We can be the best in the world

Title

Creator

Agayo, Marcos

Language

English

Source

The Republic Volume I (Issue No.16) 16-31 August 1976

Year

1976

Subject

Economic development -- Philippines

Sustainable development -- Philippines

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

[This essay explains the various developments implemented in the Philippines. It highlights the development of 1) Natural resources, 2) Industrialization, 3) Population control, 4) Social Discipline, 5) Institutional Reform, and 6) Government Planning.]

Fulltext

2 16-31 August 1976 The Nation THE REPUBLIC ESSAY □ Marcos Agayo We can be the best in the world DEVELOPMENT, in its modern con text, has come to connote not just economic growth—it has come to en compass the various structures affect ing the life of man and his family. It does not mean a mere*increase in pay— but opportunities to own comfortable housing and enjoy leisure time among others. It does not just mean an incre ment in the gross national product-but equitable distribution of opportunities and the rise of the general well-being of the people. The resources of the Philippinesits natural and human potentials—por tend its rise as one of the most progres sive and powerful nation in this part of the world. The crucial steps toward this end are being undertaken by the govern ment, now unencumbered by the pol itics of self-interest that ruled the old society. Being at the frontline of the development “war,” we in the govern ment must be more than ever resolute and dynamic in fulfilling our duties. At the same time, the goal of development must be emphasized-the upliftment of the welfare of all our people. Some of our countrymen fear the reform programs of the government aimed at the equalization of opportuni ties for all Filipinos. But reforms and economic growth can go forward, to gether. Gunnar Myrdal, Nobel-prize win ner in economics, has said: “It is possible to cite a number of conditions in South east Asia which suggests that an in crease in equality would help rather .than hinder development” ases_of_Grt Ih^Jhere qje reasons to believe that the Philippines can be a very progressive country. We have abundant natural resources, respon sive leaders, and able planners. And bar ring chance factors like international, political and economic turmoils, what may be crucial is the character of our will as a nation. Natural Resources. Underdevelop ment is usually attributed to geographic or climactic causes. But while hot cli mates for instance have adverse effects, many hot areas, like the Queensland areas of Australia, have shown progres sive economies. Denmark, Switzerland, and Japan became very progressive des pite scarce natural resources. The Philippines with its abundant natural resources should, therefore, have a substantial comparative advantage. A survey done some years ago by the Eco nomic Commission for Assistance to the Far East (now the Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific) showed that the Philippines has the rich est mineral deposits (excluding oil) in Asia. At the time of the survey, the Philippines had the largest hoard pf cop per and was the third largest copper producer; it was the seventh top pro ducer of gold and fourth of chromite. Another study, this time by a Fili pino, showed that most of the coveted agricultural products in the world mar ket are produced here cheaply and abun dantly. We are, however, behind Taiwan in exporting agricultural food products. And yet our territory is eight times that of Taiwan’s. Furthermore, much of Tai wan’s soil is niggardly and the climate is harsh. Considering the amount and variety of our natural resources, we are underproducing. Industrialization. While our econ omy is considerably above subsistence level, primary products remain our prin cipal exports. We therefore need more processing (through industrialization) to increase the value and the variety of our exports. What makes processing develop ment urgent is that world trade in proc essed goods has increased, since the late 1920s, than world trade in primary commodities. Besides the need to be on par on trading with developed countries, the need to gainfully employ the annual labor force increase of 500,000, which the agricultural sector cannot absorb, requires industrialization at a rate faster than the developed countries had to in dustrialize. The labor may be growing too rapidly. Furthermore, as Myrdal says: “the employment effects of indus trialization cannot be expected to be very large for several decades ahead . . . until a conducive level of industrializa tion is reached”; this means that we should industrialize as fast as we can. Population Control. An uncontrol led population growth spreads too thinly the benefits of development. It also gen erates massive and widespread rural poverty. A part of our “race” for devel opment is, consequently, a deceleration of population growth. The Philippines’ fast-growing pop ulation is a big factor that reduces its per capita GNP. Against the average Asian density of 76 persons per square kilometer, the Philippines has a density of 126 persons per square kilometer. We have not yet reached a “satura tion point” since we have abundant and balanced resources to meet the needs of more than 80 million Filipinos in the year 2000. But we still need population control programs. In this way, we can in dustrialize faster. Pre-industrial