We are now called Asia's laggard

In May 31, 1997 we wrote: “When Martial Law was declared we were the second most progressive nation in all of Asia. After Martial Law we were the second most economically retarded nation in our part of the world.” It is something that we have written many times before, and many times since.

In the January 22, 2010 edition of Newsweek, an article opens with: “The world has passed the Philippines by, literally. Back in 1960, the country had the second highest per capita income in Asia, lagging behind only Japan. But by the following decade, South Korea and Taiwan had surpassed it, and by the 1980s, Malaysia and Thailand had, too. China overtook it in the late 1990s. And now…Indonesia has sailed past the Philippines.” The author Ruchir Sharma ads it’s now called “Asia’s Laggard.” What is not mentioned though is that at a point, even Bangladesh was doing better.

The article goes on to portray the Philippines as a land of lost opportunity. They use the partially opened Terminal 3 as an example of our in inability to develop new infrastructure. “The controversy surrounding the project again shows that the interpretation of laws is a highly subjective exercise in the Philippines and that the rules can often be changed midway through the game.” Our lack of new and viable infrastructure remains an impediment to any sort of tourism plans, or even economic development plans. Our rule of law unfortunately remains questionable. In August 26, 1997 we wrote: “There is no doubt that the popular perception of the Supreme Court today is that it is just as corrupt as the Administrative and the Legislative Departments of the government . . . Ideally speaking laws should be the true embodiment of everything that is excellent. But the best laws are only as good as the people who will implement them.” If we truly want to eliminate corruption, a good first place to start is by cleaning up our judiciary.

In that same column from August 26, 1997 we say: “Of course, what is happening in the Supreme Court is what happened to the other two departments . . . after the EDSA revolution when the quality of both elected and appointed officials declined. The Senate, for instance, used to be occupied by people who had attained the stature of elder statesmen . . .the fact remains that the nations that are surging forward are led by statesmen while we settled for the incompetent and the unqualified.”

The value of holding honest, fair and clean elections cannot be overstated. More than anything, our ability to properly hold elections informs the international perception of either being a progressive and stable democratic nation or a banana republic. The Newsweek article uses Indonesia as an example of a nation that — while still struggling — can show improvement quickly through elections: “The question now is whether the presidential election set for May can be a game changer in the same way that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s ascension to power was for Indonesia in 2004. Six years ago, Indonesia and the Philippines were not far apart in terms of per capita income, and had other similarities, from political turmoil to an untapped domestic consumer base. Indonesia is hardly a paragon of economic virtue, but its relative success over the past few years shows that it takes only a modicum of political stability and some basic economic reform in a low-income country to usher in the good times.”

We believe in the Philippines and the Filipinos; this is a great country. We have been calling for our candidates to stop relying on the politically expedient tactics of yesteryears and attempt to provide platforms and policies of substance. Demonstrate to Filipinos that you have the policies and plans to truly help the Philippines. With the official start of campaigns — curious though, since it seems we have been seeing our candidates’ faces and slogans on posters, billboards and buses since late last year — the call for substantive policy discussions should only increase. More must be demanded and expected of our candidates. Every election is an opportunity.