‘Virtuous Impatience’

Abook that should be read especially by decision-makers is Dr. Ernesto M. Pernia’s collection of essays entitled “Virtuous Impatience.” For so long a time, he noted, we have missed opportunities because of our “vicious patience” which had made us so “tolerant” of the status quo.

Published in 2020, this anthology spans a period of two decades. It documents his observations as professor of economics at the University of the Philippines, a national and international consultant (Asian Development Bank and International Labour Organization), and Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning.

In the first part – development policy and institutions or aspects of governance, Pernia emphasizes our lack of a sense of urgency not only in policy making and legislation but also in the implementation and enforcement of laws. For this to materialize, our citizenry would have to be “virtuously impatient rather than be overly tolerant, forbearing and patient, waiting for progress to come down like manna from heaven. Many wonder why our legislators and policy makers who travel frequently don’t seen moved to effectively apply to our country the lessons they have learned from their tours.” He explains the dynamic economic progress of our neighbors to the way they value time.

Pernia provides examples of the impact of our “vicious patience” by citing programs such as the agrarian reform program which was “unable to make meaningful change in the current state of poverty and social justice,” the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) 3 airport terminal building, one of the much delayed projects, and the more than a decade-old Reproductive Health Bill – a policy reform for women’s rights, poverty alleviation and human development. The latter, he noted has been debated to death in Congress and the delay may be largely responsible to the rise in maternal mortality and teenage pregnancies. Recent examples are the new mining policy which was designed to encourage responsible mining. The privatization of the Angat Hydroelectric Power Plant that was mired in judicial litigation, the rationalization of fiscal incentives, the Freedom of Information Bill, and the Maguindanao massacre trial of the century. He also cites infrastructure projects such as the public-private partnership projects or PPPS.

It is time that our leaders change their work ethos and cites examples such as our legislators who seem to take their responsibilities lightly as shown in poor attendance when in session, usually for just three days a week with frequent adjournments and recesses, and the huge backlog of cases in the judiciary.

In the second part, he tackles poverty and our unsteady economic growth with the theme that “pro-poor growth is better than pro-poor programs as the latter tend to be fiscally unsustainable.”

The third part discusses “population and development” which is intertwined with poverty and economic growth and that if sustained over time, many of the country’s development constraints would have been overcome. He compares the population of the Philippines and Thailand both of which had 37 million in 1970. In the late 70’s the Philippines had 110 million and a poverty incidence of 16.6 percent, and Thailand, 70 million, and poverty incidence of 8.0 percent.

On the role of Church and State, the author noted how the Church had been a stumbling block in the Philippines’ sustained development.

He suggests four recommendations for a shortterm agenda, namely, traffic management and order in the streets; cleanliness in cities; holding down labor cost; and policy consistency and minimizing bureaucratic red tape.

The long-term agenda consists of investing in physical and human infrastructure, revitalizing agriculture, restoring the environment, maintaining economic openness, and curtailing population growth.

Through all six parts or some 45 essays in this compendium, the author had written in simple, clear language why we have failed to catch up with the rest of our neighbors in the ASEAN. But up to this time we have failed to do so. This is shown in the yawning gap between those at the center and the periphery.

As we who have worked in development also observed, we start a project with enthusiasm but are not able to sustain enough interest to see it through. Success in every endeavor demands teamwork. We appear to lack adequate motivation and the will to succeed. I am sure some will remember the many occasions when a meeting could not start on time for lack of a quorum. We talk about excellence or perfection, but we do not seem to be able to muster the discipline to attain it. We appear to be satisfied with mediocrity. Our strong attachment to family has made us protective of our small group that we have excluded others who do not belong to our family or social circles.

I thank Neny Pernia, his wife and current president of the Philippine Communication Society who gifted me the book during the PCS Christmas party. I was once a founder and first president when we organized it in 1989. At that time, Ernie and I were colleagues at the Philippine Social Science Council where he was president of the Philippine Economics Society.

Dr. Pernia has started the process of looking inward, and I hope the rest of us would engage in a similar introspection. A blessed Christmas to you all!