Jose Rizal contemplated that problem in his third and unfinished novel, The Tagalog Nobility . Heaven knows Filipinos have said as much or much worse about ourselves. Education is the major problem in the Philippines. It is fast deteriorating. Even our best schools and universities are yearly falling behind their regional counterparts.
Local bookstores are too often mere stationery stores disguised.
In the Information Technology field, India is moving aggressively far ahead of us, never mind Singapore. The national debate about education is all about salaries and fees, not about quality. Lee Kuan Yew may have a point. Actually, the problems of Singapore and the Philippines mirror each other. Neither of us knows how to walk on two legs.