Over and over again during his presidential campaign, President Bongbong Marcos promised to bring back the “golden age” of the Philippines. The “golden age,” in this context, refers to the time when the Philippines was the regional leader in development indices… when the country had the strongest diplomatic influence… when our defense capabilities were most credible… when we led the region in soft power… when Filipinos were vanguards of technology and innovation and when our cities were most livable.
From our independence in 1946 up to the late seventies, the Philippines was the undisputed leader among its peers, namely Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. This grouping has come to be known as ASEAN-6. It has been downhill since then. From the frontrunner, we are now at the bottom of ASEAN-6.
I daresay this is all due to poor leadership. We have had leaders who were unabashedly lazy and ineffectual, leaders who prioritized vices, vengeance and cronyism and leaders whose lust for money and power superseded propriety and shame. We’ve paid dearly for electing them.
Decades of bad governance caused our institutions to become inefficient, ineffective and unremittingly corrupt. Our laws were written to serve the political elite. Our leaders have ceased to strive for excellence and instead work only to provide the bare minimum so that the people don’t revolt. Government has not done anything, built anything or achieved anything of world-class acclaim – at least not in the last 50 years. They dropped the ball on food security and national security, which is why we can’t even feed or defend ourselves.
Starved of basic social services such as quality education, health care and housing, the Filipino youth has become the least educated, least healthy and least future-ready among his peers. Painful words, I know – but statistics from the ASEAN Statistics Office validate this.
I would like to think BBM is a different type of leader. After all, he is the only one who recognizes the “golden age” and the only one who voluntarily promised to bring it back. He is fundamentally a good man – decent, dignified and a gentleman. The one thing he has yet to prove is his ability to lead the nation with vision and effectiveness. I hope he steps up to the plate.
There is a lot to be done. The Philippines has dropped in most development indices such that we are now the embarrassing laggard among the ASEAN-6. The statistics speak for themselves. I write this not to put a damper on national morale but to serve as a wake-up call to our leaders.
The economy: We are last in economic output (nominal GDP); last in per capita income, recently overtaken by Vietnam; last in economic capability and technological sophistication; last in manufacturing output and merchandise exports; last in extent of electrification but highest in power cost; highest in food cost relative to minimum wage and last in human development index (health, education and standard of living).
Industrial capability: We are last in crude steel production (the National Steel Corporation has ceased to exist); 5th in auto production; 3rd in digital payments; 5th in funds raised through initial public offerings and last in unicorn technology innovation startups.
Infrastructure: We are last in paved roads and expressways (not counting Singapore due to size of country); last in mass transportation networks, last in quality of airports and maritime ports; 5th in internet speed and 5th in number of automated teller machines.
Investments: We had the least foreign investments intake from 2011 to 2021. We lost big-ticket investments last year – Amazon’s $5.7-billion tech facility went to Malaysia. Vehicle giants BYD, Ford and BMW went to Thailand. Mikor UCAV Aircraft chose Indonesia.
Diplomacy: The Philippines is last in terms of diplomatic influence; last in cultural influence and our passport is only the 5th most powerful among the ASEAN-6.
Tourism: We are last in foreign tourism arrivals, pre- and post-pandemic; Manila and Cebu are not even included in good cities to visit; Philippine airports and airlines are not mentioned in the top 50.
Hard and soft power: We are last in the power index; last in military strength index and last in soft power.
Again, I write this not to debase the country but as a wake up call to our leaders. They have done us a disservice for too long.
President Marcos has the opportunity to transform the country from perennial laggard to a serious contender. This is especially true since Congress operates at the pleasure of Malacañang. Hence, painful but necessary reforms can be passed with ease. With corruption controlled, the country will have enough fiscal bandwidth to boost spending on social services and to invest in strategic industries. The private sector is awash with capital and can help government finance vital programs. More significantly, the bureaucracy is paternal. It naturally falls in line with the vision, values and attitude of the Chief Executive. PBBM will do well to leverage on these conditions.
It all starts with the President’s intentions. He must make the decision to be a transformative leader and not just another Chief Executive who perpetuates the status quo with token achievements here and there. He must decide to be the champion of change and to pursue the country’s transformation with vigor and commitment.
That said, he needs to articulate his vision, because it is yet unclear. Unity is not a vision. He needs to clearly define his development priorities, through critical numbers and time-bound deliverables (the 8-point socioeconomic agenda is too general to serve as a benchmark). Above all, he must amend or repeal existing laws that impede progress.
President Marcos has the opportunity to change the trajectory of the country. We have plunged so low that we are desperate for him to do so. After all, he promised to bring back the country’s “golden age.”
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Email: andrew_rs6@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan