Things to ponder

Two weeks ago, I wrote about how great the Filipino people were, and how this is what we should sell to the world.

Today, I’d like to raise a few points that, if addressed, can ensure that advantage can be turned into wealth gain for everyone.

I received the following e-mail from a friend, and I think it makes some points we should ponder. So I’m reproducing it in toto.

It is not only “Pag walang corrupt, walang mahirap”. Why Is The Philippines poor?

The Difference

The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country: This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt , that are more than 2000 years old, but are relatively poor.

On the other hand, Canada , Australia & New Zealand, that 150 years ago were inexpressive (sic), today are developed countries, and are rich and self-sufficient.

The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.

Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but was the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw materials from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.

Another example is Switzerland , which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate in the world. In [their] little territory, [the Swiss] raise animals and [till] the soil for four months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality! It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world’s strongest, safest place.

Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference.

Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.

What is the difference, then?

The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education, culture & flawed tradition.

In analyzing the behavior of the people in rich & developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives:

1. Ethics, as a basic principle;

2. Integrity;

3. Responsibility;

4. Respect of the laws & rules;

5. Respect of the rights of other citizens;

6. Love for work;

7. Effort to have savings & investment;

8. Will of super action;

9. Punctuality;

10. and of course…Discipline.

In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily lives.

The Philippines is not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us.

In fact, we are supposedly rich in natural resources.

We are poor because we lack the right attitude. We lack the will to comply with and teach these functional principles of rich & developed societies!

If you do not forward this message nothing will happen to you. Your pet will not die, you will not be fired, you will not have bad luck for seven years, and also, you will not get sick or go hungry.

But those may happen because of your lack of discipline & laziness, your love for intrigue and politics, your indifference to saving for the future, your stubborn attitude.

If you love your country, let this message circulate so that many Filipinos could reflect about this and change, and act!

A friend on the trip to Japan added, and I quote: “There’s something developed countries have, the corrupt countries don’t—a level playing field which allows the best, not the most connected, to win.

If it was a basketball game and most games were rigged, then nobody would bother to work hard to improve their game—they would spend their time and talent rigging the rules and befriending the referee—the other natural result is the best & brightest don’t want and refuse to play.

That’s why in the Philippines, it has become a cultural trait to cut corners or take shortcuts. But when they go to other places where output quality matters, they have every incentive and do start working very hard.”

After 40 years of study of the Philippines, I can’t help but agree with much of this.

I would add, though: Leadership. This has been what has created the changes described above. They don’t happen of their own volition, they happen because they were (initially) forced to happen. The Philippines has been betrayed by too many of its leaders. They weren’t leaders who truly cared for the well-being of the nation and its people and had the ability to do something about it, but didn’t.

I would also add “Bahala na”. The search for excellence, the demand to do it exactly right, to strive for perfection just isn’t there. Just look at how a jeepney is made, and it’s not just limited money that creates such an unprofessional product.

I put much of it down to the need to protect yourself and your family from the deprivations of colonial masters. A natural “selfishness” sets in, a lack of caring for society as a whole. But it’s been 113 years now of independence, how much longer is needed before the above 10 start to hold sway?

I sense there may be stirrings now, it’s possible P-Noy’s unquestioned honesty, ethical behavior and integrity (1 and 2) might just wash off on other people. We might at the end of his term be witness to a much changed, less corrupt (financially and socially) society. But he’ll need to be a much tougher acting president than he is now. Setting an example is not enough, as we witnessed with his mother. No one questioned her morality, but she couldn’t impose it upon the people. She was too nice. You have to be a bit of a tough b*stard too.

So the cultural revolution didn’t happen at EDSA, Ramos was too busy getting everything working (something he most successfully did—what you’d expect from an engineer anyway). Estrada, had no idea what to do, while Arroyo got diverted into a power game that devoured her. She could be credited with devoting attention to 6, 7, 8, and 9 but for herself, not for others. Those admirable characteristics weren’t taken forward into the wider public domain.

Items, 4 and 10, which go together have been violated by everybody who can since time immemorial it seems.

The Integrity Pledge the business community is signing (with some notable absences) is a good first step toward achieving the top 3. But will it just remain a piece of paper lost in a desk drawer somewhere, or be the catalyst for action, for change to occur that it must be if it’s to have any impact. The Financial Executives (FINEX) invitation (on October 13) to initiate a Covenant for Judicial Reform is another step. Let’s hope the Chief Justice, all judges, and lawyers take up the challenge for reform. Yes, lawyers too, they need to stop introducing dilatory tactics (Sigfrid Fortun, please note. You should be ashamed of yourself) that delay the conclusion of cases.

So, I hope the Chief Justice will support this, too, as he did the Integrity Pledge when he appeared along with the President and the Speaker at its launching.

So, I echo the call of the author: will you just read this and leave it to others (what “others”?), or will you now stand up and demand change too?

Our kids deserve it (I’m beginning to sound like a rebel in my old age). Will you work for a better environment for the future of the Philippines? One the Philippines deserves. Will you take up the cudgels for change, too? –Peter Wallace, Manila Standard Today