Have you seen the viral video of the Somali female
athlete running the 100-meter race at the FISU 2023 World University Games in
Chengdu, China? If not, you may like to watch the following video before you go
on in reading this article.
It will shock you.
The runner, Nasra Ali Abukar, finished the race in an embarrassing
21.81 seconds, almost 10 seconds behind the winner who clocked 11.4 seconds. For context, her slow speed is way too far from the U.S. women’s Olympic 100m team's qualifying standard of 11.15 seconds.
How did she end up in such a prestigious international
event? The answer is nepotism. Abukar is the niece of Somali Athletics
President Abdullahi Ahmend Tarabi, who allegedly used his influence to include
her in the team amid corruption claims.
The video of Abukar’s poor performance has gone viral
with more than 19.8 million views, sparking a global outrage and criticism.
Many Somalis have expressed their anger and disappointment on social media,
accusing the government of incompetence and misrepresentation. One Somali
posted the following comment on Twitter:
“It’s disheartening to witness such an incompetent
government. How could they select an untrained girl to represent Somalia in
running? It’s truly shocking and reflects poorly on our country internationally.”
WAKE-UP CALL
Abukar’s case is not only a matter of shame
for Somalia, but also a wake-up call for other countries to reflect on their
own situations. Let’s take the Philippines as an example.
The Philippines is now in an economic development race running against the top Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
countries – Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
How does the Philippines compare with these countries? Let’s look at the following table of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures. GDP is the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s border in a specific period – a comprehensive scorecard of a given country’s economic health.
|
Country |
1965 |
1986 |
2021 |
2023 |
|
Indonesia |
* |
79.95 |
1,186.51 |
1,391.78 |
|
Thailand |
4.39 |
43.10 |
505.57 |
505.57 |
|
Singapore |
0.97 |
18.59 |
423.80 |
515.55 |
|
Malaysia |
2.96 |
27.73 |
372.98 |
447.03 |
|
Vietnam |
* |
26.34 |
366.14 |
449.09 |
|
Philippines |
6.52 |
33.99 |
394.09 |
440.90 |
*No data
Source: The Global Economy
The table shows that when Marcos Sr., who ruled the
Philippines for two decades under authoritarianism, started his presidency in
1965, the Philippines was the frontrunner among the neighboring countries that
would later form the ASEAN in 1967.
However, when Marcos Sr. was ousted by the People
Power Revolution in 1986, Indonesia and Thailand had overtaken the Philippines,
while Malaysia and Vietnam were catching up fast, as Singapore was closing behind.
GREATEST ROBBERY
The following excerpt from the Inquirer article, Marcos [Sr.’s] martial law: Golden age for corruption, abuses, speaks
volumes and could explain the Philippines’ lagging behind its ASEAN neighbors
during Marcos Sr.’s martial law rule. Content researcher Kurt Dela Peña writes:
“The World Bank and UN Office of Drugs and Crimes said
Marcos [Sr.], having the longest reign as dictator, stole between $5 billion
and $ 10 billion from the country’s coffer.
“The corruption was so outrageous that it earned the
distinction of being ‘The Greatest Robbery of a Government’ from the Guinness
World Records.”
In 2021, Singapore has left far behind the Philippines,
as Malaysia and Vietnam tailgated. Such was a snap shot of PBBM -- working up at the starting line of the race – the yearend picture just before he had assumed his presidency.
What about 2023, when we can assess PBBM’s one-year
presidential performance equivalent to his running the first 16 meters in the analogous
100m race? How has he been doing so far? The answer is found in our GDP table,
at the projected 2023 yearend column.
Malaysia and Vietnam will get ahead of the Philippines -- which will end up,
sad to say, running behind the rest of its top ASEAN neighbors.
For lack of table space, it is worthy to note, based on the IMF 2023 yearend forecast that, in terms of the GDP per capita, the Philippines will fall farther behind the pack as
Brunei will get ahead just at the rear of the frontrunner Singapore.
The Philippines' economic cloud’s silver lining is its
GDP growth rate which will outpace all in 2023 yearend forecast. But, not so fast to count the chickens before they hatch for such metric only compares the
quarterly change in a country’s economic output to measure how fast an economy
is growing. It’s so volatile that it can change rapidly and unpredictably as evident
in the IMF forecast when Vietnam and Cambodia are projected to cut in front of the Philippines in such metric the following year 2024.
To sum up, in 1965, Philippines took off in tip-top
shape. Over the next 5-decade stretch, it has eventually bitten the
dust in a highly-competitive ASEAN economic race by the end of 2023. Ouch!
Is this the kind of performance we expect from our
leaders? Is this the kind of representation we deserve as a nation? Is this the
kind of legacy we want to leave for the future generations?
These are the questions we need to ask ourselves as we
watch Abukar’s video and think about our nation’s economic development situation. We need to realize
that we are not only spectators, but also participants in this race. We need to
work together, not against each other, to achieve our common goals.
THE RACE IS NOT YET OVER
The story of Abukar, the Somali runner who performed
so poorly in the 100-meter race that she became a global laughingstock, is a sad
and sobering reminder of how corruption, nepotism, and incompetence can ruin a
country’s reputation and potential.
The story of PBBM, our president who inherited the legacy
of his father’s dictatorship and won a controversial election, is a disturbing
and alarming warning of how history can repeat itself and how democracy can be
undermined and manipulated.
The story of the Philippines, the ASEAN country that
once led the region in economic development but now lags behind its neighbors,
is a tragic and frustrating tale of how opportunities can be wasted and how
progress can be reversed.
But the story is not over yet. So too is the race. The Philippines still has a chance to catch up, to recover, to redeem
itself. It still has a chance to reclaim its dignity, its destiny.
It all depends on us, Pinoys. We have the power to
demand accountability from our leaders. We have the courage to challenge the status
quo. We have the vision to imagine a better future and work for it.
We, Pinoys, have the spirit to run faster, not slower,
to catch up with our competitors. We have the heart to be better than Abukar-like
character.
We have the will to win the race.
Content put together in collaboration with Microsoft
Bing AI-powered co-pilot
Head collage photos courtesy of Marcadotcom & ASEAN
Economic Community Blueprint, 2025
Video clips courtesy of YouTube
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