Lost opportunities

I recently visited two countries in our Asian neighborhood – China and Korea. I also continued to receive news from Manila that the big debate on the Philippine presidential election of 2016 was whether Grace Poe, a foundling whose citizenship is being questioned is eligible to run for president. The contrast is remarkable. Here I was going around countries with their leaders and programs focused on how to develop – to provide food, shelter and education to its citizens – as the issue that mattered in the election of leaders.

While we were shown bullet trains, community development, industrial parks and historical sites, the debate in my own country had little to do with it. I was a citizen of a country that cared little for its people, and, among media colleagues, we shook our heads and asked, “Why can’t the Philippines be like this?” There are many explanations why this has been so but we could focus on one thing – an answer as soon as possible. Many know this and acknowledge it to be a main reason and something we could do quickly. But still we procrastinate. When I think of the long lines of Filipinos unable to get a ride on public transport after a rough day at work, the traffic and so forth, I ask myself why. Indeed why can the Chinese have fast, clean working trains and Filipinos can't? We got lost somewhere along the way. We lost opportunities because of selfish and corrupt leaders who did not think it was their business to lead and govern well. And if we find honest and capable people, we must be able to place them in key positions of leadership.

I suppose we were invited to media trips by these countries to show us how they did it and report to our own audience about what we saw and what can make us change.

Their government is structured and their leaders selected to do the job. We are doing no such thing. We are still in what has brought us to the dumps, We have showbiz government and expect the showbiz government to do what serious and effective government do in other countries.

And the talk is this showbiz government will continue a few generations more if the status quo is forced on us by overpriced voting machines to retain bad government. Such a great shame. We must get our act together to create an effective and caring government.

One memorable insight I got from a speaker who had worked in the Philippines. “If we are to learn anything of what we saw in China,” he said, “it is to explain to Filipinos the Chinese organized AIIB and how if properly used we can have better infrastructure and maybe end the suffering of pitiful passengers of LRT and MRT.”

To be frank, I, too, knew little of the AIIB until I read about it from a column explaining the AIIB. But most of us failed to take notice, We were too busy discussing Grace Poe’s citizenship and missed what is probably the most important development in our region – the establishment of the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank). It is too early yet to say how it will develop but in the world of international cooperation we live in, I think it offers interesting possibilities for our country. This may sound trite but there are many things that could change for the better in the Philippines if we form part than just ignore it.

As one Chinese government official pointed out, the Philippines was among the first to signify its interest and would have been a founding member. But by some sleight of the hand it mysteriously backed out.

What is the AIIB? It is the region's version of the ADB and the IMF. Some local economists have already warned if we stay out of it, we will remain a backward country while our neighbors take advantage of the funds and build the infrastructure that will benefit their business and their people. I will quote a short excerpt from a Chinese academician who has written extensively about it. I am supplying his quote to many readers so they can conduct their own investigation and decide for themselves the pros and cons for our country.

“It is a multilateral development bank (MDB) conceived for the 21st century. By a participation process, its founding members develop their core philosophy, principles, policies, value system, and operating platform.”

The foundation of the AIIB is built on the lessons of experience of existing MDBS and the private sector. Its modus operandi will be lean, clean and green – lean with a small efficient management team and a highly skilled staff, clean as an ethical organization with zero tolerance for corruption and green as an institution built on respect for the environment. The AIIB will put in place strong policies of governance, financial procurement, and environmental and social accountability. The AIIB, a ‘modern knowledge’-based institution, will focus on the development of infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia including power and energy, transportation and telecommunications, rural infrastructure and agricultural development. It will also focus on water supply and sanitation environmental protection, urban development and logistics. To these ends, AIIB welcomes as members all regional and non-regional developing and developed countries.

It was unveiled by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Kequiang during their respective visits to Southeast Asian countries in December 2013. It is expected to be operational by the end of this year.

Although I have written on it in a past column, I think it is important to continue to prod the Philippine government to become a full member instead of being half-hearted.

It may be a way to help the poor passengers lining up in long queues after a hard day's work unable to get a ride. That should be the direction of our government and what we should demand in the programs of presidential candidates.