A friend who regularly reads my blog recently suggested that I write about the Philippines. At first, I hesitated. I never felt I had much to say about the country, largely because my impressions of its leadership and people have been ambivalent.
I did, however, spend a year in Makati in the late 1970s,
pursuing a graduate degree in management at the Asian Institute of Management
(AIM). My boss at Genting, the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, had hoped I would
complete an MBA at Harvard, but my English proficiency was poor at the time,
and my GMAT scores were not enough. AIM was my compromise.
The Philippines I Remember
Makati was an affluent enclave, full of tall buildings and
modern shopping malls. By contrast, downtown Manila still had horse-drawn
carriages weaving through seas of jeepneys. Marcos Sr. ruled the country as a
dictator. Thanks to Tan Sri Lim’s sponsorship and an ASEAN-AIM scholarship, I
lived comfortably but rarely ventured beyond the campus neighbourhood.
The course was demanding—three case studies a day, frequent
surprise tests, and mandatory class participation, especially during the first
two semesters. Even as a University of Malaya engineering graduate, I found it
challenging. Some professors, many trained at Harvard, were excellent and
helped me think more holistically about decision-making.
Yet, I was not impressed by many of my Filipino classmates.
While they were vocal in class, I often found their arguments shallow. Some
seemed to talk their way through the program, though a few serious scholars
later pursued DBAs at Harvard.
Outside academics, I noticed a culture of hedonism. Bars
were crowded with middle-aged patrons in tight jeans, singing and drinking with
abandon.
My Growing Prejudice
Years later, during my second posting in Singapore in the
late 2010s, I frequently saw groups of Filipina domestic helpers socializing
along Orchard Road on Saturday evenings. Filipinos are also highly visible in
global hospitality, cruise, and medical care industries, but less so in
non-service sectors.
On a personal note, I was once scammed out of a few hundred
US dollars while trying to assist a Singapore friend who “emailed” an SOS
message to say that he had been robbed of everything while visiting the
Philippines. Experiences like these reinforced my negative perception of the
country and its people, with rare exceptions such as my former AIM professor,
Vic Limlingan.
A Misplaced Logic
An article in the South China Morning Post (SCMP)
recently prompted me to revisit my friend’s suggestion to write about the
Philippines.
On 25 September, the SCMP ran a headline:
“China promised the Philippines billions in development aid. Why did it fall so
short?”
I could not help but think: how naïve! With the Philippines
poking China left, right, and centre, why would Beijing continue investing
heavily there?
The article noted that China disbursed only US$700 million
of the US$30.5 billion it pledged between 2015 and 2023. By contrast, Indonesia
received US$20.3 billion of its US$20.7 billion pledge. To me, the explanation
is obvious: after Marcos Jr. reversed his predecessor’s China-friendly stance,
Beijing put its projects – railways, dams, and irrigation works – on hold.
From Friend to Minion
Under Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines was on a pragmatic
path with China. Duterte visited President Xi Jinping in 2017 and openly
pursued closer ties, particularly in infrastructure. Marcos Jr., however,
quickly pivoted back to the U.S. and Japan, allowing his country to become a
strategic pawn for old powers: the former a not-so-benevolent colonial master,
the latter an invader during World War II.
Despite this alignment, the U.S. still imposed a 19% tariff
on Philippine exports, and even Trump bluntly said he had no objection to
Manila maintaining good relations with Beijing. It was a humiliating reminder
that Washington treats allies as disposable minions.
On the Military Front
The Philippines portrays itself as a victim of Chinese
aggression in the South China Sea. Historically, the notion of territorial
waters did not exist before independence. Instead of turning the region into a
U.S. military outpost to provoke China, Manila could work with Beijing to share
resources and build trust. After all, the South China Sea is critical to
China’s security against U.S. naval power.
Conclusion
Marcos Jr. is steering the Philippines toward unnecessary
confrontation, sacrificing economic opportunities in exchange for empty
promises from the U.S. and its allies. Instead of inflaming anti-China
sentiment, he should build on Duterte’s legacy of pragmatic engagement and
leverage Chinese investment to develop his country.
Without China’s partnership, the Philippines risks
remaining the laggard of ASEAN.
End
1. The main problem of the Philippines is weak and incoherent political spine.
ReplyDeleteIn 1987, it introduced a party-list system where 20% of the house seats were to be allocated to the underserved.
