Philippines in the vanguard of human development in the workplace

I was honoured to speak on 21st February for the first CHRO conference organised in the Philippines with our partner HRM Asia.

I came to speak but also to learn more about the current awareness of Philippine HR professionals for the importance of human development. I came away with three reasons why the Philippines is a vanguard country in ASEAN when it comes to human development.

1. Philippine Culture and Society: Malasakit and Banayihan

The Philippines has a genuinely humanistic culture that makes human development a value.

I learned about two human development concepts in the speech of Dr Virgel C. Binghay, Professor at the University of the Philippines, and Co-Founding Member, ASEAN Human Development Organisation (AHDO) Philippines.

"Malasakit" in English can be described as a deep sense of empathy, compassion, and concern for others. It encompasses the act of caring for and looking after the well-being of individuals, showing genuine interest and support in their welfare. Malasakit goes beyond mere sympathy; it involves taking tangible actions to help alleviate someone's suffering or address their needs. As Dr Binghay pointed out, Filipino leadership behaviour emphasises the importance of showing kindness, understanding, and solidarity towards others.

"Bayanihan" as a leadership concept is demonstrated by mutual help, community support, and the spirit of helping others without expecting anything in return. It signifies a sense of communal unity, work, and cooperation to achieve a common goal.

For ASEAN, these two concepts have validity across the region because of thousands of years of trading and immigration in seafaring civilisations and kingdoms have created a humanistic culture of cooperation and mutual aid.

2. Philippine Workplace Policy

The Philippines has a progressive workplace policy-making government.

What I learned from the keynote speech of Carmela Ilustre-Torres, Undersecretary of the Employment and Human Resource Development Cluster, Philippine Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) was about the policy.

The Philippine government has implemented significant legislative reforms to support economic growth, such as comprehensive tax reform programs and initiatives to improve the ease of doing business.

The undersecretary announced that creating jobs for Filipinos has been successful with the current unemployment rate at 3.10% as of December 2023, showing a decrease from the previous year and a downward trend in recent years.

The Philippine economy has shown robust growth in recent years. The period from 2012 to 2019 saw consistent real GDP growth ranging between 6% to 7% annually. In 2022, the country experienced a significant economic recovery with a growth rate of 7.6%, up from 5.7% in 2021. GDP growth in 2023 strengthened to 5.9% year-over-year in the third quarter, following a rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, and is forecasted to continue its rapid growth trajectory, with total GDP expected to double by 2030.

At the same time, labour policy in the Philippines has been progressive. The Philippine Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) has brought more security to employees with a Social Security System that provides benefits such as retirement pay, sick leave, disability benefits, maternity leave, a death benefit, and unemployment insurance for all workers. In terms of voice, Filipino employees have a say in their conditions of employment through collective bargaining agreements that cover economic and non-economic provisions related to wages, working conditions, terminations, and disciplinary actions. More needs to be done and there are gaps in implementation, but the foundations are in place.

The Philippine workforce with a literacy rate of 94.6% proficiency in English, making the country the third largest English-speaking nation globally. Education is valued in the Philippines, with every Filipino family striving to bring their children to school. Since 2001, the number of university and college graduates have grown about 3% annually producing almost half a million graduates each year.

A founding member of ASEAN, the Philippines is transitioning from a low middle-income ASEAN Member State to an upper middle income economy. The World Bank projects that the Philippines will reach upper middle-income status by 2025 or 2026. The good news is that public policy is also working to reduce the inequalities that come with economic growth.

3. Human Rights and Democracy

The Philippines is one of the oldest and most vibrant democracies in Asia, values human rights and fights for freedom of speech. The country is classified by Freedom House as a "flawed democracy," with exemplary status for free and fair elections and respect of civil liberties, but with significant weaknesses in aspects such as governance, political culture, and participation.

The Philippines is one of the ASEAN Member States with the strongest citizen engagement and public participation in local governance through its many civil society organisations (CSOs).

The Philippines' fight for freedoms to challenge disinformation campaigns and repression of journalists was championed by Maria Ressa, a prominent journalist who stood up for press freedom and democracy despite facing numerous government repression, winning her the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.

Three Pillars for Human Development

I came away from the CHRO conference impressed by the Philippines as a vanguard country in human development in ASEAN due to its three pillars of culture, public policy and human rights.