If we are to become a hub again

MANY of us feel humiliated as Filipinos by our having been relegated to the backwaters of trading and other relationships even within the Asian region. Even from our “brothers and sisters” in ASEAN, there has been an oft-shown tendency to look down upon our ability as a people to rise beyond our political squabbling and the superficial posturing of those of our “leaders” both in government and business whom they have met. Also feel the inner rage that goes through any Pinoy´s heart every time his passport is scrutinized longer and with more attention by immigration officers in other international ports.

All of the above — plus many more — need to change. And in the next five decades or so we should all be working together to recover our status as a hub for international commerce, business, and political relations. Remember the Manila Galleon: it used to provide a vital link between Asia and America (and through America, with Europe as well). Much of that has been lost since the nineteenth century. Since then, Manila and our country as a whole have become a backwater: we have to get out of this terribly humiliating position.

But we have to introduce a number of transformative changes in our country, if we are going to give ourselves a chance to become a hub, once again, in Asia for regional and even global interconnections. We have plenty of work ahead of us in this regard.

But what should that work consist of such that the needed transformative changes we need to bring about actually get introduced into our beloved land?

In this regard, three relatively young Pinoy professionals, now in the 2nd year of the MBA program at IESE, contributed their own thoughts and suggestions (they will be specifically mentioned in this and in the next four short segments).

The first set of thoughts and suggestions revolve around the “Filipino himself.” This is our most basic national asset or resource: indeed, many keep on mouthing the phrase, “Our people are our best assets”. The transformation we seek should therefore be: no longer to pay mere lip service to such a slogan, but to make it as the centerpiece of any national strategy for us to become much more of a hub in at least our part of the world.

This is what Anna Patricia Fernandez, who is soon graduating from IESE’s MBA program, says:

“Education: this has always been identified as a NEED. But, other than improvements in the educational system or (addressing) the lack of educators, what we need is competent solutions. These (should) loop back to lack of infrastructure, accessibility of information, alternative means of learning, and alternative means of learning for teachers so they keep growing and developing.”

Competent solutions, indeed in the continuing education and formation of our people. In other words, we need to look at our vital national resource, our population, through a totally new set of lens. Instead of treating population as a mere quantitative statistic that we worry about, we should transform our thinking such that we pull together and work towards a qualitative improvement of every Filipino: equip each one of our people with skills; give each one access and mobility; provide everyone with opportunity for continuing self-improvement; and worry about what they learn and how fast they learn. Above all, we should keep renewing our teaching corps, so the members of this corps keep growing and developing themselves through alternative means of learning and teaching.

Indeed, this transformation is called for: instead of treating our people as a mere burden (or worse, as a toy to be played around with), we should invest heavily and continuously on their becoming the ultimate transformation agents of our country.