(Disclaimer: I'm relatively young and so may not be in the best position to speak on this matter; I hope other Filipinos who are more qualified will edit this answer.)
I would say the Philippines is a "young country" when it comes to mathematical maturity and that things started moving when the Mathematical Society of the Philippines was created in 1973. More details can be found at http://www.mathsocietyphil.org/MSPHistory.html, but I would summarize it this way:
- If your country has relatively few PhD's in mathematics, send them candidates abroad on scholarships and have them return with PhD's.
- Create a national mathematics society and involve as many universities as possible in annual workshops and conferences. Invite foreign speakers to present the latest developments.
- Start a national refereed mathematics journal (with foreign referees if necessary).
- Create a strong mathematical doctoral program by establishing a consortium among the local universities that are strong in math and having them share qualified faculty members. (This was done in the Philippines starting in 1977 between Ateneo de Manila, De La Salle University, and the University of the Philippines.)
I think the first three of these items are "obvious," but the last item should be particularly helpful.
