You must be kidding, Madame President
December 4, 2002 | 12:00am
Arriving in San Francisco just recently, I was happy to have a reunion with an old American friend of mine, extremely successful, who remarried two years ago after informing me four years before his remarriage, of his wife of 22 years had passed away. He was looking fit and well, so, even a skeptic like myself can be swayed into believing that "love the second time around" can be good. When Christopher Marlowe’s romantic words in the 16th century were first said to me in the 20th century – "Come live with me and be my love, and we will all the pleasures prove" – I was completely swept off my feet and simply overlooked the fact that 400 years can make a lot of difference.
My friend brought his son since his wife of two years was on vacation in Europe. The dinner he hosted with just the three of us was held at the formal dining room called "Compass Rose" of the St. Francis Hotel, pregnant with memories of my late father who loved the hotel and made sure that when my mother accompanied me to school in New Haven, Connecticut, many years ago, that we would have at least a three-day lay-over at the hotel. Downtown San Francisco has really not changed much, except for the presence of quite a number of Filipinos manning their posts at the hotel, and relaying to me their constant anxiety and worry for their relatives back home in their troubled home country.
What had considerably changed was the regard foreigners like my host and his son, the hotel functionaries, and other Americans I had met and talked to had, in relation to the conditions existing in the Philippines. Without doubt, everyone without exception felt really sad for the plight of the Philippines and the Filipino. Just three years ago, when I attended the Harvard graduation of my daughter, Michelle, the general feeling of the foreigner vis-a-vis the Philippines was certainly not the way it is today. And when we were privileged to head the Philippine delegations to international conferences through the years during the leadership of former President Fidel V. Ramos, the emergence of the Philippines as the newest "Tiger Cub" of Asia, known as the economy that was the least affected by the grave "Asian currency crisis," one was truly proud to wear the badge of the Philippines as a nation that was rising fast to meet the challenges at the end of the last century. Those experiences remain proudly etched in my memory. Surely the ugly head of terrorism had a major hand in this. But certainly President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s visit to California, her very presence and her speeches before some of the most prestigious venues in the West Coast must have come through with great success.
Within minutes after exchanging pleasantries and telling my friend what a good-looking son he has, and after the latter (all of 24 years of age) blushed profusely on account of this, the subject veered immediately to the recent visit of the president to this part of the world, my friend’s world. President Arroyo was quoted in the California press as having said that the best antidotes to terrorism and poverty, both conditions plaguing the Philippines, are "political freedom and economic opportunity." I mentioned the fact that highly publicized in the Manila newspapers was her meeting with information technology executives in Silicon Valley where she was reported as having said: "In this interconnected world, opening a door in Silicon Valley can open opportunities for job creation in the Philippines." I have been told by another American friend of mine before I left Manila, and I said this over dinner, that President Arroyo had "waxed eloquent" as she displayed her pride for the Philippines’ rich resource of information technology workers, competent scientists, engineers and communications technologists, to which we were all in agreement. My host was emphatic when he exclaimed that the Filipino is one of the most creative, ingenious, intelligent and trainable in the world. The Filipino IT practitioner is an excellent example of how "one can excel beyond all others; all things being equal, the Filipino applicant will get the job."
The fact that we have long been exporting Philippine talent is, by itself, however, a tragic situation. I myself have come across some young Filipino players in Silicon Valley, and the opportunity has rather been often since I left government, because my son, Martin, was assigned by his chairman here to identify cross-border opportunities between the US and Southeast Asia, the Philippines included, for the venture capital firm he works for, Walden International. Martin has met several Filipinos who have made it in Silicon Valley, most notable of which is Dado Banatao, who is regarded as a Silicon Valley visionary, having founded three successful technology startups. Banatao, as many of us know by now, is not only the most successful Filipino entrepreneur and venture capitalist in Silicon Valley but is probably one of the best in his league, and Martin, who is an extremely driven professional himself, constantly seeks his advice.
It was no surprise when my host told me that he was part of the audience at the Commonwealth Club of California where the Philippine president spoke. He said she presented her views on US-Philippine collaboration in the fight against terrorism. No one doubted her sincerity as America’s great ally in the hideous problem of the 21st century, but when she zeroed in on the need for economic reforms and the measures being undertaken by the Philippine government now, in order to attract foreign investments and trigger employment for her country, most everyone had nothing much to comment on truthfully and realistically. Most everyone knew what the real score was as regards the Philippine business environment. And no one seemed to bother to comment on such empty statements the likes of: "The challenge for US policy-makers is to help Southeast Asian nations like the Philippines achieve their goals while also securing the interests of the United States."
