by relying on Congress to pass the necessary law. Because Congress is controlled by political dynasties.”

“The only way to eliminate political dynasties is through the Constitution—by providing a self-executing ban on political dynasties, a ban that does not need any implementing law from Congress.

“Elections in a democracy should be the means by which we can throw out the scalawags in government, the means by which we can encourage the saints to participate in governance. If we cannot do this, our elections will just result in the rigodon of the undeserving, the reign after reign of the incompetent, and the rule after rule of the underachiever. We must put an end to this political insanity. 

“Our country is full of problems, and empty of solutions. Our people are full of questions but without answers. Let us not be part of the problems, let us be part of the solutions. Let us not be part of the questions, let us be part of the answers.”

Recently this blog discussed the elements of autonomy, mastery and sense of purpose as key to successful change. As a practitioner the writer lives with them in the private sector and would confirm the works of social scientists. Daniel H. Pink in his book “Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us” (Riverhead Books, New York, 1995), for instance, referenced Harry F. Harlow and Edward L. Deci. “Deci’s work uncovered the powerful and significant difference between extrinsic motivation, the kind that comes from outside sources, and intrinsic motivation, the kind that comes from within yourself.” [Janet Choi, The Motivation Trifecta: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose; she’s the Chief Creative Officer at iDoneThis]

How does intrinsic motivation figure in a soft culture like the Philippines especially where we value compassion and by extension paternalism and populism? And contrast that to Singapore: “Among modern states, it was Singapore, a city-state in the East, which adopted meritocracy as a major principle of governance. As Lee Kuan Yew himself said the progress and success of his country comes from this principle. The same principle of meritocracy is behind the rise of China as an economic power . . . Not so in the Philippines . . . We neither practice nor understand meritocracy. That is what is wrong with the Philippines and it pervades our entire lives whether it is in politics or government or even in ordinary activities. We do not strive for excellence . . .” [Meritocracy or corruption (?), Carmen N. Pedrosa, FROM A DISTANCE, The Philippine Star, 13th Jun 2015]

Not surprisingly we would read: “ANY government official with a sense of propriety would have resigned by now in shame. But Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, one of President Aquino’s golden boys, has clung to his office for more than two years, even as the transportation system that he is supposed to manage goes to hell in a hand basket. Where do we begin?” [Secretary Abaya, have you no shame (?), The Standard, Editorial, 17th Jun 2015]

Mediocrity, to be sure, is in abundance in this world. Which in fact should be inspiring for a country like the Philippines – that we can be better than others. Indeed we must celebrate the progress we are making in the various global metrics of human and economic development and competitiveness. But there is much more work to do.

And we must have our feet planted on the ground. “I have always welcomed our 1991 Local Government Code for rightly giving due power and authority to the units of government closest to the people and most intimately familiar with development challenges and resources on the ground. I believe that subsidiarity, devolution and decentralization are critical principles of good governance. But the authority to make whimsical rules in defiance of basic and instinctive principles of ethics and good economics is certainly not part of the intent of the law.”[Wanted: enabling government, Cielito F. Habito, No Free Lunch, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 16th Jun 2015]

“While much positive change has already been happening and there are indeed many ‘islands of good governance’ out there, one wonders why too many local government officials still can’t seem to get it. I would have thought that local officials could readily understand that promoting and encouraging vibrant job-creating local enterprises would be the best way to uplift the living conditions of their constituents. But from . . . countless . . . accounts I’ve heard through the years, the actuations of many local governments toward small businesses have been all but encouraging. Is it any wonder that our unemployment rate has consistently been much higher than in most of our neighbors?”

The 1991 Local Government Code was meant to give LGUs autonomy, and if we go by the science, is the foundation of intrinsic motivation. Yet time and again what we hear are efforts to perpetuate political power. Standing on our own two feet as a people and pulling our weight is what autonomy is. In short, it is about taking personal responsibility for the common good. It is not about family and political dynasty. “Family is not license to kill”! What is missing? This blog has discussed the imperative of “shared purpose.”

If indeed we cherish freedom and democracy, we must learn and embrace personal responsibility and the overarching imperative of moving forward as a people and nation. And they demand a shared purpose which comes from an egalitarian ethos. We have to unlearn the value we placed in a hierarchical system and structure.

Is there a role for the Philippine church? It's the 21st century and royalty can't be associated with the church, for instance? Is that why Francis came about – to fight “leprosy”? In industry it has been established that assertiveness is not inherent in everyone; and is a skill that ought to be developed – for both men and women. And if innovative enterprises have a common thread, it is that openness and assertiveness would characterize them – which, not surprisingly, engender creativity.

The third element of successful change – beyond autonomy and shared purpose – is mastery. But first we need to develop a growth mindset so that we can overcome the fixed mindset that we may not be even aware we manifest? A growth mindset lends itself to open-mindedness – the door to curiosity, critical thinking, foresight, lofty goals, among others – as well as mastery, excellence and meritocracy. And when demonstrated by their people is how countries develop from Third- to First-World.

We need visionary – not populist – leadership that can stand above self and vested interests and awaken Juan de la Cruz to be a success, the next Asian Tiger and beyond. To think big, not to think small. We need a sense of purpose that the leadership can articulate. And make Juan de la Cruz embrace personal responsibility and develop the autonomy and mastery to pull his weight. No one can paddle our canoe but us. It is stout-hearted men and women that build a nation! Because they can stand on their own two feet.