FILIPINOS FEND FOR THEMSELVES AS GOVT SHAMBLES ALONG

WHEN a prestigious topranking group reports the rise of the Philippines in one specific area, just like the recent 49th placement of the country in the World Talent Ranking ( the Philippines ranked 55th in the last ranking), a concerned citizen does two things. First, find out the specific metrics where our dear Philippines made significant strides. Second, find out the areas where the official state, meaning the government, provided the environment — the push — that led to the rise in the rankings.

Any rise, this is the textbook formula, can only be driven by public-private collaboration, but with the public push more dominant than the private support.

But when you look into the specifics of the report of the International Institute die Management Development ( IMD), the Lausanne- based business school that did the ranking in partnership with the Asian Institute of Management ( AIM), one thing stands out — that the rise in the rankings was driven by the collective efforts of a determined people. And in areas where the official state was supposed to give the push — like in the very critical area of education — government support was non- existent. Supporting education is a constitutional mandate and there is a specific provision for that.

Simply put, people rise purely on their own drive and initiative, without — or rather — despite the government.

The IMD- AIM findings showed that the Philippines posted marked improvements in the following areas: skilled labor, language skills and the increasing share, among university degree holders, of STEM graduates — the science, technology, engineering and mathematics focused- courses.

Where did regression and decline take place? The findings were very clear. In primary education, secondary education and student mobility. On student mobility, our ranking was a dismal 56th. Why were we kulelat in student mobility? The report noted that very few Filipinos get exposed to foreign tertiary education, which is routine for other countries. Indeed, if your educational grounding, which means the primary and secondary level, is inadequate how can you expect to gain entry into the US, European and Asian universities? How can you gain admission into the nearby National University of Singapore if your computational and comprehension skills are below par?

Foreign universities, except for fake schools such as the now- defunct Trump University, have certain admission standards. Even if the Filipino young have money, or have benefactors who can send them to foreign universities, the strict admission standards of foreign tertiary schools are a big hurdle.

The report made some things very clear. In areas where the young did sariling sikap, they made improvements. In the areas that are within the basic and fundamental functions of government, such as primary and secondary education, there was only decline and regression.

The young move up, despite a shambling, chaotic, clueless government. In a recent piece, I wrote about a country that can’t even build enough classrooms.

If you were observant enough, this other thing stands out. Crisis after crisis, the government is mostly absent from the lives of people. Through crisis after crisis, Filipinos fend for themselves and are generally oblivious of a shambling government.

The government responds to crisis with big words and grand pronouncements. But the “concern” for suffering Filipinos ends with the bloviation.

The African swine fever (ASF)induced crisis, which was introduced into the country by tainted meat from China and via the greed of meat importers/ processors, was an opportunity for government to make up for its failure on the agricultural front.

Yet, except for some small swill- feeding hog raisers in Quezon City ( which should not be permitted at all under the stringent Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board zoning requirements), not many hog raisers whose stocks were hit by the ASF have been paid the promised P5,000 per head. And the non- payment is true from Batangas to Pangasinan.

Either the agencies tasked to pay the affected hog raisers are sleeping on their jobs or are themselves plagued the usual bureaucratic inertia.

It does not require a week to validate the hog deaths, process the payments and prepare the pay- out. On the ground this is the reality — waiting for payment is just like “waiting for Godot.”

If you think that the government has lifted a hand to support the dying three million rice farmers, here is the reality. Up to now, the government is still deliberating on how to “support” the 3 million small rice farmers dislocated by the worst law to have been passed in the 21st century.

On how weak the government’s response to crisis has been, or on how feckless has been its policies on social amelioration, we are reminded of the supposed “sea- ready” fishing boat that a supposed Chinabased group had “donated” to the Gem-Ver fishermen.

The boat F/B Pengyou never made it to sea. An online news report described what happened to the Pengyou:

“On the shores of a barangay in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, the F/B Pengyou lay in ruins — its body ripped in half, its hull buried in the sand.”

In response to the crisis that affects mostly marginal Filipinos, the response of government often comes in two forms: either nothing or worthless offers such as the Pengyou, which are good for nothing.

But then, what, really, can you expect of a government that cannot even prepare adequately for the Southeast Asian Games?