(Richard Javad Heydaran is academic, policy advisor, and author of "How Capitalism Failed the Arab World: The Economic Roots and Precarious Future of the Middle East Uprisings" (Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-javad-heydarian/after-aquino-time-for-eff_b_6129256.html) Posted: 11/11/2014
Excerpts
It's All About Corruption
Since
his ascent to power in 2010, Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy"
Aquino has ushered in an unprecedented period of post-Machiavellian 'moral
politics': An obsessive focus on combating high-level corruption -- the
supposed source of all that is vile and despicable -- to revive a broken
nation. And he has done this with a tinge of self-righteousness, constantly
placing himself above the fray -- and portraying himself as the embodiment of
the national conscience. In his moral crusade against the forces of evil, he
has often been unkind -- if not overly sensitive -- to criticism, even if they
emanate from smartest of allies.
As
he approaches the twilight years of his presidency, Aquino has become less
popular, more irritable, and slightly more sentimental. His critics fervently
claim that his anti-corruption initiatives have been lopsided, purportedly
focused on leading opponents alone but off-limit to allies. Despite some
evidence suggesting that possibly hundreds of politicians and private citizens
may have been embroiled in systemic corruption, particularly in connection to
the liquidation of discretionary legislative funds (i.e., Priority Development
Assistance Fund), much of the ongoing investigations have seemingly focused on
the most high-profile figures, some seen as formidable presidential candidates
in 2016. When three high profile senators were put in jail, on charges of
corruption, there were even concerns as to whether the Philippine government
had sufficient facilities for their appropriate accommodations. It is a big
question whether the Philippine bureaucracy -- it's judicial, investigative and
law enforcement agencies -- can expeditiously (in accordance to due process)
handle the potential incarceration of hundreds of officials accused of
corruption. Interestingly under President Xi Jinping, autocratic China has
disciplined up to 200,000 officials on charges of corruption.
The
Philippines is still suffering from concentrated growth, with a handful of
conglomerates and powerful families enjoying the fruits of new-found prosperity
in the country. Legions of poor and unemployed are still waiting for the
(imaginary) 'trickle down' of an expanding economic pie. In terms of
infrastructure, the Philippines still lags behind its peers, with delays and
alleged bidding anomalies hobbling big-ticket projects, which are necessary for
the creation of a truly modern economy. Some experts have raised concerns as to
whether there are enough competent engineers and economists -- rather than,
say, lawyers -- in agencies, which are in charge of infrastructure development.
Widespread corruption among low- to medium-level officials and politicians is
still a source of concern, despite the country's slight improvement in the
Transparency International's rankings.
In
terms of foreign policy, the Aquino administration has shown diminishing
strategic imagination. It has placed all its strategic eggs in the legal
basket, naively expecting that China -- today's global superpower, and a proud,
old civilization -- will succumb to international arbitration over its sweeping
territorial claims across the South China Sea. Instead of engaging China, his
government has resorted to high-minded rhetoric, filled with drama and passion,
but with little sense of urgency on how to best keep a perceived regional bully
at bay. Almost all of China's rival claimant states in the Western Pacific,
including Vietnam and Japan, have assiduously pursued high-level diplomatic
engagement with China, coupled with relentless efforts at establishing crisis
management mechanisms (e.g., hotlines) to prevent an outright conflict.
Astonishingly,
the Aquino administration has even postponed the much-needed refurbishment and
upgrade of Philippine facilities on the prized Thitu Island in the South China
Sea in order to supposedly maintain the "moral high ground" amid its
arbitration case against China. The Thitu Island (Pag-Asa to Filipinos) is the
second largest habitable feature in the Spratlys, which (i) can generate its
own 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and (ii) is crucial to
the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) ability to project power well across
the Philippine-claimed waters. Practically all other claimant states, with the
exception of fabulously rich and tiny Brunei, have fortified their positions in
the South China Sea -- an up for grabs area of contention.
Nonetheless, majority
of Filipinos continue to praise Aquino for his efforts at introducing a measure
of decency and predictability into the perennially capricious and disappointing
Philippine state. It is far from clear, however, whether he will be able to
deliver on his promises before he steps down from office in 2016. His greatest
legacy would most likely be his heartfelt dedication to confront veteran
politicians accused of large-scale corruption as well as his ability to oversee
above-average growth rates for an unusually extended period (although it is far
from clear whether his administration should be solely credited for the recent
economic uptick).
Towards
Effective Governance
In
an essay for the Foreign Affairs magazine, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino
memorably wrote: "Filipinos are bewildered about their identity. They are
an Asian people not Asian in the eyes of their fellow Asians and not Western in
the eyes of the West." For him, the roots of the Philippines' predicament
lie in the Filipino leadership's tendency to "abdicat[e] control over
basic areas of their national life [to foreign powers], unaccustomed to coming
to grips with reality, [and] prone to escape into fantasies." Almost four
decades henceforth, the Filipino political class continues to exhibit these
characteristics.
In
terms of its foreign policy, the Philippines still excessively relies on foreign
powers to defend its own territorial interests. For decades, it has had the
chance to modernize its armed forces and hone its diplomatic acumen. But as
Roilo Golez, a former Philippine National Security Advisor, recently told me:
"Nothing was achieved by way of minimum deterrence during the 1990s and
2000s. During that time, AFP modernization items were for minor items like
field communications equipment, night vision equipment, among others, which
were useless for defending our territorial claims in the South China Sea."
Despite
having a smaller economy than the Philippines, with a similarly large but even
poorer population, Vietnam has managed to fortify its construction activities
across the South China Sea and develop an increasingly modern military. When it
comes to its foreign policy, it fervently pursues non-alignment, refusing to
rely on any single power for its national security. As Vietnam's Ambassador to
the Philippines, Truong Trieu Duong, proudly told me: "It is a consistent
policy of Vietnam not to ally with any countries against the others. So
definitely, Vietnam would not have any kind of agreements like the Enhanced
Defense Cooperation Agreement between the US and the Philippines... In order to
defend the country's sovereignty, Vietnam has also been developing our arm
forces strong enough to stand against any kind of foreign aggression."
Some
Filipino leaders continue to think of corruption as the main cause behind the
country's contemporary ills. But what they fail to see is how corruption and
lack of an imaginative foreign policy is a reflection of the Philippines' most
fundamental problem: The absence of an effective, autonomous state. Since its
inception, under the auspices of Spanish conquistadors, the Philippines has
been under the yoke of an oligarchy, which has prevented the establishment of a
competent, self-reliant, and independently-minded national bureaucracy that is
capable of ensuring rule of law, rallying the nation behind a collective cause,
efficiently implementing public projects, and reining in nefarious influence
from within and without.
It
remains to be seen, however, whether the next administration will focus on
developing the capacity and autonomy of the Philippine bureaucracy, recruit
competent and dedicated public servants, and devise a more creative approach to
secure the Philippines' territorial integrity and national interest. As for the
Filipino voters, effective governance should serve as their main criteria for
selecting the next leaders. That is the best way to secure the Philippines'
democratic gains -- and unleash the real potentials of the Filipino nation.
