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| Listen to him and those who think alike, not the naysayers! |
I created this blog without the intent of writing politics into it. I for one am for constitutional reform every now and then. One of these provisions of the constitution I believe that really needs reform is the economic provision. I may be no economist or constitutionalist but I can see (to a certain extent) where it's going. I've read the Filipino First Policy by Carlos P. Garcia. The aim was to make sure that at the end of the day, Filipinos will become the majority of the shareholders. However, decades of Filipino First Policy have caused us to be left behind. That's why I believe it's time to change it.
Naysayers against economic constitutional reform
However, some people (such as Hilario Davide Jr.) would end up saying something like, "I don't believe that anything needs to be amended. The 1987 Constitution is the best in the world." Davide Jr. even went on to say that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is the only constitution that says the public office is a public trust. Please, Thomas Jefferson had long said that, and he was born way before Davide Jr. was born! Singapore's Public Trustee Act of 1915 was there before Davide Jr. was born into the world. Any good constitution in the world will specify itself as a public trust. Ironic that Davide was a diplomat to the United Nations (UN) for some time just like Singaporean-Indian Kishore Mahbubani. I'm simply amazed at the ignorance that Davide had told reporters that removing 60-40 will turn the Philippines into a "colony of foreign businessmen". This really makes me laugh because Mahbubani was also a UN Diplomat like he was. I even wonder how Mahbubani would react if Davide Jr. would say to him in Singapore, "If the Philippines will remove 60-40--we will become a colony of foreign businessmen." Mahbubani might end up saying, "Are you trying to kid me? Didn't you listen to me? Foreign investment create jobs, bring in capital, bring in markets, develop and train our labor force. Look at Singapore now."
Teodoro Casino of Bayan Muna even wrote his opinion piece in Rappler about how charter change reverses the gains of EDSA. I would confess that I wouldn't be able to blog right now without EDSA. However, it's best to point out the mistakes after EDSA and rectify them. I'm amazed that Casino himself where says that without definite limits, foreign investors will "conquer" the Philippines. Casino operates with a very leftist view. Having been a lawyer and lawmaker--is he totally aware that the government still can control foreign investments even if there are no definite limits such as 60-40? Who says that the state isn't involved? The state is involved when it allows foreign investors to do business provided that they follow business laws and pay taxes. All Casino does is talk and talk without results.
IBON Foundation is another. I'm amazed at how Sonny Africa, a graduate of the London School of Economics, even dares to say that the latest industrialized such as South Korea, Taiwan, and China allegedly had lesser foreign investments in their periods of economic takeoff than the Philippines does today. I wonder where Africa got his empirical evidence to back up his claim? That's why I really can't even take IBON Foundation seriously. True, they have gathered numerical data but they also tend to engage in pie-in-the-sky statistics. A good example is was it the fault of outing Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte that gasoline prices are higher? Did they not consider the war in Ukraine that's going on? Worse, people at IBON have that deadly obsession with ayuda or government handouts--something that's also holding back the nation from development.
The naysayers will do everything to stop it. There have been many lies such as that only foreign investors will get rich, that they will rob the resources, exploit the people, that it automatically means environmental destruction, etc. Yet, North Korea and Venezuela, two isolationist countries have been suffering from higher degrees of pollution. Meanwhile, China has had an active role in trying to curb air pollution and they have the money to do so. Though, I still feel China needs to lift the ban on Google and Facebook, not to meddle too much in political views (hence causing Lotte to leave). North Korea and Venezuela are practicing economic nationalism but at what cost? The empirical data of these two countries are working against the naysayers. These naysayers either believe their lies or are lying for their own convenience.
Why I stand for economic charter change
There are still laws regarding businesses, after all. All businesses, whether local or foreign, will be subject to business rules. There are labor laws, environmental laws, intellectual property laws, and other laws to follow. Any business is required to be in agreement with the state that the business is to follow these rules. There are penalties to follow such as hefty fines, closure, imprisonment, and in the case of foreign investors, deportation like bad tenants who are kicked out. These laws will guarantee that foreign investors will not exploit the locals or destroy businesses directly. The only businesses that die (whether local or foreign) are those that don't evolve. If an incompetent foreign investor enters the Philippines then it will die under the feet of competent Filipino businessmen. If a Filipino investor is incompetent then it will die under the feet of any investor whether Filipino or foreign. Filipino businesses have their choice to either (1) evolve and match up to foreign investors, or (2) whine and eventually perish in competition. Either they say, "More competition? Well, I've got new customers and new networks!" or "Waaaaahhhh! I hate competition!" These choices will determine if they will fall under the mercy of foreign investors or if they will match up to them. Then again, there are also laws such as the Fair Competition Act that make sure all competitors are protected from unhealthy competition.
If we want to prove Filipinos are great--let them face competition. Let the Philippines follow its neighboring ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Singapore. What we need is more than a rising tiger. Let foreign investors arrive, let them get registered, and let's follow the Singaporean model. Don't say Singapore is too small that it can't be followed. Deng Xiaoping of China, followed the Singapore model. Look where Deng brought China into. The Philippines should lay aside its Pinoy Pride economic nationalism for good.
References
Books
Videos
"The Singapore economic model - VPRO documentary - 2009" by VRPO Documentary (September 8, 2018)
Websites
https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/PTA1915