But as we parted after dinner, nagging me was the sad memory that not too long ago, in the aftermath of EDSA II, after the lady Vice-President took her oath at the EDSA shrine before a multitude, as the new president of the Republic of the Philippines, two bright young Filipino men from Silicon Valley came home to the Philippines, so very inspired by what they saw and heard on American television about EDSA II. With the inspiring words of the new president ringing in their ears, they set up shop in their mother country. What they had improved for Philippine IT, the innovative applications for the interconnected Filipino and the OFWs soon won for them a "finalist" position in a global contest in Florida. They successfully displayed technological innovations in Hong Kong, expanding to Saudi Arabia, Europe and elsewhere.
They had very touching inaugurations in Hong Kong where an OFW-mother unabashedly wept as she talked to her children and saw them on the screen of the multi-media booth and as a betrothed male passionately blew kisses towards the screen to his lady love who was weeping with joy.
When the preparations for the Metro Manila inauguration got underway, they were so excited...surely President Arroyo would find it heartwarming and interesting enough to inaugurate the facility on Mother’s Day, 2002, with a daughter from Manila calling her OFW-mother she had not seen for a long time. I myself was thrilled about the prospects of the Manila inauguration. I knew that the "unconnected Filipino" in our country remained too plentiful for our country’s own good – interconnection was still a complex problem, and universal access was still a dream. And what a touching inauguration the format of the ceremonies for Mother’s Day promised to be.
We wrote a letter of endorsement for the inauguration addressed to the Executive Secretary’s Office, and the Appointments Secretary, and I managed to talk to a functionary in the former office that I knew, so that the papers would not be misplaced. When no response seemed forthcoming, I happened to have the cell phone number of the president’s former publicist and called him, and was told to send all the material: the data, the format, and the invitation to his office. Mother’s Day came and went. We tried again – any day will do, any day convenient for Her Excellency so long as she could be the guest of honor even for just 30 minutes. After all, this was no small deal – the technology had placed runner-up in a global competition. Any day...whatever day...any hour, for just 30 minutes of the president’s time. After all, this was not just a ballroom dancing competition and show. And everyone was expectant and very hopeful. The young Silicon Valley guys never got their heart’s desire. This, by the way, is a true story.
Now, the same president in dire need of investments for her country has just gone to Silicon Valley. Press releases with big captions announced: "Go to RP, GMA tells Silicon Valley execs." You must be kidding, Madame President. Two young gifted and respected guys from Silicon Valley had come home to bring their innovative Filipino-oriented technology applications here to our country just a couple of months after you became President. You broke their hearts as you have many others that were inspired by EDSA II. Thomas Jefferson many, many years before your time said: "The care of human life and happiness...the nurturing of the young in preparation for tomorrow, not politics in preparation of tomorrow, are the only legitimate objects of good government." You really must be kidding, Madame President.
My friend brought his son since his wife of two years was on vacation in Europe. The dinner he hosted with just the three of us was held at the formal dining room called "Compass Rose" of the St. Francis Hotel, pregnant with memories of my late father who loved the hotel and made sure that when my mother accompanied me to school in New Haven, Connecticut, many years ago, that we would have at least a three-day lay-over at the hotel. Downtown San Francisco has really not changed much, except for the presence of quite a number of Filipinos manning their posts at the hotel, and relaying to me their constant anxiety and worry for their relatives back home in their troubled home country.
What had considerably changed was the regard foreigners like my host and his son, the hotel functionaries, and other Americans I had met and talked to had, in relation to the conditions existing in the Philippines. Without doubt, everyone without exception felt really sad for the plight of the Philippines and the Filipino. Just three years ago, when I attended the Harvard graduation of my daughter, Michelle, the general feeling of the foreigner vis-a-vis the Philippines was certainly not the way it is today. And when we were privileged to head the Philippine delegations to international conferences through the years during the leadership of former President Fidel V. Ramos, the emergence of the Philippines as the newest "Tiger Cub" of Asia, known as the economy that was the least affected by the grave "Asian currency crisis," one was truly proud to wear the badge of the Philippines as a nation that was rising fast to meet the challenges at the end of the last century. Those experiences remain proudly etched in my memory. Surely the ugly head of terrorism had a major hand in this. But certainly President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s visit to California, her very presence and her speeches before some of the most prestigious venues in the West Coast must have come through with great success.
Within minutes after exchanging pleasantries and telling my friend what a good-looking son he has, and after the latter (all of 24 years of age) blushed profusely on account of this, the subject veered immediately to the recent visit of the president to this part of the world, my friend’s world. President Arroyo was quoted in the California press as having said that the best antidotes to terrorism and poverty, both conditions plaguing the Philippines, are "political freedom and economic opportunity." I mentioned the fact that highly publicized in the Manila newspapers was her meeting with information technology executives in Silicon Valley where she was reported as having said: "In this interconnected world, opening a door in Silicon Valley can open opportunities for job creation in the Philippines." I have been told by another American friend of mine before I left Manila, and I said this over dinner, that President Arroyo had "waxed eloquent" as she displayed her pride for the Philippines’ rich resource of information technology workers, competent scientists, engineers and communications technologists, to which we were all in agreement. My host was emphatic when he exclaimed that the Filipino is one of the most creative, ingenious, intelligent and trainable in the world. The Filipino IT practitioner is an excellent example of how "one can excel beyond all others; all things being equal, the Filipino applicant will get the job."
