There is absolutely nothing wrong with aspiring to have what first world countries have. After all, what Filipino hasn’t been wistfully dreaming of a Philippines that has the universal healthcare system of the British, the educational system of the Scandinavians and the walkable and bicycle-friendly streets of Nordic countries, the efficiency and safety provided by Singapore’s public transportation, or a corruption-free government like New Zealand’s?
The achievements of these first world countries in providing the best possible government and services to their people are something our own government officials should be looking up to and working for, but due to a dearth of competence, talent and quality in the leaders we have chosen, our poor country has been languishing in mediocrity.
The good news is that when it comes to dreams, it is something our leaders have shown some competency in, primarily because it doesn’t cost anything in terms of time, effort or resources, especially when their constituents no longer have any standards for performance or excellence.
Our problem is not with the dreamers, because anyone, even those who have incomplete education and no job experience can have as many dreams as they wish, but it is with the execution and the corruption that goes with whatever does become reality.
If you come to think of it, our country and its leaders has so far failed at coming up with anything exceptional for its people. It’s a good thing that Filipinos are exceptionally resilient and tolerant because everything we have is either horrible or mediocre. Healthcare, public transportation, education and governance are all in dire need of improvement but because we lack the talent, determination and funds to at the very least pick one to be good at, all we have is a mishmash of meh.
The only thing our government seems to be good at is at building, breaking and rebuilding roads which unfortunately do not come with a master plan to improve the general quality of life of those not directly involved in that ingeniously simple yet particularly profitable scheme.
Anyway, here we are, stuck in mediocrity and debt, and our government officials have now decided that there is another first world aspiration they want for this country. We haven’t succeeded at doing anything great at the basic level but now our ambitious leaders are now wishing to get us a sovereign wealth fund, something that only the truly successful first world nations have.
We all know what quality health care, education, public transportation, security, and good governance mean. And God knows we’ve been wishing for our leaders to pour more honest money and effort into those national projects. But, what is a sovereign wealth fund and why should we want one when we can’t even get our basic priorities right?
According to Investopedia.com, a sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund comprised of money generated by the government, often derived from a country’s surplus reserves, meant to provide a benefit for the country’s economy and its citizens.
The funding for a SWF can come from a variety of sources. Popular sources are surplus reserves from state-owned natural resource revenues, trade surpluses, bank reserves that may accumulate from budgeting excesses, foreign currency operations, money from privatizations, and government transfer payments.
One of the best and largest examples of a SWF is Norway’s, which is funded by surplus revenues from its highly profitable petroleum sector. In a nutshell, it is the Norwegian government’s way of saving the surplus income from its oil and gas fields for the future of its people, when that non-renewable resource eventually runs out, so they can continue to build their wealth and save for the future while their nation has access to that resource.
What makes the Filipino politico’s dream of a SWF totally wild is that our country does not have any extra income or surplus funds right now. We are actually neck deep in historic levels of debt, with so many unfinished and mediocre nation-building projects and programs that have to be funded, and here they are, looking for another place to put whatever billions we don’t have, in a country where corruption remains rife.
You know it’s a bad idea when the people proposing it initially say they’ll get money from pension funds, only to take that part back after getting the backlash it deserves. The part where our lawmakers considered raiding the SSS and GSIS pension funds for their proposed SWF, because the government doesn’t have funds to invest, is one big red flag. If you come to think of it, the part where they just as easily took that part of their proposal back is an even bigger red flag because it shows that they haven’t given their great idea too much thought. They just want a shiny new toy which, unfortunately for the Filipino people who never learn their lesson, is also an easy source of corruption, based on Malaysia’s experience with their 1MDB SWF that was easily raided by their former prime minister.
I’m not against an SWF per se because it is truly an aspirational goal for all nations. But right now, when we still have so many problems and no funds to solve those problems, this proposed SWF simply doesn’t make sense. The fact that most of the politicos proposing it are connected to one of the most corrupt eras and dynasties in this country also makes in highly unpalatable right now.
Let’s fix our country’s finances, services and governance first, before shoveling money we don’t have into the dream of an unnecessary investment fund named after a non-existent guerilla unit.*
