A view from an outsider

As I went through my old newspaper clippings, my reaction was indescribable after reading an article about Dr. Ta Lin Hsu, a Taiwanese businessman invited to speak before the Makati Business Club some five years ago.

For a foreign national like him, I was moved to know how bad he felt about many of our college graduates who ended up as shoe shiners. But for most of us, our sense of concern may have been eroded by the ubiquity of such everyday event.

This is not the first time I heard of a foreign national who are solicitous enough to put their views in public about our country’s wretched condition. I recall an email was passed around by a certain Korean who said that the Philippines had it coming because of our complacency.   

It seems that they know better than us or should I say they cared enough to nail their message to our heads that there is really something wrong with us as a nation. And I agree.

While we marvel at the accomplishments of our Asian neighbors, we still are complacent to make the difference. 

I don’t know. Maybe we just don’t learn from our mistakes. Those two solicitous foreigners seem to know our history so much that they picked up so many lessons from us. Their success is their ability to compare and rectify themselves - emulate the strong points and eliminate the bad ones.

In our case, we rest on our achievements or if not, we just want to relish on the site of what others have achieved.  

Dr. Hsu recalled that in 1965 outside of Japan, the Philippines had the highest per capita. In 1986, Thailand’s GDP was the same as the Philippines and so was their population. But Thailand right now is ahead of the Philippines and their population is more under control.

China was nothing 50 years ago but with only 10 years or so, they were able to accomplish a lot. But “somehow the Philippines seems to be slow and fall behind" from the rest.

Dr. Hsu was also quick to point out our educational system which he said adds up to the unemployment because they offer a little to the needs of the country like lawyers, accountants and other “white-collared” courses.

We need more engineers, technicians to spur industries.

Finally he said, "Today, we are on the verge of getting into a knowledge-based, technology-based economy. Even China, they can go through this path very, very fast, so they all go for the higher technology, higher-value type of economy. With the Philippines’ level of education, that’s what it should aim at. I have full confidence that the Filipino can do it.

I have no doubt we can do it alright. We just have to believe in ourselves and set our minds and hearts to get it done. Another priority in our agenda should be to start thinking about who can lead us better after 2010.

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