Learn from Singapore, but PH should chart own course

American culture has also pervaded most aspects of our day-to-day lives so much so that the English-speaking world has recognized 40 Philippine English words and put them smack into the Oxford Dictionary. (Beat that Singlish!)

More recent events has shown us other examples of the Philippines adapting some 1st world ideas, from short-term exercises such as propagating more bicycle lanes in main city thoroughfares (which actually did not push through), to large-scale long-term urban projects such as Manila Bay’s Casino Complex (watch out Marina Bay and Sentosa!).

These projects, among the many others that happened in the past or are underway, albeit perceivably progressive and may result to some eventual socioeconomic benefits, seem to be modeled a little bit too much from what the 1st world is doing that our country’s key decision makers tend to forget that we have to determine our success on our terms. 

We should not gauge our country’s progress simply on the cleanliness of our streets, the sizes and quantities of our shopping malls and casinos, or the splendor of our skyscrapers and the names of the companies they house. 

Why? Our political, economic, social and cultural landscape offers a unique set of challenges that superficial adaptations of 1st world practices cannot outright solve.

‘BISYON 2030’ 

If Singapore has its own 20-year plan across all areas of development, let me draw up (literally, draw) my own vision for the Philippines in 2030: a future in where the nation has achieved, at least in my definition, progress on OUR TERMS.

(Disclaimer: the drawings are done for comedic and dramatic effect – I’ll let actual, more qualified policy makers deal with the specifics)

• Agriculture – A sector that’s more technologically equipped, employed by more highly skilled and self-sufficient farmers that actually reap the profits of their own harvest.

• Technopreneurship – A growing sector of entrepreneurs using their business acumen and technological knowhow to alleviate problems unique to the Philippines.

• The Arts and Media – A robust and well-funded creative industry that tell meaningful stories unique to the Filipino experience executed so expertly that they trend across video-on-demand streams worldwide, such as Netflix or Amazon Instant Video. (I really think we are on the right track with films such as “On The Job”)

• Small Enterprises – Traditional small enterprises, from mom & pop shops to family-run neighborhood restaurants, empowered by the reach and efficiency of technology, allowing them to effectively serve a wider range of customers.

• Interclass Cooperation: The rich and poor working together to alleviate pressing social problems such as poverty, homelessness, and crime, constituting a continuous feedback loop of insight and expertise from both sides.

(This “solution” was inspired by this wonderful book, “Genius of the Poor” by Thomas Graham)

• Education: An education system that’s increasingly putting more emphasis on science and technology, enabling future innovators to create solutions specific to the country’s challenges. (i.e. we need more homegrown companies like Solar Philippines, who’s trying to use new tech to solve old problems)

Those are some examples I can think of for now. But the gist is pretty much: assess our own unique circumstances (both the past and the current), leverage on our own competitive advantages (like our natural resources and our people), and most importantly: GET IT DONE!

But of course, I’m stating the obvious, and hugely understating the complexity of getting things done in the country.

Get the Basics Done Right!

Let’s face it. The Philippines is uniquely the Philippines, and only visions and solutions tailored to our circumstances and deeply-rooted in alleviating the struggles of the majority of the population can truly define our success as a nation.

We are not Singapore, the United States, or (insert name of some progressive eco-friendly Scandinavian country here). We did not experience decades of “benevolent dictatorship” as Singaporeans have. We did not develop a robust economic and cultural machine as the Americans have, coming from the struggles of World War II all the way through their dominance in the later part of the 20th century. Nor did we historically build our government based on pragmatism and transparency as the Nordic countries have.

So in essence, we can’t just simply replicate what our first world counterparts are doing.

Like most OFWs, I get my impressions on what’s happening back home through what see in mass media. And based on what I’ve been seeing and reading, the “progress” that the Philippines is going through is still frustratingly inadequate. 

Not just because we see a lack of trying at home (and I know there’s a lot of capable people busting their butts to get things done to achieve the more important things), but also the efforts we generally see are falling short of contributing to “true progress”.

There are a lot of lessons we can learn from the first world counterparts of course, but we should look deep into how we can truly apply them to our own context. But our decision makers keep focusing on the superficial stuff. Those brand spanking new casinos in Manila Bay or those one-day bike days on EDSA aren’t enough to bring the country forward.  

There are the basics we still need to focus on: decreasing income inequality, eliminating corruption from our institutions, improving public transportation, managing overpopulation especially in our urban centers, and of course getting FAST AND RELIABLE INTERNET, to name a few.

Addressing these fundamental problems now can definitely help lead us to that “Bisyon 2030” I just outlined (hopefully we can do it much sooner that 2030). 

And only after getting those done can we go blow off our money on some hard-earned, shiny stuff for the country. – Rappler.com

Eric is an advertising professional based in Singapore that writes and doodles in his spare time about technology, business and entrepreneurship, world issues, popular culture and other nerdy stuff he finds interesting, which he hopes you’ll find interesting too! So, check out his blog at Humid Monkey and get your newsfeeds bombarded with more content by liking the Facebook page.