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Friday, July 6, 2012

Can PH return to tiger cub status?

By Beting Laygo Dolor

Once upon a time, the Philippine economy was doing so well that the country attained tiger cub economy status.

This was during the Ramos administration and the country’s finance secretary was the cerebral Roberto “Bobby” de Ocampo. FVR gave de Ocampo the free hand to guide the country’s economy, and the result was that the Philippine economy grew steadily throughout the six years of the Ramos presidency.

De Ocampo was tagged Finance Minister of the Year by several organizations for his efforts. He was again in the news recently when de Ocampo was made an honorary officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II personally gave the award to de Ocampo.

Recall that President Noynoy Aquino went to London a couple of weeks ago partly to attend the diamond jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II. And while PNoy didn’t get to see the queen, de Ocampo most certainly did.

I don’t know if de Ocampo went through that ceremony where the queen taps him on both shoulders with a sword as he kneels before her. Maybe that’s for most excellent knights of the British Empire only, like Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger.

So far, no one’s ears have been cut off or even nicked by the act. The queen is, after all, a most senior citizen, and perhaps her eyesight isn’t what it was like before.

But it was good to know that de Ocampo’s achievements haven’t been forgotten. There’s no better teacher than hindsight, and looking back, it might have been better for the country if FVR’s half-hidden wishes for a longer term had been granted. At least, he would have kept de Ocampo in his Cabinet, and the Philippines might have moved from tiger cub to full-blown tiger economy in a few more years.

Instead, we had an Erap Estrada as president and no one even recalls who his finance secretary was. Whoever it was, he or she could not hold a candle to de Ocampo. The Philippines reverted to pussy cat economy status under Erap, and his successor Gloria Arroyo did no better.

Sure the Philippine economy might have done worse given the global meltdown that occurred in the last years of GMA’s nine-year term. Her only real achievement was to keep the economy afloat, but she could have achieved so much more if she had reined in the graft and corruption that constantly besieged her administration.

Now comes Noynoy Aquino whose administration has some things to crow about in the economic front. We can expect PNoy to mildly boast that since he took over from GMA, the economy has risen steadily and the local stock market has been climbing to new peaks every month. He can also say that the country’s tourism industry is enjoying its best years ever, at least in terms of inbound tourist arrivals.

This is not to belittle his achievements, but unless Aquino and his finance secretary Cesar Purisima can bring the country back to tiger cub status, then the president cannot claim to be doing well.

He may be paving a “daang matuwid” but that path is useless if it leads nowhere.

A return to that previous solid status is not impossible. But the President has to adjust his managerial style.

In simplest terms, PNoy has to work as hard as Fidel Ramos did during his presidency. Ramos was known as an indefatigable worker, a workaholic who was up before sunrise and who attended to matters of state until well into the night.

In contrast, Estrada was rarely up before noon, and even insisted on one day a week when he was to have his private time. To put it mildly, Erap never appreciated the fact that he was CEO of Philippines, Inc.

His work habits put Noynoy Aquino halfway between Ramos and Estrada.

He still has four years as president. After that, he can rest and relax all he wants. He can toy with his cars and his guns and go out with women half his age after he leaves Malacañang.

In the meantime, there’s work to be done. The foundations are there, all that’s needed is a hands-on chief executive and the Philippine can return to full respectability.

We may no longer be the sick man of Asia, but our economic health doesn’t exactly make us Olympic athletes. Maybe PNoy can invite de Ocampo to weave his old magic again by joining the Cabinet after his State of the Nation Address?

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