What is missing in the Philippines to become a better country?

John Sipin

Studied Finance and IT & PMP, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, CSSGB

This is not an easily “actionable” or answerable question.

What does “become better mean?” Better in what areas. What does China, with 1.6 billion people, need to have to be better? Good luck on that one. What does the US need to become better - more immigrants or fewer immigrants, better race relations, bullet trains like Japan, less democracy?

Also, almost every country is a moving target. Hopefully, most of us are different (hopefully better) than we were 5 or 10 years ago. With a consistent 6% or more GDP growth rate over the last 10 years, the Philippines is no longer the sick man of Asia.

The country's English fluency is both a curse and a blessing. All these talking heads and opinion writers. missionaries (not all) can’t write about Chinese or Japanese in a degrading way because, for the most part, they can’t communicate with the population. They pick up a newspaper in Shanghai and it is all in Chinese characters. So they can’t really have a quick glimpse of what is going on.

You pick up newspapers in Manila and many are in English. You turn on the television in your hotel room and the news is being broadcast in English. So these “quick opinion writers” have a field day writing about things they read, watch and hear from the gentle and friendly people they easily talk with on the streets, at the mall, and at restaurants. And most of their commentaries, if you notice, have a twist - it is good but (and offer their unsolicited commentary of what “should be done for things to better”). They can’t do this in China, or India or Japan because for the most they will have no readers or audience.

So the whole thing is tilted against these wonderful, kind, friendly, and welcoming people. Ungrateful foreigners!

Here are some hard facts:

1. The Philippines was beset by drugs coming in from its neighboring Asian countries. Drug epidemic, as is well known, spawns heavy collateral damage and crime like murder, rape, robbery, and just plain thuggery. There were more than 4 million addicts as the government reported. The new administration of Pres Duterte, to the chagrin of the EU and many human rights groups including Obama, focused first on combating this epidemic. Yes, thousands of drug pushers and others in that narco business perished. The country especially Metro Manila is a safer place - I wish this previous guy would go to the Philippines and check that out.
2. Population. The Philippines has 120,000,000 people spread over 7,100 islands but mainly concentrated in 3 big islands. While there is a concerted effort to control population growth, you can’t turn back the clock. You have to manage, and provide services, and education to that many people - and yes many of them are educated, doctors, nurses, IT folks, and engineers. And many are not, and to survive, they get menial jobs. India has 1.4 billion people - does this writer even have any clue how to provide services, education, and economic opportunities for that many people? So, let us ask the question, again is India doomed? Stupid question it seems to me. Has any one of these opinion writers been to Africa? I hope they go there and look around and see how people survive against all odds.
3. First You Learn How to Survive. Does this previous writer even have the faintest idea of how to survive without education and feed a family of 4, 5, 6, or 7 (in some cases more)? Yes, the Philippines is one of the biggest exporters of talent and human workforce in the world. Yes many of them are maids or helpers, but many still are professionals: doctors, nurses, engineers, IT folks. Their fluency in English helps make it easier for them to be hired. And collectively these overseas Filipino workers remit back to families in the Philippines billions and billions of dollars which is helping fuel a consistent 6% or more economic growth rate of the country. Currently, the transportation infrastructure being built to ease traffic congestion and facilitate the movement of people and goods continues to be at a torrid pace. The Philippines also provides the largest virtual workforce in the world - thanks to the internet and fluency in English. These web developers, C++ coders, Microsoft office experts, database programmers, and admin assistants are providing back office and IT support to thousands of countries in Australia, Europe, US at a fraction of what it would cost them to hire those employees locally.
4. Graft and corruption. This previous writer should check out how this previously endemic problem is being controlled. You check graft and corruption and aggressively control drug addiction and you will see sustained, not overnight, in the people’s attitude and hope for the future. Go check it out. Ask the local Uber driver what he thinks of the peace and order situation. Go to Boracay and see you if you can party all night at the beach and leave your trash behind. Not unless you want to end up in jail. Right now they are cleaning Manila Bay which has one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world.
5. Religion. Catholicism is the dominant religion in the country. It is both a curse and a blessing. It is the only Christian country in Asia. Many say the catholic religion is part of the reason for the explosive population growth. They only seem to teach the natural birth control methods which, as we know, are very low on the efficacy scale.
6. Politics. The country has a democratic system of government. The people, finally, elected a non-catholic president who is agitating the status quo, railing about the unjust exploitation of Westerners. And he is very popular with the people. We will see - but remember reduced drug epidemic, controlled graft and corruption and massive infrastructure development uplift people's morale and hopes for the future. We shall see.
7. Climate. The Philippines is an equatorial country and has a tropical climate. The country is visited by as many as 6 to 10 typhoons (hurricanes) a year wreaking havoc on whatever gains are made in infrastructure, destroying roads and bridges, and killing many people. At the same time, the country is the premier destination of millions of people from countries buried in snow for the better half of the year. Many beaches are aqua-hued and pristine and the accommodations while there continuous to be developed. Sustainability of this God-given natural beauty is the system-wide catchword.

The Western mindset or view will not work in the Philippines. It is like looking at the US culture from a Muslim view point. The Philippines was under the Spanish and catholic influence for about 400 years - and many of the bad by-products of that influence are still rooted in the population. The US influence lasted about 40–50 years and thus the Western culture prevalence and English fluency. Surprisingly, the last 2 1/2 years have seen a major boost in the people's psyche because of a non-Western approach to governance by a new president who is part Muslim.

The greatest treasure of any country is its people. The Filipino people, in due time and with the right top-to-bottom honest but bold leadership, will find its rightful place.

TORPEDOES BE DAMNED!