western countries, for example, had population growths slower than Southeast Asia’s now. The western countries then, com paratively speaking, found it easier to 'Successful economic planning requires a stable and effective r government But at the same time, planning becomes a principal means of reaching national consolidation.' —Gunnar Myrdal Fusing initiative and resources is the key to full development. channel resources toward capital build ing activities. Thus, our government can, if freed from excessive population pres sure, use more funds for infrastructure rather than for, say, welfare. Or perhaps entrepreneurs can use more profits for expanding activities rather than for sup porting unemployed relatives. Social Discipline. Development in Southeast Asia means having to alter anti-development behavior. Or, it means spreading technology-consciousness es pecially among farmers, and orienting businessmen to production rather than to trading. In our society, farmers tend to cling. to traditional practices. Insecticides and fertilizers are feared; initial failures with advanced technology caused by lack of experience further augment traditional fears. Among the educated classes, there is mostly scorn for business or produc tion-oriented careers. UNESCO once re ported that of the many students from underdeveloped countries studying in the United States, only four percent study agriculture which is the funda mental problem sector in their nations. Social discipline in the Philippines is perhaps a special problem. Farmers have been known to take advantage of the character credits given them by the government for idle purposes. Corrup tion, in the lower levels especially, has taken ,the edge from central government dicta. Government technicians have been known to be regarded as threats by “up per class” villagers and as mere government agents, and therefore to be feared by the other villagers. Labor discipline and efficiency also are perhaps a bigger problem in the Phil ippines than, say, Japan. The Japanese economy at the end of World War II was shattered. And yet, it was able’ to industrialize leaving natural resource-rich Philippines behind. Myrdal attributes Japan’s success largely to its labor disci pline and efficiency. The need for social discipline is un derlined by Myrdal: “Rapid develop ment will be exceedingly difficult to engender without an increase in social discipline in all strata and even in the villages.” In the Philippines, the job of disciplining people must go beyond pol ice monitoring, monetary incentives, or, in, the case of farmers, peer-pressure which in some cases is negative. Disci plining society must be done by govern ment people who must serve as “shining examples”, by technocrats who must humanize their policies, and by the teachers who are most in contact with the young. Institutional Reform. In the Philip pines the main thrust of institutional reform is the liberation of farmer tenants from “feudal” chains. Farmers’ owner ship of the land they till would promote their dignity and, even better, incite more production. Masagana 99 has al ready achieved production rates seldom, if ever, achieved by landlord-tenant sys tems. The initial risk of lessened produc tion through the parceling out of land into small pieces has been offset by the organization of farmers into cooperative#like the Samahang Nayons. Government Planning. Martial law has released in grand fashion the produc tive possibilities of the people by elim inating power politics. It has given full play to technocratic planning and im plementation. The government’s policy of central planning is supported by this statement of Myrdal: “Successful economic planning re quires a stable and effective government. But at the same time, planning itself be comes a principal means of reaching na tional consolidation: first, because it will create an institutional structure to articulate government policies; secondly, because the result, when planning is suc cessful, will be higher economic levels, greater opportunities for the people, and a symbol of national achievement” There is one catch to government planned economic operations, however. The government’s responsibility to the people becomes double that of a gov ernment in a “freer” economic process. And government managers must then make sure that well studied policies and plans will not ,bog down in the imple mentation level. Development, in the Philippine con text, requires social, political, as well as economic reform: farmers cooperatives, barangays, research on small-scale indus tries, and the rest of government pro grams, all constitute the totality of re form. Each is vital. Government performance, too, is un der test in the eyes of the world. At pre sent, the Philippines is midway up the South Asian development scale—number 14 in terms of per capita GNP among 25 independent states-and among the world’s 195 countries and territories, it is 136th—near rock-bottom. But the performance of our econ omy, under central planning, has aston ished the world. From a previous average rate of 4 percent, real growth rose in 1973 by 9.2 percent. In 1974, when most of the world had to make do with “zerogrowth”, the Philippines registered a real growth of 5.0 percent. And in 1975, the Philippines was one of the five (out of fourteen) ADB members which registered positive real growth rates. □

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