I guess nobody saw the Asian 21st Century coming, right? China was once a poor nation but look at it now. Vietnam was once a poor nation but look at it now. Singapore was once a poor nation but look at it now. The late great Lee Kuan Yew wrote his book From Third World to First. I'm afraid some people have been using it to go against the presidency of Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. while ignoring what else Lee Kuan Yew had to say. Lee Kuan Yew described the Filipino press to be rambunctious on pages 304-305 which I agree. I'm afraid that the Filipino press may have had a hand in getting rid of any economic or political reforms that could help the Philippines. Yet, one policy has been holding back the Philippines for decades and yes, it's the Filipino First Policy.
Reviewing the Filipino First Policy and why it has no place in the rising Asian 21st century
I remembered how the values education subject taught Carlos P. Garcia's stupid Filipino First Policy as a Filipino value (read here). I guess colonial mentality is often confused with buying something foreign. Colonial mentality, for a start, is when you prefer everything imported or foreign because it's imported or foreign. Meanwhile, it's not a colonial mentality when you like something imported or foreign for its quality. Yet, people tend to say "colonial mentality" to me when I talk about what's local if what's local is of bad quality. The irony is that they're using social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter while using what may be the latest iPhone. Talk about the incredible irony! In the digital age, they should see that the Filipino First Policy caused the Philippines to fail.
The Philippines had its potential before. The Philippines was once richer than China, Singapore, or Vietnam. Some people used to get domestic helpers from China. Today, China is getting domestic helpers from the Philippines. The Philippines underwent colonization with the United States of America (USA) during the Commonwealth Period. Yet, Manuel Luis Quezon foolishly said, "I would rather have Hell run by Filipinos than Heaven run by Americans." There we finally had it. The Filipino First Policy came to be with the guise of "with malice towards none". Yet, the policy has malice towards foreigners such as the excessive 60-40 policy. Protectionism had held the Philippines back while the other Asian countries have risen. Today, the Philippines was overtaken by countries once poorer than it was! Now, Filipinos are flying to these countries once poorer than it looking for jobs.
The Philippines had its potential before. The Philippines was once richer than China, Singapore, or Vietnam. Some people used to get domestic helpers from China. Today, China is getting domestic helpers from the Philippines. The Philippines underwent colonization with the United States of America (USA) during the Commonwealth Period. Yet, Manuel Luis Quezon foolishly said, "I would rather have Hell run by Filipinos than Heaven run by Americans." There we finally had it. The Filipino First Policy came to be with the guise of "with malice towards none". Yet, the policy has malice towards foreigners such as the excessive 60-40 policy. Protectionism had held the Philippines back while the other Asian countries have risen. Today, the Philippines was overtaken by countries once poorer than it was! Now, Filipinos are flying to these countries once poorer than it looking for jobs.
We have "thought leaders" and "think tanks" still stuck with the third-world mentality. I'm amazed at how the IBON Foundation "think tank" still believes in protectionism. I'm amazed at how IBON has a deadly obsession with cash handouts (read here). Former senator Teodoro A. Casino and Neri Colmenares (both members of Bayan Muna) are still insisting that protectionism is better. Sometime this 2022, I watched the video of Carwyn Candila of the League of Filipino Students (LFS) in his renunciation of the Public Services Act of 2022. I'm amazed at how these people are still stuck in what Lee Kuan Yew called "third-world mentality" in From Third World to First. Lee Kuan Yew defied such people in his day and look where it took Singapore. Yes, Garcia's Filipino First Policy is pretty much a third-world mentality!
Garcia's mentality was practically, "Let's do everything ourselves." I think he even equated letting more foreign investments in as the nation losing its soul. Did the guy take a few pointers from Chairman Mao Zedong when he ruled China? I even beg to differ in calling him the most illustrious son of Bohol. This is a far contrast from what Lee Kuan Yew would later deliver in a speech in December 1980. Amazing that Lee Kuan Yew, a democratic statesman, still praised Communist leader, Deng Xiaoping as a great man. Deng said, "Let's stop trying to do everything ourselves." Deng is also known for his black cat and white cat quote. Deng didn't care too much about the cat's color as long as it got rid of the mice that plagued the place.
