Meeting with Fidel V. Ramos:

Making Philippines tiger cub economy of Asia

Rohantha ATHUKORALA

I had a once in a life time opportunity of being part of a discussion via satellite with the former Philippines President - Fedel Valdez Ramos. He was considered to be one of the most respected President's the Philippines has had. At a mature age of 64 years he was characterized for the economic boom, technological development and political stability that he championed for the country. But the one thing that captured my interest was the simplicity of his solutions though the challenges he faced were daunting. Let me capture the key observations.

Observation 1: Hands on leadership - solved the power crisis

In his first year of office he was able to win over to his side a majority of people while developing the confidence in the Government. Ramos earned this in my view by way of a strategy - hands on leadership. For instance, at a time when he took over the country when there was an acute power crisis, he got congress to enact a law where specified constitutional powers will be given to the President to solve a crisis. Thereafter, he single handedly drove a team of experts in issuing independent power production licences to construct power plants within a 24 month duration. Ramos solved the power crisis by 1994.

I guess Sri Lanka will need this single handed iron fist to solve the garbage crisis that is creating severe health issues including the spiralling deadly dengue outbreak. On the key business opportunity of tourism-given that building a five star room costs almost five million, unless room rates reach 200-300 dollars breaking even will be a tough task. Hence, a better option is to target 1.5 million tourists than 2.5 million but invest money in creating awareness and driving up the image of the country with its wide product offering. This will help drive our room rates up from the current $80 to $150. In my view this will be more a practical target for Sri Lanka given that 99 percent of the industry is private sector led. With this strategy investment on room capacities will naturally happen.

Observation 2: Breakfast meetings - 33 meetings a year

Under Ramos's Presidential leadership in Philippines during a given year he had a minimum of 33 meetings with the business community. He believed in a process of empowering people and creating an inclusive growth model in solving the economic and social problems that had been growing during years. This strategy resulted in foreign investors pouring money into the country in the key strategic sectors of Power, Telecommunication, Banking, Insurance, Shipping and oil industries.

This holds ground in Sri Lanka too. The November budget is crucial to bring in radical reforms similar to the one we saw in 1977. We have to ensure that policy reforms will help us move up the World Competitive Report rankings. If not, attracting FDI's and driving 40 percent investments from the current 28 percent will be only a dream. If we do not drive for the 40 percent target we as a nation cannot achieve an 8-10 percent GDP growth in the years to come.

On economic policy, a key attribute that I observed in Ramos was his consistency of policy that he maintained right across his tenure of office. This gave confidence to an investor to take the Philippines seriously. I guess this is why Ramos was nick named Steady Eddie. Sri Lanka needs to take a cue on this, as we have been highlighted repeatedly for this irregularity in many a forum.

Observation 3: Corruption is a disinvestment

A very strong trait that I observed in the strategy by Fidel Ramos was that he adopted an approach to chase after corruption. He set up a Presidential Anti-corruption Unit whose mandate was fact finding. Thereafter this data was transferred to a decentralized ombudsman who took the case to a close. The strategy worked. Ramos was successful of implementing a sea change in economic reforms in a country that was once a closed economy.

A point that I must highlight is that in my tenure of working for the public sector, I have found people who are committed and with a strong ethos for honesty. The best case in point is that Mobitel's Upahara scheme targeted at the public sector has zero bad debts.

This same behaviour is seen in the consumer durables industry such as Singer where in easy payment schemes the least default rate is in the rural areas of the country. The highest is in the urban areas. Hence it's important that we do not build perceptions in a generalized manner. In fact the latest research reveals that the most corrupt sector in Sri Lanka is the private sector. That's where correction needs to begin is my view and not in the public sector as most perceive.

Observation 4: Lead a moderate life - Ramos's wife continued to work

One of the staggering revelations the former President made during the interview, was when he said that his wife continued to work at the International School of Business in Manila during his tenure of Presidency. Ramos went on to say that his wife used to bring home a higher salary than him. His advice to the Young Leaders who were connected via satellite was to be physically fit and mentally alert as in today's world a leader is like a juggler on a high wire where a ball cannot be dropped. But he went on to say, "to make sure we have our feet firmly on the wire even if its thousands of feet from the ground."

In relation to Sri Lanka a strange phenomenon that I have seen is that the people who appear in glitzy magazines are seldom the top 200 executives of Sri Lanka but a specific cocktail circuit crowd. I guess this gives a signal to youngsters about leading a moderate life even if one is in the driving seat of business.

Observation 5: Show reality to the people - drive reality

A strong statement made on this line was where Ramos always maintained his constant communication with the people of the Philippines on the lines of 'show reality' and drive reality perspective. Under his leadership he powered the Philippines economy to become one of the most stable economies enjoying strong economic growth and the best in the Far East. The Philippines stock exchange in the mid nineties was among the best in the world.

