MAPping the Future

2nd of 2 Parts

 

In the first part of this article which was published on December 19, 2022, we wrote about the twin evils of Inequality and Exclusion that led to poverty, hunger and many other dehumanizing ills of society all over the world. The disturbing facts about these two evils had led global institutions, like the World Bank, the United Nations (17 SDGs), Corporate America, Philippines, Inc., and even the Pope to propose possible solutions. In the United States and the Philippines, major corporations and business and professional associations and their leaders had banded together to issue statements and commitments that shifted the purpose of businesses from the interest of just the stockholders to include all other stakeholders. In other words, from traditional Capitalism to Stakeholder Capitalism. The key: Shared Prosperity.

 

Why Shared Prosperity?

 

There is a bigger stake than just the success of corporate Philippines and Shared Prosperity. This is about country and nationhood. This is about our Dream Philippines. Business can play a major role in building the Philippines of our dreams but the rest of society need to help in nation-building as well.

 

The State of Our Nation

 

The ravages of COVID has forced our economy to backpedal. Our major economic variables, once considered very strong during the PNoy Administration have been weakened, and not just by COVID. Revenue leakages due to massive corruption have returned. PBBM has been handed an economic time bomb that needs to be defused fast.

 

Politically, there is a disconnect between the governors and the people governed. Political dynasties continue to be in control. The quality of public governance is erratic. We have weakened and divided institutions (in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches), many of which are tainted with corruption. There is dissonant leadership at various levels.

 

And we continue to be a divided, confused people; have a widening gap between the rich and the poor; we struggle in addressing the problems in education; we are raising malnourished and stunted kids; we have difficulty in dealing with crime, drugs, illegal gambling, peace and order, not to mention a culture of violence; and, we ignore the needs of the poor and God’s other creations.

 

We need to rebuild our nation but that journey requires not only hope, love, perseverance and stamina – it needs, among others, a clear vision, a servant leadership mindset, a strong sense of country, a culture of good governance and responsible citizenship.

 

The Dream Philippines Project

 

In February of this year, the former Secretary of Finance, Dr. Jesus P. Estanislao, convened almost 100 convenors, sectoral representatives and volunteers from many sectors of society to a convocation to craft a country roadmap for the future. It was called the Dream Philippines 2046 Project. The core purpose is the transformation of the Philippines and the comprehensive development of the Filipino, by the Filipino and for the Filipino. The hope is that the roadmap will help the country achieve higher productivity and competitiveness, higher and sustainable growth, and greater equity and inclusiveness. The strategic metrics are: to be top 20% in the world competitiveness index, 8-10% annual GDP growth and a GINI Coefficient of 30% or lower.

 

After 5 months of monthly meetings, the convenors produced the Country Governance Charter (statements of national values, mission and vision), the 8 strategic facets of nation-building, 28 strategic objectives in a strategy map, and the beginnings of a country performance scorecard of more than 140 initiatives and measures.

 

The Governance Charter for the Philippines

 

The proposed values for Dream Philippines are already in the law of the land (RA 8491) and are as follows (English definition, mine): Maka-Diyos (Love of God), Maka-Bansa (Love of Country), Maka-Tao (Respect for the dignity of the individual and Love for the Family), and Maka-kalikasan (Protection of God’s other creations).

 

For the Mission Statement, the convenors decided to adopt the Preamble of the current Constitution which states: “We, the Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, seek to build a just and humane society, establish a government that shall promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, secure the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law, and secure a regime of truth and justice, love and freedom, equality and peace.”

 

For the country vision, the convenors developed vision statements for the years 2028, 2034, 2040 and 2046, summarized as follows:

 

• Vision 2028 focuses on socio-economic recovery from the ravages of COVID 19 and the building of a solid platform for good governance and responsible citizenship.
• Vision 2034 emphasizes on climate or environmental justice.
• Vision 2040 is adapted from the government’s AmBisyon Natin 2040’s aspiration of the Filipino for his country.
• Vision 2046 expresses the Filipino’s aspiration for himself as defined in the AmBisyon 2040 vision statement.

 

The Country Strategy Map

 

In developing the strategy map for the country, the first step was to first identify the strategic facets for nation-building. There were eight facets identified; namely: Moral-Spiritual Facet, Socio-Cultural Facet, Political Facet, Human Resources Facet, Natural Resources Facet, Physical Facet, Technological-Digital Facet and Economic-Financial Facet.

 

The convenors were divided into 8 groups corresponding to the 8 strategic facets, with each group tasked to develop 3-5 strategic objectives. A total of 28 strategic objectives were developed and adopted in the plenary.

 

These strategic objectives can be summarized as follows: (1) A virtues-based society, (2) Deep spiritual, ethical and moral foundation, (3) Human rights, religious freedom and spirit of enterprise, (4) Deep sense of patriotism, (5) Strong family institution enjoying good quality of life, (6) Preservation of rich cultural heritage, (7) Strengthened, integrated and harmonized, political institutions, (8) Matured electoral process and civic consciousness, (9) Stable national peace and security, (10) Universal health care, (11) Continuing education for all, (12) Peaceful, safe and secure communities, (13) Promotion of STEM and dual vocational training with strong values components, (14) Protection, conservation and judicious development of marine resources, (15) Responsible development of mountain and mineral resources, (16) Greater attention to food security and sustainability, (17) Quality and efficient transport infrastructure, (18) Water adequacy and security, (19) Energy sufficiency and security, (20) Environmentally-sensitive waste management, (21) Access to technology for all, (22) Knowledge-driven, competitive digital ecosystem, (23) Global-standard ICT infrastructure, (24) Competitiveness and ease of doing business, (25) A production and maintenance mindset, (26) Strong economic fundamentals, (27) Development finance, esp. for MSMEs, and (28) Focused fiscal and monetary policies.

 

The Governance Charter and the Strategy Map composed of 8 strategic facets and 28 strategic objectives were completed in July 2022.

 

The Country Performance Scorecard

 

The Dream Philippines Project has a 5-person Steering Committee chaired by Dr. Estanislao. There is also an Eminent Persons Group (EPG) composed of 8 members, each of whom will be assigned one strategic facet to work on. Each of the EPG members will organize task forces to work on each of the 28 strategic objectives and fully develop the initiatives, measures, baselines and targets for 2028, 2034 , 2040 and 2046. Their outputs will be consolidated, integrated, and organized to produce the Country Performance Scorecard. Target completion date is June 2023.

 

Conclusion

 

We dream of a beautiful and prosperous Philippines – a country where there is enough for everyone, where no Filipino is left behind in poverty, where every Filipino family is healthy and enjoys a life of comfort, where every child has a future.

 

We dream of a country that can bring out the best in the Filipino people – one that can make the Filipino truly great and respected in the eyes of the world.

 

But for us to attain this Dream, we need an effective and efficient government that delivers, ethical and servant leaders who serve, sustainable businesses that share their prosperity, civil society or NGOs that manifest and promote the interests and will of the citizenry, and responsible citizens who get involved.

 

This is our Dream Philippines and today I sound the call to action – yes, we are warriors and advocates of good governance but more than this and more importantly, we are committed to build our Dream Philippines. And we pledge to keep these commitments while urging others to join us – however long it may take. Here in the Philippines. One Filipino at a time.

 

(The author is Co-Chair for Social/Shared Prosperity of the MAP Committee on ESG. He is also Vice Chair of Center for Excellence in Governance (CEG). Feedback at <map@map.org.org.ph> and <mon@acg.ph>.)