Even sinking boats can finish the race

All over news feeds, and has certainly gone viral, is the amazing sixth place finish of the Ukrainian dragon boat rowing team at the recent 16th International Dragon Boat Federation World Dragon Boat Racing Championship in Thailand. What made this sixth place finish a feat was the fact that the boat crossed the finish line under water. A wave from a neighboring boat apparently flooded their boat causing it to sink. This did not stop nor even diminish the resolve of the team to finish the race. The determination was so inspiring that everyone, including the other teams, cheered the Ukrainians on and applauded their unbelievable effort. With such spirit, it is no wonder that Russia has so far failed in its campaign to bring Ukraine to its knees.

The Ukrainian team’s dragon boat finishing a race while it was sinking brought to mind the often used image of the Philippines as a sinking ship that, unfortunately, while some try to save it, others either do more harm or simply do nothing. When will we see our boat rowed to the finish line through the united efforts of everyone on team Pilipinas? Fine. Maybe we continue to row a sinking Philippine dragon boat. But we must finish more races despite that, because every time we finish one, we can inspire more to help buoy the boat and row it better and faster.

This week, I was in Dagupan to join a “Brigada Eskwela” initiative for the Dagupan City National High School. I have to say that Brigada Eskwela is one example of how we, as a country, have been able to row our sinking boats across the finish line through teamwork and team spirit for many years now and across various government administrations. I mean our education system has been about problems on top of problems and crisis after crisis. Fortunately, we have enough tough rowers determined to win more races despite a still sinking boat. Just take time out to dig deeper into what groups like Synergeia and Philippine Business for Education have been doing.

If the current administration would like to genuinely address our education crisis, it just has to find and surface the real leaders for education reform in the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education, and allow them to engage with civil society-led education reform groups. Yes, they are there and the broader education sector of schools, nongovernment organizations, foundations, and parent groups know of them and have worked with them time and time again on initiatives that have worked but were often never scaled up or became victims of political change. And, mind you, the shift to K-12 was one of those key races won so we should just stop talking about reversing it. The ways forward are clear and include apprenticeship, stronger academe-industry links, expanded scholarships so no one gets left behind, and a host of other follow through projects and programs. We need to row forward. Not get bogged down and weigh down the boat.

Once we find the right rowers, we need to give them the best paddles and better boats. More importantly, we need to ensure that other boats don’t flood our boats, wittingly or unwittingly. For example, again using the Dagupan case, the local government unit boat should not be flooded by waves created by the Department of Public Works and Highways boat. Apparently, that is happening there now as a controversial flood mitigation project is being pursued with minimal consideration of perspectives and the plight of locals living and doing business in the affected areas. While I profess not having all the necessary information and hearing all sides, I do know for a fact, having lived in flood prone communities in Marikina for at least two decades, that what is being pursued as a solution will not work and will just create more misery. I can only surmise that dialogue is not happening and dragon boats are not moving in sync toward sustainable solutions.

Have I stretched the image of the Ukrainian dragon boat finish too much? Maybe. What cannot be denied though is that even sinking boats can still finish a race. How many boats will we take to the finish line, Pilipinas?

—————-

Peter Angelo V. Perfecto was former executive director of Makati Business Club, works with the Phinma group, and chairs Oxfam Pilipinas. Email: [email protected].

—————-

Business Matters is a project of the Makati Business Club ([email protected]).