050709: Why is the Philippines poor?

 

Banking & Finance

Written by Free Enterprise / Zoilo ‘Bingo’ Dejaresco III

THURSDAY, 07 MAY 2009 20:30

THE proud claim of Philippine Airlines of being Asia’s first airline is not an empty boast. For, after all, it was just a few decades ago when the Philippines was the second-biggest economic might after colossus Japan. What has happened since then? Today, the Philippines is almost the basket case of Asia, with war-torn Vietnam eclipsing our growth rate, and we are now in the league of Bangladesh. It is a source of monumental sadness. Given our +2-percent population annual growth, it was the Arroyo government that frankly said that only after a seven-percent GDP growth rate for 7 consecutive years will the Filipinos feel economic relief. But the Philippine economy grew past 7 percent only once during GMA’s long term (2001-2008)—in an election year yet—in 2007,when it posted a 7.3-percent growth rate. Why indeed has the country remained poor? This is what we found out from sources. The age of the country does not determine whether a nation become rich or poor, it would seem. For instance, Egypt and India are more than 2,000 years old but are still considered poor, based on per-capita income. On the other hand, countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand were unimpressive back 150 years ago. Today, they are rich and well-developed nations. The availability of rich, natural resources is not a determinant, either. Japan, for instance, has a limited territory—80 percent of it is considered mountainous and even unfit for agriculture. Yet, today, despite being destroyed in World War II, it is one of the four major economic powers in the world alongside the US, India and China. Japan, it is said, is considered a “floating factory importing raw materials from the whole world and exporting them as finished products,” with profits retained at the Land of the Rising Sun. Singapore is also a tiny island whose economy is rich enough to lend billions to the US. Another example is Switzerland, a nation that does not plant cocoa but produces the best chocolates in the world. It is a small country but transmits an image of security, peace and order, and is among the strongest havens for financial security in the so-called Swiss banks. New Zealand is a tiny island that produces world-class dairy products. Meantime, in comparing the communication and business skills between the executives of the rich countries and the poor ones, researches found that there are no marked differences. Race and skin is also not important—for how can a colored Kenyan-American named Barack Obama be elected president of the most powerful nation in the world? Looking at the behavior of people and government in the successful countries, we noticed a certain preponderance of attitudes and culture that could explain some of the puzzles we posed. Ethics and integrity are cherished benchmarks that everyone respects. Public officials suspected or convicted of graft resign or commit suicide in remorse. In the Philippines, corruption is a way of life, justified by words like S.O.P., et al. Projects have project tongpats ranging between 20 percent to 50 percent on average. In rich nations, people are largely responsible, governed by mottos such as “Duty first before pleasure.” They have respect for law (and order) because they know they will be implemented. In our country, the police and the Judiciary do not ensure a level playing field but are instead becoming instruments of making a mockery of justice by bribe-taking and coercion. In other nations, they are work-loving with strong work ethics, while many Filipinos rely on extended families and a rich habitat where one can fish in rivers and the sea to survive. No ambition is forged, except for daily survival. Perhaps the problem is really attitudinal—because in many countries, the most dedicated, skilled and hard-working people are our overseas Filipino workers, many of them would rather loaf around if they had stayed in the country. In other countries, their citizens strive to save for investments, but Filipinos have been brainwashed (by advertising) to be profligate-spending consumers, but will blow out six months of savings to have a grandiose fiesta to show off. The fiesta mentality, you know. There, they have willpower to do action while many Filipinos daydream and procrastinate as they contemplate their navels over tuba, the Philippine Basketball Association and Manny Pacman. Punctuality there is observed like it is one of the Ten Commandments, whereas this country has been infamous for our “Filipino time.” There is no sense of urgency, in anything, it seems. The bahala na and fatalistic attitude also pervade, like leaving one’s fortune and the entire future entirely in the hands of God, psychics, feng shui and superstition, without helping themselves. That is tragic. Would we alter the course of the nation by changing our attitude and behavior. Can we be the change we want to see? How about it, Juan de la Cruz?

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/banking-a-finance/9959-why-is-the-philippines-poor.html