People can falsely accuse me of colonial mentality because I've been quoting Kishore Mahbuban over Hilario G. Davide. I'm really sorry to say but I'm seeing various Facebook posts like La Verite (and the Pinocchio really fits it), the Rule of Law Sentinel, Silent No More PH, and many more anti-reform Facebook pages (and very ironic too) quote Davide Jr. a lot. It's straightforward to say that Davide Jr. has been the favorite source of such people. An old man with a toga (who blocked me) also often quoted Davide Jr. Also, Davide Jr. turned 88 years old last December 20. I wish I had written this earlier but sometimes it's better late than never. In my case, it's better never late.
Davide Jr. also mentioned that the 1987 Constitution is "the best in the world". It's easy to spew out words but can he defend his claims? One of his old statements went like this:
It’s not change of structures, [whether] it would be federalism or parliamentary. It is change in people. So you have enough of the structures, legal and constitutional.
Then, we've got a lot of Okay Boomers who still think that Davide Jr.'s words are near infallible. I guess that old man with the toga blocked me not just for being annoying to him. It's probably because he prefers to have his ego stroked by those he agrees with. Not surprisingly, Davide Jr. told Rappler and Atty. Teodoro A. Casiño is also part of the same organization. There are always those who still defend the idea that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is 'the best in the world" quote Davide Jr. as their favorite source. If not Davide Jr., the Monsod couple namely Christian and Winnie, are also quoted.
However, the education system of the Philippines has proven to suck in global standards. I wonder if I wasted my time in going to business school. I only learned to invest in stocks through stock funds, not in school. Back on the topic, I really think about the whole Philippines vs. Singapore argument. Another stubborn boomer keeps saying, "How many times do I have to tell you that the Philippines isn't Singapore!" Some people still believe that the late Flor Contemplacion was innocent.
However, one must question if Davide Jr. himself really did use his time well as a United Nations (UN) diplomat. CoRRECT Movement used the Davide Jr. vs. John Gokongwei Jr. comparison. For me, that is a poor comparison until we compare him to a big-time policymaker like Mahbubani. Mahbubani is the founder of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) and having joined the World Economic Forum is a huge plus. I wonder how Mahbubani would react if he heard Davide Jr.'s statements about foreign investors.
Just listening to Mahbubani talk, I could say why I chose to listen to him. Sure, I could really go from DDS to Dilawan to DDS. However, it's quite fortunate some Dilawans have already seen the need for constitutional reform like the late Charles Edward P. Celdran. Mahbubani offers practical insights and has given not just words but evidence. I read through From Third World to First would shoot a lot of claims down. The late Lee Kuan Yew himself had written words that would prove that Singapore opened up before it became a first-world country.
Unfortunately, some people will probably just throw offensive racist jokes at Mahbubani. It's because he's what many will call a Bumbay in the Filipino language. All the racist jokes can be thrown at the other grandfather. Sure, Mahbubani is 13 years younger than Davide Jr. However, some old people are rightfully called "tumandang walang pinag-aralan". In English, that's having grown old without learning anything. Mahbubani is a wise old man. I could dare say that Davide Jr. had shown himself to be a foolish old man in his quest to defend the "best constitution".
LKY himself even mentioned this with the late Fidel V. Ramos:
He (Ramos, emphasis mine) knew well the difficulties of trying to govern with strict American-style separation of powers. The Senate had already defeated Mrs. Aquino's proposal to retain the American bases. The Philippines had a rambunctious press but it did not check corruption. Individual press reporters could be bought, as could many judges. Something had gone seriously wrong. Millions of Filipino men and women had to leave their country for jobs abroad beneath their level of education. Filipino professionals whom we recruited to work in Singapore are as good as our own. Indeed, their architects, artists, and musicians are more artistic and creative than ours. Hundreds of them have left for Hawaii and for the American mainland. It is a problem the solution which has not been made easier by the workings of a Philippine version of the American constitution.
The problem has been that there are still millions of Filipinos leaving the country, looking for jobs. Eve worse, LKY mentioned that those are jobs beneath their level of education. Why keep quoting LKY about the Marcoses when one can quote the former about how to improve the Philippines? LKY knew how to turn Singapore from a third-world country into a first world. Mahbubani saw Singapore rise up and he could speak from experience. Davide Jr. can quote a lot all he wants. However, the Philippines is yet to reach Singapore's level.
I think it's because Davide Jr. has become their convenient echo chamber. It's about what suits their narrative instead of the evidence they need. Even worse, when I ask for evidence, all they do is throw insults on my face. However, as Socrates would say, "Insults are the loser's tool."