Can we ever have the nation we want? UP's best minds predict when and how

“The Philippines Into the 21st Century”
By Jose V. Abueva (General Editor), et al
University of the Philippines Press


In one breath, with a palpable sense of despair, we ask: Can we ever get out of the mess our country is in? But, in another breath, proving that hope truly springs eternal from the Filipino heart, we earnestly seek an answer to the question: When can we have the nation we want?

Is finally having a better Philippines a simple matter of when, or a problematic matter of if ? Can we finally tear ourselves away from the vicious cycle of rising and falling expectations and from the seesaw between peace and conflict? Can we finally have choices beyond the unacceptable extremes of systematic authoritarianism, on one hand, and a bungling democracy, on the other?

Can we have real economic prosperity that truly deals with the plight of the poor, and not a prosperity that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer? Can we ever get out of the predicament of a flawed free society, to paraphrase a former American President, that “cannot help the many who are poor, (and therefore) cannot save the few who are rich?” Can we be spared forever from a leader who promotes a class war – wooing the poor and wishing woes for the rich?

While abroad, when can we be spared from the bad news of banditry and economic plunder, and instead be treated to the good news of heroism and economic growth in our country -- and so be touched by a sense of national pride?

Closer to the gut, we query: When can people go to bed without pangs of hunger? When can children have a life of fun and a secure future, and not a life of scavenging in the stench and squalor of a mountain-size garbage heap? When can farmers truly enjoy the fruits of their produce and fishermen get substantial earnings for their day’s catch – enough for their daily bread and some extra to secure a future?

The authors of the book, “The Philippines Into the 21st Century,” conclude – after exhaustive evaluation and rigorous analysis – that the Philippines is in for a full flowering of socio-cultural, economic and political institutions that will result in a brighter future for Filipinos by the year 2025 at the latest. At the concluding part of the 216-page book, they give this forecast:

“The chances look good for the consolidation of Filipino democracy. The nation’s cumulative democratic experience, including the recent and phenomenal expansion and strengthening of citizens’ organizations in civil society, helps in the rebuilding and institutionalization of democracy… Progress in economic and social development, if sustained is conducive to democratic consolidation. The global democratic revolution provides it with a favorable external environment.”

That’s not a sound bite, I know. It’s a mouthful. And yet it is the one passage that captures the message of the entire book, which is sub-titled: “Future Scenarios for Governance, Democracy and Development, 1998-2025.” And, more important, it is a statement that concludes an exhaustive multidisciplinary study about a huge subject like the entire country and about the longest road ahead of us called the “future.”

This is not your kind of book when you curl up in bed on a rainy day to get small doses of homespun wisdom or handy anecdotes. But this is a book that you must read, if you are in search for answers about the future of our country. For so long, we have been treated to viewpoints and opinions dished out so casually and so recklessly – and we therefore take their opinions with a grain of salt.

This book changes all that. The conclusions about where we as a nation are going and in what shape – plus in what possible dates -- are arrived at by 50 scholars and experts -- based on assiduously researched data, well-thought out premises, rigorously analyzed viewpoints, objectively tested findings, and systematically arrived at scenarios. We come away more confident that we have been given a road map for the future, and we are told that some of us are at the driver’s seat – and we must do our job well.

Be patient as you wade through the robust, if not clinical — but occasionally inspired — language of scholars, often stripped to the bare essentials of communicating fact and truth – because, along the way, you will encounter interesting questions as: Shall we shift from a Presidential to a Parliamentary form of government? Is it true that among 39 countries evaluated for student achievement in science and mathematics, the Philippines ranks 39th? You will invariably get informed answers.

You will have to be prepared for a rare encounter with the collective thought of the experts — top-notch academicians or high ranking government officials (past and present) — or both. You may start with the integrative framework at the beginning to encourage you. Then jump to the concluding notes that are punctuated by tables that, at one glance, tell you at what year we can achieve the best for the Philippines in nationhood, democracy, rule of law, health, etc. Then, make a reckoning that by 2019 or 2025, you would still be alive by then to savor the bright prospects.

In the same concluding notes, the authors reserve their best shot in a fitting clincher which focuses on the future leaders of the country, proposing five job qualifications -- covering competence, respect for human dignity, imbued with a vision, emphasis on character formation and commitment to preparing future leaders for orderly succession. Did our previous Presidents qualify? Check the book out on its evaluation of the watch of Marcos, Aquino and Ramos. Joseph Estrada’s all-too-brief stint was not included in the study.

And yet this concluding paragraph might as well be a timely reminder for the current President and for future Presidents:

“As history’s good and effective leaders have shown the world, only a few of them were saints; they were simply humans who emulated the best and tried always to aim high, to learn, and to transcend themselves. For they truly cared for the people under their responsibility. No less will be expected of the Filipino political-administrative leader in the 21st century.”
As for you, dear reader, if you care enough about whether we will ever get the nation we want, tap the rarely untapped critical mind in you, and be ready to discuss our common future with the best minds in this book.