This is the problem of the Filipino First Policy. It's very similar to the Great Leap Forward program of Mao in China. What a chilling thing that a few months later after Garcia made his statement--Mao also launched the failed Great Leap Forward. Mao tried to self-industrialize China but it only led to failure. Deng, having been part of it, saw its failure. Though the consequences aren't as fatal--no one can deny that the Filipino First Policy has held the Philippines backward. Yet, people who praise Garcia tend to shift the blame to where it doesn't belong in defense of it. Some may blame the rich for their plight. They might even blame the first-world countries (instead of poor economic policies) why the Philippines being left behind. I guess it's only fair enough that if Garcia gets buried at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani (Graveyard of the Heroes) then so does Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. Both Garcia and Marcos Sr. were heroes all right--heroes of economic protectionism.
The Philippines should learn from its neighboring countries instead
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| Listen to him and those who think alike, not the social media gossipers! |
The Philippines is part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) yet it's still left behind. The reason has to be still sticking to what Lee Kuan Yew called a third-world mentality. The development economists of Lee Kuan Yew's day all taught that foreign investments are bad. Kishore Mahbubani in The Singapore Economic Model soon said in his statement that nations failed to learn. Some foolish people say that the Philippines can't imitate Singapore due to the size difference. However, we saw how China and Vietnam, two Communist countries, learned from Singapore and became powerhouses. Though, China right now needs to really get rid of the ban on Facebook and Google (or ease censorship to a certain extent) if it still expects to become a powerhouse. Meanwhile, Vietnam learned from the late Nguyen Duy Cong (aka Do Muoi) with his Doi Moi policy.
Instead, we need to dump the Filipino First Policy. I've heard a lot of those excuses. There's the lie that only foreigners will get rich. There's the lie that foreign investors are invaders of national sovereignty. There's the lie that Filipino businesses will go bankrupt. There's the lie that foreign investment means neglecting local businesses. There's the lie that foreign investors will not employ locals. Lies, lies, and more lies. All those scare tactics are really built on lies (read here). As Mahbubani states that foreign investors create jobs, bring capital, bring markets, and they train and develop our labor force. What Mahbubani said is a very stark contrast to what Hilario G. Davide Jr. said in regard to foreign investors.
Deng got rid of Mao's obsolete "China First Policy". Instead of doing everything on their own--Deng bought some Boeing 707 and Tridents. Deng invited investors to teach China new skills. Deng met with Lee Kuan Yew and things started to change for the better. Do Muoi learned from Lee Kuan Yew and Vietnam has become a powerhouse. I'm not a bit surprised at Vietnam's rise after it modified its Communist manifesto. Do Muoi ends up becoming another known economic reformer. I'd say that both Deng and Do Muoi are great men in spite of being Communists themselves.
Marcos Jr. now has a tremendous responsibility as the 17th president. Marcos Jr. did meet with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. I believe Marcos Jr. must now make economic liberalization a policy. Nobody would want to invest if they were subject to ridiculous restrictions. Speaking of which, Lee Hsien Loong had shaken hands with several former Philippine such as Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, and Rodrigo R. Duterte. That's why I want to shift to a parliamentary system--good leaders may get more terms while bad leaders may get disqualified (read here). The legislative should move forward towards economic liberalization. That means it's time to kick out the Filipino First Policy.
Instead, it's time to have the Philippines fitting into the Asian 21st Century. It will be a Philippines that will be investing and welcoming investments without unnecessary hurdles. We're seeing some Filipino companies (such as Jollibee and Universal Robina Corporation) becoming multinational corporations (MNCs). There's no reason why the Philippines should still suffer from excessive restrictions. Healthy competition is good for business. It's because competition exists that I can eat a delicious Jollibee hamburger. Saying competition ruins quality is stupid. A lack of competition is why some areas of the Philippines are still weak. It's because of competition that there will be more choices. The Philippines should not follow the old third-world view. Instead, it's time for the Philippines to follow what Mahbubani would call it, the Asian 21st Century.
References
Books
"From Third World to First--The Singapore Story: 1965-2000) by Lee Kuan Yew
Harpers Collins Publishers
Videos
"The Singapore economic model - VPRO documentary - 2009" by VRPO Documentary (September 8, 2018)
Websites
"Ex-chief justice warns PH will be a 'colony' if foreign capital limits are lifted" by Trisha Billones (January 29, 2018)
"LEE KUAN YEW TALKS ABOUT THE FAILURE OF MAOISM AND DENG XIAOPING’S SHIFT TOWARDS CAPITALISM"
"Long overdue laws finally passed" by Andrew J. Masigan (April 06, 2022)
"What Was the Great Leap Forward?" by The Investopedia Team, Reviewed by Michael J. Boyle (September 22, 2021)