Did you know that Singaporeans and Chinese were once much worse than the typical Filipino today? I did write an article where I emphasized that Filipinos need more discipline than democracy. That, however, is only partly true. Part of the reason why that countries are crime-ridden is not only a lack of discipline but also a lack of any economic growth. A country filled with poverty is also very much prone to crime. Singapore and China had very high crime rates also due to poverty. But what led to poverty and high crime rates before Lee and Deng rose into power? You can thank economic protectionism for that one! The same can be true to the Philippines too.
Let's consider the day-to-day business scenario in the Philippines even among the private investors. Do you ever consider the LONG lines you had at PLDT and Globe? I remembered I just wanted to complain about my balance and it took me THREE HOURS before I got entertained. In the 90s, you've got Typhoon Ruping which caused a ONE MONTH without electricity phenomenon that made me scared of brownouts. You can also consider that before Globe - PLDT took TOO LONG to connect because it was a monopoly. Maybe, you can also consider the bratty attitude of some of the celebrities and newscasters from BOTH ABS-CBN and GMA-7 is attributed to a lack of competition with the mainstream media? Why do you think ABS-CBN and GMA-7 still make stupid TV series rather than seek to improve the quality of their teleseryes? Why do you think the mainstream media is full of people who lack discipline in their profession? It's because of dundundun ECONOMIC PROTECTIONISM!
How does a lack of competition eventually lead to a lack of discipline among Filipino-owned businesses even among some Tsinoys? The economic protectionist policy can be viewed this way. The government is the parent and the Filipino business is the child. We have a generation of spoiled children because they are not only undisciplined but because the parents are overprotective and overindulgent. If there's so little competition then why should I bother to innovate my services? The lack of fair competition in the local environment has people who only care about doing business but their heart is not into it. Why do you think the Marcos cronies say the Marcos years were the golden years when they weren't? It's because the Marcos regime pampered their businesses to the max and they kept getting away with almost everything that they did. Why do you think businesses worsened with the Aquino takeover? It's because the Aquinos could've fixed the problem but instead chose to pamper businesses all over again.
The solution lies with competition which is possible under a democratic free market. Why do you think some foreign services actually do better? Why do you think countries like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam actually have better businessmen? It reminds me of how my trip to Singapore and China amazed me at how their businesses have better service. It made me really loathe at how the typical Filipino worker today wastes so much time. The answer is because of competition. It's because the country is very welcoming of foreign direct investors (FDI) while giving them reasonable restrictions. Singapore and China got out of their slum-like status by accepting FDIs top compete against their local businesses. Many of the Chinese people during Mao Zedong's time were all lazy and stupid. All that changed when Deng opened up China's economy. Many Singaporeans started out lazy and stupid. All that changed when Lee opened the country to FDI plus the implementation of a parliamentary system. The result was not only more income for the government but also made Chinese and Singaporean businessmen rethink their policies. It also forced incompetent Chinese to move away from China to sell their bootleg wares in the Philippines where competition is almost non-existent.
How will competition discipline Filipino businesses? If Filipino businessmen had to compete all the more - the more they have to straighten up their performance. Having more telcos will mean PLDT and Globe will either have to innovate and give better services or die. Do you think Jollibee would have reached its status if it didn't compete against Wendy's and McDonald's? It wouldn't and maybe Jollibee will still remain as an ice cream parlor until today. It's not just about growth through foreign investors but also having the presence of competition to force businesses to do better. It would make Filipino businesses continuously evolve because there's competition. After all, would a runner decide to exercise discipline if he or she didn't have to face off against runners? The same goes for the Filipino businesses too.
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