Catanduanes Economic Forum

It is not just enough for us to fight against and yell about corruption. It gets old pretty quick. We must do more than just complain about our social, political and economic ills. We have to offer solutions!  As we fight this despicable, backwards and loathsome social disease we need to also look  at our more successful Asian neighbors and beyond , then copy what they have done right to become  successful.  In short, we need not re-invent the wheel.  All we do is copy what has been done successfully , improve on their successes and beat the competition at their game!

Are we up to it as a nation?  Are we truly capable of imitating our financially successful Asian neighbors and perhaps even surpass their achievements?  We will never find out until we dare to play this game that grown up nations play!  As one wise guy said, ‘In order for you to win you have to be in the game!’  And what, you might say, is this game?   Folks, this game is  called the global economy! This is the biggest , most time-relevant , highest-priority , all-important  and exciting game that smart nations  play.  And the Philippines, with the right players at the controls, can truly compete , excel and win in this game of games! 

We are loaded with potential!  Like the Chinese, we have cheaper labor than most. Like the Japanese we are very tech savvy and highly trainable.  As the Taiwanese are industrious and creative, so are we! And when we set our minds on great goals to achieve,  who is going to say that we are less capable and aggressive than the Koreans in going for it? And I would venture out to say that after proper training, we speak the best English ever among the non-English speaking nations of the world!  And I am not pulling anybody’s leg when I say this.   I never stop to be amazed at the great proficiency and polish of our customer service reps at the many call centers of the nation.  These guys are a gem that I am truly proud of. Hats off to these miracle workers! When I talk to them, I hardly detect any accent to tell me I am speaking to a Pinoy or Pinay! Truly amazing!  Well, all of the above are just that, great potential. We have yet to apply these potential to something much bigger than ourselves.   Here is where great management , leadership and teamwork not just by the President but by all of us, come in!

The wise guys have told me that a group is just as good as the leader leading that group. I say that the leader is just as good as the group that he leads!  Try leading a bunch of totally incorrigible morons and see what happens!  So, it looks like both the leader and the people he leads have to be great leaders altogether!  Nothing beats the experience of leading self-leading and self-managing team mates!

Now let us look at our top leadership who are supposed to be at the helm or controls of our nation and ‘the game’.  I am talking about key leadership positions held by our men in Congress, the Senate,  the high courts, positions held by governors, generals , admirals, directors , department heads , financial experts, businessmen, mayors and so forth.   The President has proven his determination and resolve to really lead our nation long  before the last of  his first one hundred days in office were over.   I am all ears and standing by for the first shots from these quarters I mentioned above but one hundred days have passed, everything is still quiet.  I have not heard of nor read about any of these folks yelling and screaming about their ‘much awaited and expected’  all-out support to the Commander-in-Chief in moving this nation financially forward.  I am reminded of a classroomful of delinquent children who have been behaving very badly and the tough and no-nonsense teacher has just walked in .  Everyone is quiet,  watching  and trying to see what is coming down next.  This happens when you are perhaps guilty and you don’t know when your turn will come up to get yanked from your chair and get a royal ass chewing or worse. 

Or perhaps our leadership under the President are simply speechless .  What with the long and many years of practicing corruption and mis-management then all of a sudden you are placed in a position where you are asked to perform in  a way totally opposite to what you are used to doing! Well, that would make a lot of folks speechless indeed!  So, are we in a wait and see situation? Perhaps the President will get exhausted, lose his focus and give up?  Then back to ‘business as usual’? 

We are confident that we are wrong in these assumptions.  But we truly are all ears. We are waiting for our gallant leaders to step up to the plate.  And to give credit to the daring few, those who have started to streamline the economies of their provinces ,cities and towns and preparing to launch their ‘assault’ on the competition,  the fruits we seek are closer than we think.  Indeed the Chinese were on their way to great wealth ten to fifteen years after they embarked on their historic economic transformation by daring to venture into this global game of wealth acquisition.

I believe that our leaders are more than capable of turning this nation around when they decide to jump in and lead.  We as people are truly capable of rising above all this  mediocrity then boldly going for excellence!  The President is waiting. The whole nation is on standby.  The citizens are poised ready to be led and to lead!  It will be a great day in our history when indeed as people we commit to this noble cause, get truly fired up, move as one and join and dominate this  exciting race of races where every single citizen becomes a winner when the whole nation wins!  Again, one wise guy said that when you help somebody win , you too become a winner! 

Help this nation win and the rest are winners!

Joe Joson, USA