Innate optimism helps RP survive a recession

Through maintaining a positive but realistic outlook of the economy, local businessmen in Cebu reckon the Philippines can survive the looming global recession.

A recent International Business Report (IBR) that was released by Grant Thornton’s local partner Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A) cited the Philippines as the third in the world with the most optimistic private businesses garnering 65 percent rating behind India and Botswana which had 83 percent and 81 percent rating, respectively.

The Philippines went ahead with Brazil and Armenia in optimism which respectively had 50 percent and 46 percent optimism barometer.

This particular survey was reported to have showed that smaller economies like the Philippines have fared better during the global recession compared to mature economies like the United States.

In an interview, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry past president and Prince Warehouse Club president Robert Go said that this study would show that most developing countries like the Philippines remain optimistic even at this point of uncertainty in the world economy because we have not been affected head on by the impacts of recession when it broke out.

He explained that since our financial systems in the Philippines is not really as sophisticated as those in major foreign markets like US and Europe; so when the crisis broke out last year, we have not been badly hit hence we remained optimistic.

“What we usually have is more like a hand to mouth financial culture because what most of us earn is what they eat and we have traditional business systems here while in other economies most people use highly sophisticated financial schemes,” said Go.

Cebu Oversea Hardware Co. and CCCI past president Carlos Co said on the other hand that the optimism of most Filipinos lie in the premise that the Philippines compared to other foreign economies will not likely feel the same burden of the global recession as other countries because we have always felt the pinch of the economic crunch with previous downturns in the past.

He said that the Philippine economy might still go down some more but it won’t get so low because there are growth areas that will still thrive despite the global financial meltdown such as the tourism and business process outsourcing sectors and even OFW remittances can also help hedge the economy against worst case scenarios.

Meanwhile, Philippine Retailer’s Association- Cebu Chapter director Chris Tio cited that there could be two reasons behind the optimism of Filipinos at this point in time and one is that because we have always been a “boom-bust” economy which is always in the brink of taking off but hindered by crisis after another so our people view crisis such as the current global recession as nothing new.

And because we are a Christian country, we have a lot of faith that things will still get better for us despite the negative prospects about the global economy, said Tio.

“We have seen this all before because we have gone from crisis several times already. We are naturally optimistic people. The Asian crisis was devastating but we have faced it so we are not as panick as other countries because we understand the economy a bit better now,” said Tio.

He said that at this point, Filipinos should think positively but we should also try to maintain a realistic outlook and not just rely on blind optimism.

“It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that if we think that the situation will be bad, it will happen but if we condition our minds and think positive to overcome the crisis, then it will also happen. It’s all about confidence so we should look for silver linings in the cloud and learn to deal with the effects of the crisis in a positive and realistic manner,” he said.

Tio also added that we will not be insulated with the global recession by holding off our investments or by refusing to spend.

“If we refuse to invest or to spend, our economy will also suffer. The key here is to go on with our lives normally. We need to be more innovative and creative in these times. We need to have the right type of positive outlook that will make us survive and emerge from this clout better,” said Tio. — Rhia de Pablo