This document discusses alternative futures for the Philippines through examining perspectives from Jose Rizal, Sohail Inayatullah, and others. It explores how languages and cultures can influence orientations toward long-term versus short-term thinking. The document concludes by calling for actions like improving futures literacy in the Philippines and integrating anticipatory practices into decision-making.

1. Where are we Pinoy’s on long-term
thinking? An Exploration of
Alternative Futures
Prof. Shermon Cruz
University Center for Research and Development
Northwestern University;
Director, Center for Engaged Foresight

6. “I do not write for this generation. I am writing for
other ages. If this could read me, they would burn my
books, the work of my whole life. On the other hand,
the generation which interprets these writings will be
an educated generation; they will understand me and
say: ‘Not all were asleep in the night-time of our
grandparents’.”
The Philosopher Tasio, in Noli Me Tangere.

7. “Will the Philippine Islands continue to be a Spanish
colony, and if so, what kind of colony? Will they
become a province of Spain, with or without
autonomy? And to reach this stage, what kind of
sacrifices will have to be made? Will they be separated
from the mother country to live independently, to fall
into the hands of other nations, or to ally themselves
with neighboring powers?”

8. “It is impossible to reply to these questions, for
to all of them both yes and no may be
answered, according to the time desired to be
covered. When there is in nature no fixed
condition, how much less must there be in the
life of a people, beings endowed with mobility
and movement! So it is that in order to deal with
these questions, it is necessary to presume an
unlimited period of time, and in accordance
therewith try to forecast future events.”

10. “Nevertheless, it is not well to trust to accident,
for there is sometimes an imperceptible and
incomprehensible logic in the workings of
history. Fortunately, peoples as well as
governments are subject to it. Therefore, we
repeat, and we will ever repeat, while there is
time, that it is better to keep pace with the
desires of a people than to give way before
them: the former begets sympathy and love, the
latter contempt and anger. “ (Rizal, 1912,
Escolta)

11. “Perhaps the country will revive the maritime and
mercantile life for which the islanders are fitted by
their nature, ability and instincts, and once more
free, like the bird that leaves its cage, like the flower
that unfolds to the air, will recover the pristine
virtues that are gradually dying out and will again
become addicted to peace—cheerful, happy, joyous,
hospitable and daring.”
Jose Rizal, 1898

13. 1978

15. Alternative futures for the Philippines
Sohail Inayatullah
Futures
Volume 20, Issue 4
August 1988, Pages 434–442

16. “It is concluded, however, that an authoritarian
and élitist future for the Philippines is becoming
increasingly likely.”
Inayatullah, 1988

17. 1999 Bacolod City

20. Grounded, Indigenous, Contextual, Applied,
Governance, Cultural, Community,
Pluralistic, Global
Engaged Foresight’s Futures
Thinking Practice

25. Small things are indeed beautiful!

30. High Long Term Short Term
emphasis on persistence emphasis on quick results
relationships ordered by status status not a major issue in relationships
personal adaptability important personal steadfastness and stability important
face considerations common but seen as a weakness protection of one’s face is important
leisure time not too important leisure time important
save, be thrifty spend
invest in real estate invest in mutual funds
relationships and market position important bottom line important
good or evil depnds on circumstances belief in absolutes about good and evil
Traits of Long Term / Short Term

33. China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Brazil,
India, Thailand, Singapore are long-term oriented
(strong tendency to value persistence, perseverance,
saving and being able to adapt)
While the Philippines and the United States are
considered short-term oriented societies (strong
tendency to value tradition, the current social
hierarchy, and fulfilling social obligations. Tendency to
care more about immediate gratification than long-
term fulfillment)

35. Source:
Marcus Bussey, 2013

36. Source:
Marcus Bussey, 2013

37. Does the language you speak really
affect the way you see the future?
Or does it make you feel that
tomorrow is far away?

38. Apparently, YES!
The way we discuss and understand the future
varies from language to language.

39. Bad at planning for the future? You might be
able to blame your language.

40. Languages that grammatically associate the
future and the present, foster future-oriented
behavior
(Chen, 2013)

41. That those languages that foster future oriented
behaviors save more, retire with more wealth,
smoke less, practice safer sex, and are less obese
(Chen, 2013)

42. Surprising as it sounds, Chen’s findings fit nicely
with a linguistics theory called Whorfianism,
which argues that words don’t just describe our
thoughts; they also shape them.

44. circumfix = ma + an = indicates the act that
the referred must undergo or if it were an
actor, that the actor(s) will have to undergo
to achieve an imagined alternative or
preferred future

45. A Call to Action! Creating
the Future Together!
• Explore the conditions for the acquisition of futures literacy
and organize the Philippines Futures Literacy Project to
improve our narrative capacity, our capacity to reframe and
use collective intelligence (learners experience should be at
the center of this project) in using the future differently
(Riel Miller, UNESCO, 2011)
• Organize, host or attend a local, regional or global strategic
foresight courses for organizations and decision-makers
(public and private);
• Integrate anticipatory thinking and strategic foresight in
decision-making, strategic planning, innovation and design
to create alternatives and transform the future of….

46. Recommendations
• Study Jose Rizal’s writings and ideas in a
futures context or perhaps publish a book
with the same title– The Philippines A Century
Hence 2.0? that explores the future of the
Philippines in the next 100 (deep futures)
• Create an ordinance or resolution that
celebrates and sponsor local World Futures
Day event to advance dialog about the future
in your area (March 1st)

47. Recommendations
• Organize some Youth Futures Exchange Programs
(future generation thinking!)
• Use Futures Research Tools and Methods (action
research) to unpack, analyze and improvise
solutions and design new city governance
approaches, etc.
• Become an ‘early adopter’ and set the standard
or model for futures-oriented governance or
futures learning in the country, in the Asia-Pacific
and the world

48. Recommendations
• Enrich the understanding on how we Pinoy’s
envision the future through multiple perspectives
and analysis – a morphological analysis of your
local word for the future could really help us
understand and imagine new ways of using the
future differently
• Futures studies and futures must be localized “in
the language of participants, in their ways of
knowing and experiences” (Inayatullah, 2002)
and “local versions of futures studies” too is
possible (Kou Hua Chen, 2002)

50. City Futures
What are our hopes?
What our fears?
How will the future impact our cities?
How will the future impact the way we live?

51. A city is not gauged by its length and
width, but by the broadness of its
vision and the height of its dreams.
Herb Caen

52. Dios unay ti Agngina!
engagedforesight@gmail.com
engagedforesight.com