Solution imitation

SEOUL, South Korea – “Imitation is the best form of flattery” they say. So why not simply copy the successful solutions used or done by others to address problems we face individually or as a nation?

During this trip to Seoul, Korea, I had the good fortune to meet and spend a lot of time with IT engineers, innovators and business leaders both young and old, from Korea, China, Australia and the Philippines. Most of the discussions have been focused on how to use technology to solve problems, sharing observations and experiences while talking about “actual use” cases where there is a need that technology or thinking does not address correctly or exactly. These dialogues have turned out to be a gold mine for me as far as harvesting ideas, solutions and changing mindsets from “don’t know” to “what if?”

Since we all flew in to Korea, it was inevitable to talk about our travel experiences as well as the perpetual whine about the outdated, dilapidated and microscopic Manila International Airport complex. Most of the guys who live or do business in the Philippines are familiar with the proposal of the business dragons to renovate or build a bigger airport terminal complex on the same site. Even the guys who built and run the Cebu International airport now want to get into the act. But as has been pointed out by San Miguel president and CEO Ramon Ang as well as chairman Manny Pangilinan of the MVP group, the problem with the renovation idea is that we still need one or two additional new runways to decongest flights in and out of NAIA.

As our group of speculators broke bread and compared airports, it occurred to me that Hong Kong and Tokyo had the same problems so they built off-shore which at the time was out of the ordinary if not insane. But they did it anyway. In the case of NAIA, there is too much politics in the way and not enough political will to do it. That’s when I had an equally insane idea: why not build elevated runways – strip by strip over the entire NAIA property similar to how Skyway and the SLEX to NLEX connector road will simply go over or on top of everything in its path. As one guy pointed out what I was suggesting was the equivalent of an aircraft carrier at sea except this one would be land-based.

Picking up from what I saw here in Korea, all the offices for flights and commercial operations of the NAIA would be rebuilt under the elevated runway. Just like Seoul, we could sell 50 to 99-year rights for the properties beneath the runways. You could double or triple the efficiency and land use of NAIA and end up with one or two more runways than we have. All this would require serious planning, scheduling and engineering. But if you can build a runway, land a plane on top of a ship with a thousand to 5,000 people on board and millions of dollars of military equipment on it, the technology and risks would certainly be much less on dry land if done right by companies with proven track record. We might have to shift flights to Clark temporarily but it would also be an opportunity for Clark International to run a full load instead of playing second fiddle or third place in terms of air traffic operations and management.

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While listening to technical presentations I learned that the Korean government has recently gotten serious about cleaning up their rivers and there is now a law that holds seven cities and some districts directly responsible for maintaining water quality on their major river to the highest level. Unlike Metro Manila where it is everybody’s responsibility but nobody’s concern, here in South Korea, the cities or districts are liable for the area of the river in front of them. We should copy the solution and pass a law where LGUs and/or its officials may be penalized for failing to seriously monitor, police and manage the cleanliness of the Pasig River. Don’t leave it to some NGO or bureaucracy. Such a law could impose continuing fines or deductions from their IRA or national government funding for each day/week/month they do not act or work on rehabilitating and cleaning up their portion of the Pasig river.

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Whenever we talk about Korea the common topics are K-Pop, Korea’s economic boom, spicy food like Kimchi and Bulgogi, the politics and scandals. First of all they have such a great variety of sweet, sour, vegetarian, meat and fish dishes that are fried, steamed, boiled or grilled. I’m sure I gained more pounds than the days I spent here. News flash, I tried to buy deodorant here and I was told that it is always a challenge to foreigners because it’s not something that’s in demand. They have lots of cars but barely any traffic because they have dozens of train lines and their major thoroughfares are 12 lanes – six /six each way. As we traveled in and out of Seoul I noticed right away that Koreans patronized Korean products and had confidence in Korean brands. Foreign or American brands or stores were far and few in between and Korean roads are ruled by Hyundai and KIA vehicles.     

Listening to local businessmen and professionals, it became clear that unlike Filipinos who have not learned our lessons well, our Korean neighbors constantly remind themselves that many Koreans paid a dear price in terms of many lives lost due to corruption. Our host pointed out that corruption led to lethal construction of buildings and bridges that collapsed in the past and killed hundreds of Koreans. I suddenly remembered Korea‘s days of street rebellions and more recently how they stayed out in the streets just to kick out a lady President implicated in financial scandals. when they say “Never Again“ they mean “Never Again.”

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