The fact that we have long been exporting Philippine talent is, by itself, however, a tragic situation. I myself have come across some young Filipino players in Silicon Valley, and the opportunity has rather been often since I left government, because my son, Martin, was assigned by his chairman here to identify cross-border opportunities between the US and Southeast Asia, the Philippines included, for the venture capital firm he works for, Walden International. Martin has met several Filipinos who have made it in Silicon Valley, most notable of which is Dado Banatao, who is regarded as a Silicon Valley visionary, having founded three successful technology startups. Banatao, as many of us know by now, is not only the most successful Filipino entrepreneur and venture capitalist in Silicon Valley but is probably one of the best in his league, and Martin, who is an extremely driven professional himself, constantly seeks his advice.
It was no surprise when my host told me that he was part of the audience at the Commonwealth Club of California where the Philippine president spoke. He said she presented her views on US-Philippine collaboration in the fight against terrorism. No one doubted her sincerity as America’s great ally in the hideous problem of the 21st century, but when she zeroed in on the need for economic reforms and the measures being undertaken by the Philippine government now, in order to attract foreign investments and trigger employment for her country, most everyone had nothing much to comment on truthfully and realistically. Most everyone knew what the real score was as regards the Philippine business environment. And no one seemed to bother to comment on such empty statements the likes of: "The challenge for US policy-makers is to help Southeast Asian nations like the Philippines achieve their goals while also securing the interests of the United States."
But as we parted after dinner, nagging me was the sad memory that not too long ago, in the aftermath of EDSA II, after the lady Vice-President took her oath at the EDSA shrine before a multitude, as the new president of the Republic of the Philippines, two bright young Filipino men from Silicon Valley came home to the Philippines, so very inspired by what they saw and heard on American television about EDSA II. With the inspiring words of the new president ringing in their ears, they set up shop in their mother country. What they had improved for Philippine IT, the innovative applications for the interconnected Filipino and the OFWs soon won for them a "finalist" position in a global contest in Florida. They successfully displayed technological innovations in Hong Kong, expanding to Saudi Arabia, Europe and elsewhere.
They had very touching inaugurations in Hong Kong where an OFW-mother unabashedly wept as she talked to her children and saw them on the screen of the multi-media booth and as a betrothed male passionately blew kisses towards the screen to his lady love who was weeping with joy.
When the preparations for the Metro Manila inauguration got underway, they were so excited...surely President Arroyo would find it heartwarming and interesting enough to inaugurate the facility on Mother’s Day, 2002, with a daughter from Manila calling her OFW-mother she had not seen for a long time. I myself was thrilled about the prospects of the Manila inauguration. I knew that the "unconnected Filipino" in our country remained too plentiful for our country’s own good – interconnection was still a complex problem, and universal access was still a dream. And what a touching inauguration the format of the ceremonies for Mother’s Day promised to be.
We wrote a letter of endorsement for the inauguration addressed to the Executive Secretary’s Office, and the Appointments Secretary, and I managed to talk to a functionary in the former office that I knew, so that the papers would not be misplaced. When no response seemed forthcoming, I happened to have the cell phone number of the president’s former publicist and called him, and was told to send all the material: the data, the format, and the invitation to his office. Mother’s Day came and went. We tried again – any day will do, any day convenient for Her Excellency so long as she could be the guest of honor even for just 30 minutes. After all, this was no small deal – the technology had placed runner-up in a global competition. Any day...whatever day...any hour, for just 30 minutes of the president’s time. After all, this was not just a ballroom dancing competition and show. And everyone was expectant and very hopeful. The young Silicon Valley guys never got their heart’s desire. This, by the way, is a true story.
Now, the same president in dire need of investments for her country has just gone to Silicon Valley. Press releases with big captions announced: "Go to RP, GMA tells Silicon Valley execs." You must be kidding, Madame President. Two young gifted and respected guys from Silicon Valley had come home to bring their innovative Filipino-oriented technology applications here to our country just a couple of months after you became President. You broke their hearts as you have many others that were inspired by EDSA II. Thomas Jefferson many, many years before your time said: "The care of human life and happiness...the nurturing of the young in preparation for tomorrow, not politics in preparation of tomorrow, are the only legitimate objects of good government." You really must be kidding, Madame President.
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