The importance of history
Here are some useful and commonsensical policy-making pointers for the Philippine government from Juan Miguel Luz. I particularly like the last section on 'How to ask the right questions'....
I agree with Luz's main thesis on the importance of 'history' and 'timing' in policy planning and implementation, but I'm afraid that he has failed to provide an adequate and astute historical perspective on his diagnosis of the problems and challenges specific to the Phillippine political-economic experiences in the intricate issues of land reform, devolution, ARMM, and K-12.
Luz's institutionalist approach to the analysis and resolution of social and developmental issues reminds me of my short stint as a fresh grad researcher at his current institute, the Center for Development Management (Asian Institute of Management-Makati) exactly ten years ago. I remember the methods of 'organizational diagnosis' and 'lesson-drawing', as well as the related concepts of best practice, learning, emulation, and innovation. However, I think that Luz's institutionalist method has got the better of his intelligent analysis whereby he has ended up misreading the specificities of the complicated issues (especially of land reform, local government devolution, ARMM autonomy, and K-12 basic education reform) and almost reduced the complex and convoluted political-economic-social-cultural-historical problems to a simple question of institutional reform. Here, we are reminded of the Law of Instrument - 'If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail'.
Nevertheless, this article is a reflective advice for serious consideration of our policy makers and development planners. We ought to remember that the method of best practice lesson-drawing must be examined and/or balanced with context-specific and history-sensitive policy analysis and prescriptions.
Just in time for Filipinos' reflection and for PNoy administration's prompt action....
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