The Philippines

The Philippines is an "outlier" in the region in numerous ways. It was the only Asean country to have been colonised by Spain and the US. And it is the only Catholic nation among the Asean members.

After the end of World War II, the Philippines was seen as an Asian country with great economic potential. But unlike the Asian "Tigers" such as Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea, it stagnated and never realised its economic potential. That is another sense in which it is an outlier. About a quarter (26.5 per cent) of the country's population remain below the poverty line.

In many respects the Philippines has more in common with countries like Mexico or Guatemala than it does with Laos or Myanmar (Burma). However, the reality is that it is physically and politically part of Southeast Asia.

Racially and ethnically the majority population of the Philippines resembles the Malay people of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

The Philippines has the reputation as a talent-producer, which dates back to the earliest Spanish colonial period. The University of Santo Thomas, established in 1611, was the first modern type of university in Southeast Asia.

One of the country's most talented individuals was Jose Rizal, a revolutionary, physician, polyglot (conversant in 22 languages), a polymath, novelist, and a public intellectual. He actually held two European doctorates. He is the national hero of the Philippines, and became a martyr when he was executed by the Spanish in 1896. The Cornell scholar, Benedict Anderson, currently living in Bangkok, described Rizal's major novel, 'Noli Me Tangere', as "astonishing in its scope and style."

At the end of the 19th century, the Philippines rebelled against its Spanish colonisers and declared independence. However, as a result of the Spanish-American War and America's victory over Spain, the United States "stole" the Philippine revolution and it became an Ameri-can colony, but only after a drawn-out and painful three-year war (1899-1902), America's "first Vietnam War."

While teaching in Thailand in the 1960s I first became aware of Thai-Philippine connections. Some Thais would pursue higher education in the Philippines as a low-cost alternative compared to going to Western countries. Also, there were many Philippine singers and musicians performing in Thai hotels and clubs.

Actually, the Philippines has a huge higher education sector with approximately 2,246 institutions, 88 per cent of which are private. The country has been known for having many "diploma mills" of questionable quality. These are usually for private universities run for profit or local public universities.

The Philippines is also an "outlier" with respect to family planning and population growth. They have no Mechai Viravaidya [the Thai family planner] The population of the Philippines is currently 103.8 million, the second largest in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and with a high growth rate of nearly 2 per cent. With that continuing growth rate, by the year 2040, the population will be over 200 million, which would place a great burden on the economy.

As a result of its rapid population growth, related large labour force, and weak economy in much of the post-World War II period, the Philippines has been well known for its export of talent. Examples abound; Filipinos are found doing security at San Francisco Airport, working on cruise ships, serving as doctors and nurses in large US cities, becoming "education mamas" and maids in places such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Singapore, serving in the US Navy, and working in the entertainment sector in Japan. The Philippine diaspora is approximately eight million people. Their remittances contribute importantly to the Philippine economy.

The Philippines and Thailand face three major common problems: namely, a serious Muslim separatism problem in the South, high level of inequality, and problems in implementing educational reform, thus, adversely affecting their international competiveness.

The Philippines' education reform initiative known as Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA, introduced in 2006) is in many ways similar to the Thai education reform reflected in the progressive Thai National Education Act (1999). Both reforms are comprehensive and progressive emphasising decentralisation, school-based management, and an emphasis on student-centred learning. Problems in implementing reform in the Philippines mirror those in Thailand.

The implementation of reform in the Philippines has been adversely affected by a large bureaucratic highly centralised hierarchical Department of Education, and frequent changes in leaders of the department. Also there are complex problems related to language policy in which many students do not start school in their mother tongue. This language issue has contributed to enrolment problems. World Bank data for 2006/2007 indicate that both Cambodia and Laos had higher primary net enrolment rates than the Philippines.

The nation's large debt burden and rapid population growth also contribute to the underfunding of education in the Philippines.

Given that English is one of the two official languages of the Philippines, it is easy for Thais to access information about the Philippines. For the Philippines there are excellent films that students could view and critique such as "Hero" by Bayani about the 1898 revolution, Brillante Mendoza's "The Teacher," and "Noli Me Tangere," based on Rizal's most famous novel.

Students could also read the great novels of Rizal as well as a valuable anthology of prominent Filipina female writers in English titled "Forbidden Fruit."

Despite the Philippines being an outlier, there is much potential for future collaboration with Thailand in the AEC era. As examples, in an "Asean Peace Corps" individuals from the Philippines could contribute valuably to English education in Thailand and more Thais could matriculate at high quality Philippine universities and institutions such as the University of the Philippines, Xavier University, De La Salle University, and the Asian Institute of Management.

GERALD W. FRY

Distinguished International Professor

Department of Organisational Leadership, Policy, and Development University of Minnesota

gwf@umn.edu

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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/12/17/the-philippines/