A couple of years ago, I started hearing the unthinkable. Expats, I was told, who’d long loved living in the Philippines, no longer viewed Metro Manila as a plum post. From traffic to climate, red tape, and services, the country was increasingly considered hopelessly inefficient, backward, and downright unpleasant compared to neighbors, Filipinos and expats alike had long considered hopelessly provincial and boring. To me, it marked the end of an era stretching back to the 1980s when the Asian Development Bank built a new headquarters and surrounding enclaves were favored as expat residences.

A similar stretch of time, 33 years, separates two speeches by two Zobels. The first, titled “Democracy is development,” was delivered by Jaime Zobel de Ayala on Oct. 23, 1993. The second was the keynote address at the Makati Business Club’s 45th anniversary by Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.

Zobel Senior reflected on the role of government in economic development when memories—and wounds—of the dictatorship were still fresh, but the newly restored democracy had already committed its share of mistakes.

“Conventional wisdom favors maximum free enterprise and minimum government. The historical truth is that effective government is indispensable to economic progress. When government works, the economy succeeds,” he said.

He listed what government does and what happens when it’s remiss in its duties:

“Without law courts, there is no sanctity of contracts, therefore, no security of trade.

“Without publicly built and maintained roads, rails, ports, bridges and telecommunications, commerce can only crawl.”

But then as now, there was the preoccupation with success and failure: our neighbors versus ourselves, and beyond, marked, he said, by “government, not just as catalyst, but as leader and main actor in rapid economic development.”

His prescription? “What is needed is not more imperious orders, but the same laws, rules, and regulations evenly applied.” As for the rest, “The last thing we need is a change of form of government … What is needed is to stay the course …. Let us shun quick fixes and slick slogans. There is no easy way out.” He added, “Let us pay our taxes, but let us make our officials pay if they misuse our taxes. Only in a democracy can we do that.”

By and large, he articulated what public opinion has been saying in the generation since; his son did something similar: “Business cannot thrive over the long term in a society that is not itself thriving,” he said. “As global companies diversify their supply chains, we should think beyond which company, industrial park, or sector secures the next investment,” because in a dog-eat-dog world, “a more important question to ask is whether the Philippines itself is winning.” But to do so, he suggested, requires “an honest conversation.”

The ongoing disruption of institutions and systems globally means that global multinationals are actively diversifying their supply chains from the hubs that traditionally dominated, just as shipping is finding new pathways beyond the choke points that the Suez and Panama Canals have become. Seeking new paths for supply chains is an opportunity the Philippines is increasingly missing: Zobel Junior cited a steep decline in foreign direct investment as proof of this and anecdotal evidence of fewer international investors coming to Manila to look at prospects. The demographic “sweet spot” enjoyed by the country is thus relatively underutilized, while the digital economy, which is already at 10 percent of gross domestic product, is in danger of not meeting its potential because of domestic handicaps.

He enumerated five fundamentals required if we are to attract long-term investments:

1. Talent: Do we have the required workforce and high-level productivity?
2. Infrastructure: Is the country’s infrastructure modern enough to handle the influx?
3. Energy: Is there sufficient, reliable, and transition-ready energy?
4. Regulatory environment: Is the local regulatory landscape friendly to foreign capital?
5. Institutional stability: Is the environment predictable and secure for multibillion investments?

Zobel Junior proposed that “we can remain fierce competitors in the marketplace, while recognizing that there are areas where collaboration creates greater value for everyone,” identifying what he calls the three pillars of national advancement: education, citizen health, and reliable livelihood generation where the private sector can help scale up “social infrastructure.” The Ayala Corp.’s own efforts include investing in its Healthway Medical Network (filling the need for affordable health care), partnering its own drugstore networks with local government units to support PhilHealth needs, and its own social outreach efforts to bring medicines and health care to remote barangays. In education, it is working to provide workforce-ready curricula to schools and to support greater capacity and quality in education for 3- to 5-year-olds. For sustainability and mobility, it is supporting the transition to electric fleets for private companies and LGUs, and renewable energy for municipalities.

The now-retired generation might remember former President Fidel V. Ramos’ “Team Philippines” approach, which he lacked the charisma to sell.