Building a stronger economy and culture

Many things feel like starting over as we continue to move forward and attempt to rebuild after the global pandemic. While a large part of the population wants to feel like we can just “pick up where we left off,” the truth is, things have changed irrevocably. If we don’t recognize that as we move forward, we will not use what we have learned these past two years to improve.

It’s disheartening, but not surprising, to see that the Philippines has continued slipping on the global index of Economic Freedom. We’re now at 80th place out of 177 countries from 73rd previously. As such, we are at the bottom tier of “moderately free” economies. This is something worth improving as we begin to reopen the country and entice foreign investment and businesses.

These past two years have been very challenging for everyone. Businesses have had to find ways to stay afloat, and people have focused on survival more than anything else. The challenge is that now that we are slowly emerging and trying to find the path forward, is that survival should no longer be the driving concern. Instead, sustainability has to come into play.

Sustainability has been a buzzword gaining popularity in the past several years. Even before the global pandemic, businesses used this as a North Star in how they do business and how they are carving out the roadmap for the next several years. Globally, we went from development goals to sustainable goals. We realized it was no longer enough to improve, but it also matter how we did and what type of impact this would have on the community and the world.

This is something the Philippines now needs to consider as we build the way ahead. We may have had to sacrifice things in the name of survival during the pandemic, but we can’t keep the same mindset. Now, we have to reinvest in responsible business practices and economic policies and include ways of improving our standing as we slowly recover.

The Economic Freedom index slip highlighted areas that may need some work for the country moving forward. The index ranks economies based on several factors, including the rule of law, government size, efficiency, and open markets. This recent slip was attributed to issues in those areas and lower scores for fiscal health, monetary freedom, and property rights.

While we are very open to foreign investment and are even finding ways to make it more enticing, the index foundation noted that capital markets in the country are “underdeveloped” and further made challenging by infrastructure, high power costs, poor broadband, and “inconsistent regulations.” All of these are things Filipinos have mentioned many times.

We need to improve on these to make the country more attractive to foreign investment while simultaneously supporting local businesses. Broadband, especially, has to be strengthened considering the digital world we live in. Even as doors are opening, the pandemic has changed how we do business. We need to rely on strong support for online activity.

These are all issues that can be addressed and strengthened as we move forward if we want to improve our economic health. While we can’t solely rely on foreign investment to buoy the country, it is still a massive part of our economic recovery plans. We can still improve our standing to help bolster investment.

Simultaneously, we also have to find better ways to support local businesses and build up local entrepreneurs and their ventures. At this point, while other countries are also promoting “supporting local” endeavors, we need to do the same. We must build up our own businesses and look inward too. This will not only be a step towards economic recovery but will also help improve local enterprises.

There is much work to be done, and economic improvements will be a challenge the next administration will have to face. This will inform voter choices come May, and we need to see how the candidates plan on improving this in the months and years ahead.

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While economic recovery is an essential factor in strengthening the country moving forward, I feel the support of our arts and cultural sector is something that bears strengthening too. We aren’t really seeing this on the candidates’ platforms, and it is an integral part of building our nation’s identity. We need to give arts and culture ample resources and focus too.

Many other countries take immense pride in their artistic and cultural endeavors and are rewarded for doing so. We can see it immediately in the South Korean Hallyu wave sweeping the world.

And it’s not just about making South Korean pop culture, entertainment, etc., popular. It’s also about boosting the country’s “soft power” and global image while bringing in immense tourism and revenue.

And what’s more, South Korea fully puts its support behind these endeavors and takes pride in its artists and creative sector. We have so many incredibly talented Filipinos with so much to offer in terms of art, culture, movies, music, writing, and so much more. If we gave these artists the same type of support, imagine what we could achieve.