By HARVEY KEH
THIS week our country joined in the celebration of the Lunar New Year or, more popularly, the Chinese New Year. I believe that this is the first time in our country’s recent history that a public holiday was declared to celebrate this event. As part of the Filipino-Chinese community here, I welcome thismove as it symbolizes the value that our government places to the contributions made by Tsinoys in different fields of our society. Aside fromthat, this also shows how important Asia, particularly China, has become in terms of the developing global economy. My wish for our country as we celebrate the Chinese New Year is that we will keep pace with our Asian neighbors in terms of strengthening our economy. Hopefully, I would still be able to live to see the day that the Philippines will also become a dragon economy.
First step to become a dragon economy
I have no doubt that our country has the potential to become one of the leading Asian nations. Geographically, we are strategically located as a gateway in the Asia-Pacific region. Aside from this, we are also one of the world’s leading countries in terms of understanding and speaking the English language. Filipinos are also known to be very hardworking and diligent. Yet despite these advantages, we continue to be a laggard economy sometimes even dubbed as the Sick Man of Asia.
If we are to become a dragon economy that will compete with the likes of China, Korea, Japan and Singapore, one of the primary things that we should immediately address is to level the playing field when it comes to doing business in our country. Strong economies are usually driven by a thriving middle class. But that can only be built if a culture of entrepreneurship is created in our society. Rightnow, many Filipinos even those who have enough capital are hesitant to do business in our country because of the graft and corruption present in many of our government institutions.
The current administration cannot just stop at putting the big fishes like former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo or even Chief Justice Renato Corona in jail. It must also make sure that corrupt rank and file government officials especially at the local government units, regional trial courts, Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs are also held accountable for their misdeeds. The sad reality is that even if you change those at the top, the real sharks are actually those that have been with these government agencies for such a long time already that they have made the culture of graft and corruption work for their own interests.
By ensuring that these per-petuators of corruption are sent to jail, the playing field is slowly but surely leveled off, thus creating a more vibrant economy and encouraging more new players in the economic sector.
Advantages of an entrepreneurial Philippine society
Entrepreneurship brings about many good thingsthat can help our economy. One of them is more competition in the market which will eventually lead to better services for the consumers. We have seen this in the airline industry where the entry of new budget airline carriers like Cebu Pacific, Zest Air and Air Asia have forced Philippine Airlines to lower their airfares and also improve their services. Due to lower airfares, many more Filipinos are able to travel to different parts of the country, which has also helped increase our domestic tourism rate.
Entrepreneurship also creates an environment of innovation that leads to better solutions for our daily problems. Filipinos are one of the most creative people in the world but our talents are often not utilized in our country hence, many of our creative people often go abroad to seek better lives for their families. An entrepreneurial society will allow us to keep our best talents given that they will have enough opportunities to practice their craft here. Aside from this, we can export to other countries the innovative products that we will be able to develop thus, helping spur higher economic growth.
Finally, entrepreneurship and a level playing field in business will also make our economy more resilient and less dependent on other countries given that we will no longer have to rely solely on the Business Process Outsourcing and Hospitality sectors as our main engines of economic growth. This will also provide more job opportunities and choices to our graduates who are often limited to these aforementioned sectors for their employment choices.
Understanding our Asian neighbors
One of the things that we also have to do in order for us to become more active in the growth of the Asian region is to have a better understanding of our Asian neighbors. The Asia Society Philippines together with the different Asian embassies based in Manila is currently running a series entitled, Asia in my Pocket. This program aims to help Filipinos better understand the culture and business practices of our Asian neighbors like China, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, India and Japan.
For more information about this program, you can contact Nash Cordero at (02) 752-4374 or send an email to info@asiasociety.org.ph .
Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com
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