Should the Philippines Rely SOLELY on Filipino Economists, for Economic Advice?

In the Philippines, I associate August not with National Language Month but with National History Month. The Buwan ng Wika (Month of the Language) programs tend to showcase more on cultural heritage and history. However, it was in August of 1934 when the National Economic Protectionism Association was created. Again, let me remind people that protectionist measures should only be enacted as legislation, not enshrined in the Philippine Constitution. It's more than time to address how Pinoy Pride is often associated with making even socio-economic decisions (read here). That's what I call Pinoy Pride Economics--something akin to Filipino First Policy. 

It should be crazy that a certain fat guy with glasses said something like, "Why are you looking for foreign economists to see what needs to be done with the Philippines? Idiot, if you want to change, ask our local economists like the Monsods." What should even be funnier is that the guy advocates Communism, an ideology that started in Germany (and I wonder if he'd soon like that Karl Marx was a Filipino, which is impossible) and evolved in Russia (under Vladimir Lenin), China (under Mao Zedong), North Korea (under Kim Il Sung), and Vietnam (under Ho Chi Minh). Even funnier is that the IBON Foundation even hired the expertise of Irene Khan, a foreigner, to help them against red-tagging. Where's the consistency then?

Basically, it's a case-by-case basis when foreigners give criticism to the Philippines. What I don't like is when foreigners with low credibility criticize the Philippines. For example, how could the USA afford to criticize the Philippines during COVID-19, when they were doing much worse in the COVID response? It would be understandable if the criticism came from neighboring Asian countries that did much better with the COVID-19 response. It's all about the validity and credibility of the critic. It's like, "Don't criticize someone for the wrong they did if you yourself are doing it." 

As I mentioned, did you know Singapore used to be poorer than the Philippines? The same went for Vietnam after the Vietnam War. China also became super poor after Mao Zedong died in power. These three countries were doing poorly, while the Philippines was once the Pearl of the Orient. However, where did the Philippines fail, and these three succeeded? Please, don't give me the excuse that the Philippines is poorer because these countries "stole" the wealth of the Philippines! That's just like President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, continually blaming the USA for problems he caused himself. Also, remember, poverty didn't hit Venezuela because of federalism, but poor economic policies. I'm an advocate for converting the 13 regions into 13 states. However, federalism is no panacea.

As I was reading from Third World to First, the late Lee Kuan Yew had a choice. LKY found out that he had to deal with local economists with a third-world mentality. One important detail was that LKY refused to trust solely in the Singaporean economists of his day. Singapore would've never risen to its status if LKY had followed the advice of economists with a third-world mentality. LKY hired the late Albert Winsemius, a Dutch economist, to assist Singapore. In fact, LKY even stated this in his book From Third World to First on page 60:

Winsemius played a crucial role as economic adviser, serving for 23 years until 1984. He visited Singapore twice a year, each time for about three weeks. We paid for his air tickets and hotel bills in Singapore but for nothing else. To keep him up to date, Ngiam, his EDB liaison officer, sent him regular reports and daily copies of the Straits Times. His practice was to spend his first week in Singapore in discussions with our officials, the next with executives of MNCs and some Singapore companies, and also with NTUC (National Trades Union Congress) leaders. He would submit his report and recommendations to the minister of finance and to me. Then I would have a working lunch with him alone.

The top executives of the MNCs soon appreciated the value of his role and spoke freely to him of their problems: overregulation by the government, the rising value of the Singapore dollar, too much job-hopping, too restrictive a policy on employing foreign workers, and so on. Winsemius had a pragmatic, hands-on approach, a good head for figures, and a knack for getting to grips with the basic issues, ignoring the mass of details. Most of all he was wise and canny. I learned much from him especially about how European and American CEOs think and operate.

The same went for Vietnam and China. The late Nguyen Duy Cong, aka Do Muoi (who died in his 100s), and the late Deng Xiaoping both asked for advice from LKY. It's easy to say that Singapore allows FDI because of its lack of natural resources. However, Vietnam was a country rich in natural resources, but it was poorer than Singapore. Vietnam was once a picture of what could've been if the Communist Party of the Philippines had successfully taken over the Philippines. However, Do Muoi was under the rule of the late Nguyen Van Linh. It was during Van Linh's rule that Doi Moi took root (read here). Do Muoi even asked LKY what Vietnam can do, to attract more FDI! Do Muoi became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam from 1991-1997, when Vietnam even saw significant growth. Just imagine if Deng and Van Linh had kept listening to their local economists only. Instead, both leaders knew that they had to think outside the box. Deng and Linh may have even hired economists from Singapore (and other countries) to help them in the economic aspect, despite sticking to certain ideologies by Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. 

The Philippines could do itself a favor by not solely relying on Filipino economists. After all, no nation is meant to be isolated. Years of isolationism only made China and Vietnam poor. Years of isolationism explains why North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela are poor. In the context of Deng (who's not respected by CPP members and its supporters), it's not about whether the cat is black or white. What mattered to Deng was that the cat caught mice. That means I don't care if the economist is a Filipino or a foreigner, as long as they can provide sound economic advice for the Philippines.