Maybe a cue for Sri Lanka is that we must not flash data such as per capita income of $2000 plus and the attractive 7 percent plus GDP growth numbers as this is skewed to the Western Province. I guess lets show reality by highlighting gaps that exists by showcasing the real numbers from a regional perspective.

May be then, we can sensitivize the global community and aid partners so that we can once again attract the grant money's that Sri Lanka can sure make do. We must once again become members of the global community with purpose is my view.

Observation 6: Peace with separatists - No aggression

I realized during the interview that Ramos always walked the talk. He was a military General. He was gifted with a conciliatory temperament and vision of a statement that the people of the Philippines believed. He was instrumental in bringing peace with the rebels. Ramos was on centre stage when he signed the peace agreement between the Government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1996. He also ordered the resumption of peace negotiations with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

I observed that while he had traits of a true officer and a gentleman, there was a lethal side to his personality.

He ruthlessly introduced the death penalty. When one of my colleagues from Thailand questioned this decision his answer was that it was necessary due to the increasing drug trafficking that was emerging. But he emphasized it was not inhumane as the technique used was legal injection.

I felt the strong stance against the LTTE was a classic example of hard minded decision that we as a nation took.

The private sector must be commended on the support extended to the Government to ensure peace was restored eliminating one of the most ruthless terrorist organizations of the world. But now we must compete the housing needs of the people of Vanni and then integrate the Tamil people of Sri Lanka into the mainstream developmental and political agenda. The 50,000 houses to be built by the Indian Government in the Vanni as a grant must be activated with passion as we will never get this kind of funding again.

Observation 7: Ramos picked his men - No friends

A point that I will never forget in the interview was when Ramos explained his first task after being appointed as President was to pick his key 25 men to govern the country. He took the bold move of calling for applications and interviewed each person before the selection was made. He emphasized that I did not know any of them in depth till I started working with them. He also recalled an incident where one of his family members had called him on an issue with the Police.

His answer that the complaint needs to be made to the Police as his task was developing policy and creating an enabling environment for people with authority to take decisions. Every week Ramos used to meet the press for a frank discussion.

I guess the many professionals from the private sector who voluntarily has taken up office in the state institution in 2010 took the correct action, in the correct direction. But, what is important is that we must ensure that resources are provided for them to achieve the dream that they have set for this country. If not, this opportunity will once again fade away.

We must also note that the buzz on Sri Lanka will last only for a maximum of two years and unless we make the best of it Sri Lanka's new found peaceful environment will only be a commentary in the years to come.

Observation 8:

Prosper thy neighbour policy

Fidel Ramos is considered one of the most influential political leaders in the Far East as against the elite Suharthos and Mahathirs that once ruled the world. His ethos which he kept telling many times during the interview was Prosper thy neighbour.

This earned him a stellar reputation in the region but also got the cooperation from the countries in the region to drive drastic changes in the Philippines. Even today he represents the country in the Asean Eminent Persons Group that drafted the charter of the Association of South Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Ramos mentioned in particular the strategy micro credit will lead to micro financing and this will lead to micro enterprises. Currently 90 percent of the Philippines economy is driven by the Small and medium Enterprises (SME's).

We need to look at India from a similar view point. Last week's CEPA discussion between the Government and the business chambers must now be taken to a close and then the proposed CEPA agreement signed.

Sri Lanka must benefit from the booming service industry of India. We must pursue similar partnerships with may be Pakistan, so that South Asia as a region can target a 10 percent integration of trade by 2015. Currently South Asia is at a low ebb of 5.3 percent

Observation 9:

Awards won - Strong values

With the Interview concluded and back to office, I googled 'Fidel Ramos' to find out more on this exceptional leader that very few of us know about. The finds were unbelievable.

Ramos was a soldier, politician, writer and diplomat. He has a Bachelor of Science, Military Engineering Degree from West Point U.S. and MBA from Manila University under his belt.

He was a recipient of a UNESCO peace prize, Knight Grand Cross (UK), Order of Isabella Calolica (Spain), Most Exalted Order Cross (Malaysia), Dharma Patana (Indonesia) but he never mentioned it. Ramos is one of the most decorated Philippines in the country's history but to me he depicted a simple man with a single minded vision that was able to make every Philippino believe in his vision - a task that every CEO will dream to achieve.

I guess we need to take a cue from this and ensure we lead a balanced life. The new ethos in corporate life is called 'Corporate Athletism'.

This means that a corporate executive of today, must be equal to an athlete who is agile, with stamina to run a 10 hour work schedule and quick to multi task if required.

The big challenge is whether we as a nation is disciplined enough to live this dream.