Manny V. Pangilinan and Prospective Investors for the Philippine Economy

Reference to PDI news article 
"Pangilinan fumes, threatens to go back to Hong Kong: You're so unruly"

Manny V. Pangilinan
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Listen to MVP.... Not necessarily to follow exactly his will or what he says; but to read between the lines. There appears to be a point to believe in that one of the major reasons why the Philippine economy is bad for investments is that its state functionaries listen more to politicians as well as (neoclassical) economists than to businesspeople. To be perfectly frank, even from a capitalist point of view, the Philippine state does not know how to manage and develop capitalism properly so as to create wealth for the nation.

I find MVP's business and politics a really intriguing case for a study of Southeast Asian political economy.... I hope I can find the time, energy, and opportunity to do this research in the coming months.... 

In the Philippines, MVP is considered a business magnate who has diversified interests, holdings, and portfolio and who has become a patron of the country's sports, arts, and education. But there's more....

MVP is one of those very rare seasoned Southeast Asian capitalists who has thrived on and know how to deal with a variety of capitalist regimes in East and Southeast Asia - broadly speaking, be it the 'free market capitalism' of Hong Kong, the 'state capitalism' of China, the 'predatory capitalism' of Indonesia, the 'crony capitalism' of Malaysia, or the 'unruly' capitalism (MVP's word) of the Philippines. MVP has recently expressed disgust about 'unruliness' in the conduct of political-business relations in the Philippines. And this is telling about a fundamental requirement of any capitalist: a high degree of predictability, certainty, calculability, and security for capital accumulation.

With the way things are shaping up these days, including in geopolitical and geoeconomic terms, and with the few years left of PNoy's presidency, it seems that the Philippines cannot expect much investments in the coming years from Chinese capital. Other analysts argue that the Philippine political tussle with China does/will not affect the two countries' economic relations; but I disagree with this opinion because it does not accurately comprehend how 'the political' and 'the economic' are inextricable in Chinese political economy. I think that China has not learned capitalism from the English classical political economy of Adam Smith and David Ricardo (which normatively separates 'the political' from 'the economic'), but from the critique of political economy of Karl Marx (which structurally understands 'the political' behind 'the economic').

While the Philippines should still try to reach out to China, maybe it would be more strategic for the government to look to other investors outside the ASEAN like Japan, which also has intensifying territorial disputes with China and which remains the Philippines' biggest investor. Current news in the business pages are saying that more and more Japanese manufacturing activity/production are relocating to the Philippines in recent and coming years. Well, who knows, the 'anti-China' projects in Washington (and, possibly, in Tokyo) might revitalize the postwar anti-USSR Marshall Plan and the mid-1980s Plaza Accord - i.e., two historic capitalist development moments and plans that have dramatically (re)industrialized Germany (and West/North Europe) and Japan (and the economies in East and Southeast Asia). The Philippines could be a showcase for a Marshall Plan 2.0 and/or a Plaza Accord 2.0. 

South Korean capital also might be a good source of foreign investment especially that many of its citizens and businesses are already settled and in operation in the country for some years now. Just a thought, however.... When I asked Ha-Joon Chang about this prospect when he treated me for a drink in Italy two years ago, he told me that tapping South Korean capital is not at all a bad idea; but he warned me against the dismal record of these companies in labour and industrial relations. Indeed, Ha-Joon's reminder to me immediately conjures up the occupational abuses and hazards of the Hanjin Corporation in Subic recently, as well as the excesses of the Japanese Imperial Army-trained General Park Chung-hee during Korea's early industrialization experience. So consider this as a tip on how to do business with the Koreans in ways that protect and promote the welfare and a life of dignity of Filipino workers.

Other countries within the BRICS — particularly, Brasil, India, and South Africa have to be seriously considered as well as prospective investors. For instance, our neighbour Malaysia has laid out business plans with the BRICS, which mostly focus on China and India (i.e., the 'home' nations of about 40% of the country's multiethnic citizens).

And, of course, at this crisis moment, there are big opportunities to develop our own domestic manufacturing sector, local technological capabilities, national innovation system, and agricultural productivity with a view to food security. This must include alternative development strategies and the visions for ecological futures and sustainable communities. Big concepts and ideas, indeed, but we have a lot of brilliant, creative, and dedicated people in the Philippines who (can) make things happen. Hope!