Note: In this commentary, we examine seven areas, including: I. ‘Why’ first, then ‘What’ and ‘How,’ II. A Framework for Society, III. Mindset and Attitude, IV. The 5 E’s: Economy, Exports, Education, Energy, and Environment, V. Challenges, VI. Opportunities, VII. Final Commentary.
In a few days, the Philippines will find out who their newly elected national and local leaders are. As previously conveyed, history shows that people are galvanized when a leader first communicates the why, before the how and what of governance.
Computer giant Apple, along with Google, is today’s most revolutionary company, and one of the world’s most successful and admired companies. Apple has dominated the mp3 market with its iPod and iTunes products to such an extent that it would be hard for a consumer to contemplate purchasing from competing manufacturers such as Dell and Sony.
Apple’s mission statement – its why – is to continually challenge the status quo, and to think differently from everyone else. People, and consumers, buy the whys, not the whats and hows. People can just as easily purchase other mp3 players, but Apple’s philosophy has instilled a culture that can constantly procure revolutionary products and services out into the marketplace.
As mentioned previously, the Filipino voter must choose a leader with the appropriate vision as to the framework for contemporary Philippine society. While obedience and industriousness are the traits which may lend themselves in a feudal setting, honesty, trust, fair play, and information are the foundations for a democratic and capitalist society. A democratic political structure requires educated voters that can make informed decisions. And trust, honesty, and a fair playing field are the bedrocks of capitalism. Which leader can help to foster these values across the archipelago?
III. Mindset and Attitude
Unfortunately, some sections of Philippine society harbor a mindset of defeatism – an attitude of existentialism. “That’s just how it is, that’s just how the way things are. Accept your fate.” Filipinos are typically influenced by their family and social groups, and a fatalistic paradigm can demotivate others, leading to individual and social mediocrity.
The Filipino voter will have to choose which leader can spark the minds and spirits of the country. Productivity is the most crucial variable in elevating national gross domestic product, and is the one factor most critical for improving the welfare of a people.
Said Napoleon Bonaparte:
In order to govern, the question is not to follow out a more or less valid theory but to build with whatever materials are at hand.
Unfortunately, some sections of the country are always looking for a “better life elsewhere.” To them, the grass is always greener on the other side. For decades, the country has borrowed and begged from countries such as the United States and Japan. It discloses a dysfunctional culture of dependency. The more money you receive, the lazier you get. The nation, for decades, has received monetary assistance and continues to have one of the lowest GDPs in Asia, and has since been left behind new powers such as South Korea, Vietnam, and Singapore.
The Filipino voter can choose leaders strong enough to convey that the problem is not “out there,” but the problem is from within. In its current track, the country can beg for aid for another hundred years and remain impoverished if its people do not stand up, dust off its boots, and work hard.
In General Douglas MacArthur’s speech at the landing at Leyte, there was nothing but boldness in what he extolled:
Let the indomitable spirit of Bataan and Corregidor lead on. As the lines of battle roll forward to bring you within the zone of operations, rise and strike. Strike at every favorable opportunity. For your homes and hearths, strike! For future generations of your sons and daughters, strike! In the name of your sacred dead, strike! Let no heart be faint. Let every arm be steeled. The guidance of divine God points the way. Follow in His Name to the Holy Grail of righteous victory! IV. 5 E’s: Economy, Exports, Education, Energy, Environment
The Philippine economy continues to be hurt from the global recession sparked by the housing and credit crises in the U.S. in early 2008. GDP for 2009 stood at about $160 billion, increasing by about one percent each year. GDP per capita is at a woeful $1,700.
While the country has made progress in expanding its middle class, there continues to be an extreme gap between rich and poor. Worse, many of the educated class are leaving the country for work overseas. In 2009, exports stood at about $38 billion while imports ran close to $43 billion. According to government figures, unemployment stood at under 8% – a statistic that may be drastically understated.
Photo: Philippine unemployment rate the last seven years. (Index Mundi)
While the economy and exports are short-term concerns for all Filipinos, education is by far the long-term critical success factor if the country is to succeed in a hyper-competitive global marketplace. India and China each graduate millions of engineers each year to help build the businesses that serve as the economic engines in those regions. And both countries have since become industrial and hi-tech miracles in the world economy.
The Filipino voter will have to choose which leader(s) has the mental horsepower to re-ignite industries important to economic success for the Philippines. Natural resources and agricultural products have long been reliable export plays. Textiles and garments have faced immense pressure from other Asian manufacturers. Pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electronics, semiconductor, hydrocarbon products, and business process outsourcing services are areas that hold promise. A leader than can encourage these sectors can create millions of jobs for Filipinos.
For such to take place, that leader will have to be effective at managing an often inept and corrupt bureaucracy that destroys jobs by imposing an immense amount of red tape.
In that regard, energy plays an important part in ensuring that the country’s industrial and hi-tech bases continue to thrive. Lack of electricity and high fuel prices impact the bottom line of both small and large companies. Additionally, the high cost of energy drastically reduces the disposable income of each ordinary citizen – one who attempts to live by $1,700 a year. Sufficient power, and low fuel costs, can facilitate capital accumulation, by way of savings, which can provide Philippine companies with the capital to make investment expansion initiatives, thereby creating jobs.
Secondly, without much progress in these sectors, the environment will be placed under increased pressure from over-population and from lack of appropriate regulatory controls. A sound, growing economy can provide alternatives to traditional wood- and paper-based industries as purveyors of livelihoods.