Instead, those 155 party-list groups were hijacked by the elites who then inserted their family members and business interests to create political clans which enriched themselves, stifled electoral competition and stunted economic development while using their financial resources to buy influencers and strong-arm enforce their generational and cross-sectoral control by political nepotism over this country prone to natural disasters and, with over 7,000 islands, shoulders 115 million with a poverty rate over 15%.
As a case in 2009 of the breakdown of law, 32 journalists were ambushed and killed in Maguindanao who were on their way to witness the filing of candidacy papers for a local election.
Until political dynasties are dismantled in the Philippines, their control and internecine fights for rights to the kitty will ensure corruption will continue to sucker the people, drain the state coffers and underprogress the country. It'll be a long shot.
2. In the 1500s, the Philippine islands were colonized by Spain which ruled for the next 300 years.
When the Spanish-American war ended in 1898, the US annexed the Philippines. Attempting to declare independence, a Philippine-American War was prosecuted in 1899 and ended in 1913 but after the death of close to a million civilians from the ensuing starvation and disease.
Later in the Battle of Manila of 1945, the Americans inflicted many collateral casualties in the fight against Imperial Japan which also committed mass-murders. The month-long battle killed over 100,000 civilians and destroyed the city later called Asia's Stalingrad.
Today, the country sucks up to the US and Japan for military assistance against China which has never featured in its historical devastation but only offer win-win investments with tremulous uncertainty whether the money won't be absconded in the same way India had seized Vivo's USD400 million accounts in an attempt to totally nationalize its operations.
3. Out of those war experiences, one wonders if the Filipinos had inadvertently inherited some Stockholm Syndrome from the Spainards and the Americans, adopting the rolling 'r' and loquacity of the former, not unlike the Italians and Indians, and the away-from-home-family of the latter, thus a loose adherence to catholic idealism. In short, degradation of spinal discipline needed for clear thinking, enterprise sustainability and national uplifts.
Yet, all said, the Filipinos are in the main generally simple folks with open hearts but their women suffer a lot from the tendency of their menfolks not being too family-oriented.
2/2:
ReplyDelete4. Decades ago, i did get to go to Manila one time for a short meeting. The only refreshing memory of that meeting was being chatted up by a Shanghainese American who was a 11.8 on a scale of 10.
Also remembered seeing a malrourished lady selling ciggies at a pavement in Makati. She had a little girl with her. Not knowing the local dialect, i signalled the child to stand next to me, shoe to shoe. Then i tied a rubber band on mine, and walked to the shopping mall whereupon bought a really nice barbie doll, a pair of shoes to the size where the rubber band stopped, food, clothes, stationery. The works. Happier i wasn't ever to walk back to surprise them with the gifts. Also, happily paid ten times more for a pack which i knew would taste like cardboard.
Later, went to the AIM and headed straight to where its library kept the Masters theses of its students. Took down just the titles and the authors on the wild idea the authors would later hold important positions in Asian companies and the titles could be icebreaker conversation pieces.
Alas, didn't get the chance to go to AIT - in Bangkok. Understand that aside from its MBA programme, Harvard has a shorter executive training program for those who were holding senior positions
Lastly, behind and near Hilton was a little boutique bookshop. It was tiny but its collection was well-and-thoughtfully selected across all fields. My forte, then, it seems.
5. Marcos Snr had met and admired Mao. Saw his Imelda in a shop. Interesting was how the people around still looked at her in awe like she was star-quality royalty after the exposure she had 3,000 pairs of shoes and he had absconded with millions after dispatching a challenger in broad daylight at the airport. So after Trump snubbed Marcos Junior on the matter of tariffs, the lad returned and to divert attention from the disappointment - talked that there was too much corruption.
Those 7 bases he had opened to the US to fit missiles pointing a second front against China must together with Subic Bay now look like albatrosses he had hung around his own neck. Is he going to flipflop next? In any case, trust in the Philippines - by any country - is moot.
So too, India which shares the pain of the EU whom Hungary's Orban said Trump ate von der Leyen for breakfast after she caved in to Trump's strong-arm. But most mirthful is Britain saying it will fight China if she invades Taiwan.
This past week, which shares the pain of the EU whom Hungary's Orban said Trump ate von der Leyen for breakfast after she caved in to Trump's strong-arm. But best is Britain saying it will fight China if she invades Taiwan.
This past week, many strange neutrinos bombarded politicians.
Delete the penultimate paragraph. Thus, this comment is too human-errored to be AI-generated.
ReplyDelete