24 Hours, a parallel

I am tired, irritable, grumpy, my eyes bloodshot, my knees aching, my words slurred. No, I do not have a hangover from drinking. No, I have not been on an all-nighter at work. Fortu-nately, my ego is not that big that I can tell you why I have these symptoms.

I just came off from six days of watching the TV series "24." (With the technology of the fast forward button, I was able to skip the "touchy-feely" or "soapy" sections that did not add to the plot line so I got to see one hour’s worth in 20 minutes)

I can see a parallel between the Philippines and what Jack Bauer’s wife and daughter had to go through. They were kidnapped twice. The Philippines was kidnapped once by the Martial Law era and a second time by the Wrist Band administration and saved twice by people power ("bauer"). (Sorry that pun doesn’t really work, does it?)

The resilience of the two ladies reminds me of the resilience of the Pinoy; that against all adversities we are still there plugging away and hoping. Some would say "waiting for Godot" while others would say if we lose hope we would actually create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

There is hope. I recently sat down with the expatriate heads of two consulting organizations in the Philippines. They were very excited about the prospects of setting up BPO (business process outsourcing) operations in the Philippines. They made the comparisons of the Philippines versus India. I was just an excited observer. They gave me the usual rationale of a less adversarial workforce, good English and low-cost labor. They concluded that with very little capital at risk, the returns are phenomenal in terms of cost savings.

However, they highlighted that the country’s base infrastructure is at risk of breaking down. The power sector needs new generators, and the rates are a turnoff to investors, foreign or local. The dam’s pipes need fixing or else the leaks would drop Manila’s service by 50 percent. There are also the same issues on rates and bureaucratic red tape. The world’s metals prices have surged of late, but our mining laws turn off the foreign players with its nationalistic bent. Our leaders need to understand the cause and effect of inaction and wrong actions. No power and water, no new investors; no BPO, no hope! No new mines, no gains from the mining price surge!

Hmm…what if we set up a BPO operation in Mindanao someday, providing employment to thousands? With thousands of white-collar workers, we will build a middle class. With a strong middle class in Mindanao, the threat of war is reduced or eliminated.

My Two Cents: I wish the Philippines has its own Senator David Palmer with strong values and the political will to tell the truth even if his spouse, who has another agenda, tries to lead him astray. (Methinks, you will agree with me that the parallel was not too far off!)

Shameless Plug

Looking for good pizza, try Pizzeria Pronto at SM Bicutan. Owned by an investor group led by Atty. Tonito Gonzalez of the Picazo law office, this is an example of a startup done right. I guess with all the industrialists and entrepreneurs that he has given legal advice to, some of the DNA had to rub off on him. A textbook execution: good location, good food (the right crust), good service and, of course, value pricing.

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Dickson Co is CFO (C is for Cheap) for Dfnn, Intelligent Wave Philippines and HatchAsia.com. For comments or suggestions, e-mail [email protected].