FOR a nation with a population of 100 million, the Philippines often seems like a small village or maybe a thousand small villages but all interconnected.
We almost all self-identify from a particular province and then by clan and family. We are never actually surprised to learn that a person that we have done business with for years turns out to be the first-cousin of our best friend from high school.
We criticize the fact that the economic and social structure is considered oligarchic–a structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. Yet the oligarchy is deep-rooted because so many Filipinos are related by blood, marriage, or by the affinity of factors like schools attended. And we like the fact that we are all associated.
Taking advantage of the fact that a relative, even a distant relative, works in a government office that we must interact with is commonplace. A fresh graduate often looks first for employment at the company where he or she has ‘contacts’ or a potential ‘backer.’ These relationships are not only cultural but an integral part of our businesses.
While there are personal advantages to this system of personal relationships, there are also some greater downsides.
In order to preserve the oligarchic structure, either personal or business, competing groups must be careful not to take too much power away from the others. It may be somewhat unfair to legitimate businesses, but crime families do carve up territories to make sure all can survive and thrive as long as there is cooperation.
Even as it is nearly indisputable that in the past there have been types of “gentlemen’s agreements” to limit competition, this has usually happened on a case-to-case basis. True monopolies were more or less ended some 30 years ago. Even with the current state of competition in the telecommunications business, companies must still compete for a limited number of customers.
Further, as a succeeding generation of business leaders take control of long established, primarily family corporations, combined with a more global business model, competition becomes more ‘business’ than ‘personal’. Family corporations can be economically beneficial to a country because there is continuity and these businesses tend to be more financially conservative.
However, in our political arena, it often appears that it is mostly personal and not business.
Political ‘corporations’ may provide continuity but also may not be as advantageous as corporate continuity. Business corporations must succeed and turn a profit or die. Political corporations can live forever even if run badly with inefficiency and infectiveness.
Perhaps if our Filipino politics was run as well as our Filipino business community, we might see more positive changes for the nation. Perhaps we need more “It’s only business; not personal” in our political scene.