Still, Mr Lee does test one s patience. Earlier this week, the senior minister who often goes again went again. He was quoted as saying that democracy does not work in the Philippines because the people are not educated enough. 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.