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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Gender Gaps
By Antonio C. Abaya Written Nov. 26, 2007 For the Standard Today, November 27 issue It is easy to miss the list because it does not, as lists usually do, run from top to bottom. This one runs instead from left to right, with entries lined up standing up. So you have to turn the magazine 90 degrees clockwise to be able to read the list. Perhaps that is why Philippine media seem to have missed it. But there it is, on pages 8 and 9 in the November 26 issue of Time Asia magazine, under the heading Global Gender Gap index. According to the text, this index is compiled every year by the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum � host of the annual high-level pow-wow in Davos of the world�s political, business and economic movers � and �it ranks countries on the basis of gender equality. The report measures the discrepancies between men and women in four categories: 1) educational attainment; 2) economic participation and opportunity; 3) political empowerment; and 4) health and survival.� I do not know the rankings in previous years � this is actually the first time I have ever read or heard about this index � but among 128 countries surveyed, the Philippines is ranked � trumpet flourish, please � sixth. Yes, we are up there at the very top, and it has nothing to do with corruption or extra-judicial killings or electoral fraud. We are in the same stratospheric level as the Scandinavians who, I sometimes suspect, are not really humans but are actually aliens from another planet with an advanced civilization who landed in, perhaps, Spitzbergen Island in pre-Viking days when their space craft developed engine trouble�..and stayed. Why? Because they seem so superior in everything they do, topping most countries in literacy, economic competitiveness, innovations in science and technology, humane prison facilities, environmental management, virtually corruption-free governments, standard of living, quality of life, per capita incomes, low crime rates, cell-phone ownership, Internet connectivity, library patronage, newspaper readership, press freedom, labor-management relations, welfare state safety nets, the development of co-operatives, a pragmatic and successful brand of socialism, foreign aid as percent of GDP, and editorial cartoons blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed. According to this WEF index, the top twelve countries in gender equality are as follows: 1. Sweden ; 2. Norway ; 3, Finland ; 4. Iceland ; 5. New Zealand ; 6. The Philippines ; 7. Germany ; 8. Denmark ; 9. Ireland ; 10. Spain (yes, macho Spain ); 11. United Kingdom ; and 12. The Netherlands . How exhilarating it is to know we are one of the best in something meaningful, not in those silly happiness surveys which ranked Filipinos (and the Bhutanese) the happiest people in Asia , the Japanese the least happy. Our neighbors are way behind us: 42. Vietnam ; 52. Thailand ; 73. China ; 77. Singapore ; 81. Indonesia ; 91. Japan ; 92. Malaysia ; 97. South Korea ; 98. Cambodia ; 100. Bangladesh ; 114. India. ; and 126. Pakistan . We even ranked higher than 17. Australia ; 18. Canada ; 31. USA ; 36. Israel ; 40. Switzerland ; 51. France; 74. Brazil ; 84. Italy ; and 93. Mexico . Let us bask in the glow of this rare honor for at least the next few weeks because soon enough, in January or February, those perennial killjoys, the Berlin-based Transparency International and the Hong-Kong based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd are coming out with their latest rankings on perceptions of corruption, and we all know how we are going to fare in those surveys. I am surprised that Saudi Arabia ranked �only� 124 in a field of 128, since it has the most repressive policies towards it own women. Saudi women are not allowed by the Wahhabi moralists to show themselves in public, even when fully covered by a burqa, unless they are accompanied by a male relative. Offending women and girls are beaten with a stick in public by the mutawa religious police. Perhaps next year Saudi Arabia will fall off the charts. Last year, an unnamed 19-year old woman was gang-raped by seven men. During the trial this year, it was revealed that she had been in a car with a male who was not a relative. For her �sin,� she was condemned by the Wahhabi court to suffer 90 lashes with a whip. When her lawyer protested the court�s verdict, her punishment was increased to 200 lashes, plus some six months in jail. Even in the liberal culture of the United Kingdom , immigrants from Pakistan persist in their misogynist attitudes. Last July in Lancashire, a traditionalist Muslim from Pakistan named Mohammed Riaz, shamed by and despondent over their tight-fitting mod clothes, poured gasoline on his westernized wife and four daughters as they slept and set them on fire, and then committed suicide. The concept of �honor killing� is still a cultural carry-over from Pakistan , no.126 in the WEF list. Iraq does not even appear in that list, perhaps because of the war. Last April, a 17-year old girl named Dua Khalid Aswad, member of a non-Muslim minority religion � the Yezidis - in the Kurdish area near Mosul , was condemned to death by stoning, and the sentence was carried out and filmed on cell-phone videos and shown on YouTube. Her own cousins led the neighbors in the stoning, and it took her some 30 painful minutes to finally die. Her sin: she had fallen in love with a Sunni Muslim boy. How and why anyone would want to stone to death a cat or a dog � let alone, a 17-year old girl � is totally beyond my comprehension. Her story is straight out of the Old and New Testaments. The Yezidis believe they are direct descendants of Adam � as in Adam and Eve � and do not allow any Yezidi to marry outside the faith, under pain of being stoned to death. Let him who is without sin cast the first hollow block. And they all did. ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org and in acabaya.blogspot.com. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Gender Gaps� More Reactions to �A Moral Alternative� More Reaction to �Competing with Japan � More Reaction to �Fidel Castro Trillanes� More Reaction to �Deeper in Scheisse� Tony The complete 2007 Global Gender Gap Report is at (pdf): http://www.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/report2007.pdf Domingo T. Arong, (by email), Nov. 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, We share the same suspicion. I have been suspecting these Scandinavians as supra-humans, because they are not like the rest of the inhabitants of this planet. They are highly-evolved humans, that's why it reflects in their society. I'm wondering whether the Philippines will ever reach that stage. (Not in my lifetime, nor in the lifetime of my children and grandchildren. ACA) Well, maybe, if it's any indication, we are number 6 in the gender gaps listing. Sincerely, Auggie Surtida, (by email), Tigbauan, Iloilo , Nov. 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww You wrote: �I am surprised that Saudi Arabia ranked �only� 124 in a field of 128, since it has the most repressive policies towards it own women. Saudi women are not allowed by the Wahhabi moralists to show themselves in public, even when fully covered by a burqa, unless they are accompanied by a male relative. Offending women and girls are beaten with a stick in public by the mutawa religious police.� #1 - In Saudi Arabia , they don�t wear Burqa - they call it Abaya, some of them wear Niqab, a face veil. #2 - There no such thing as a wahabi. #3 - Mutawa don�t carry stick, they ride in brand new GMC SUV If you ever write about Islam and/or Saudi Arabia , I can volunteer to be your consultant for free, just to get the facts straight. Thank you, sir, Ben Mohammad, [email protected], Nov. 28, 2007 (Thank you for your offer. I will keep it mind. Re your comments, allow me say: #1 � I stand corrected. The black robe known as burqa in Afghanistan is called abaya in Saudi Arabia . Perhaps my ancestors came from Arabia . #2 � It is common practice in English to turn a proper noun into an adjective to describe something: Churchillian prose, Lincolnian melancholia, Calvinist conservatism, etc. I used �wahabi� to describe those in Saudi Arabia who are influenced by the teachings of Mohammed Abdul al-Wahab, the 18th century fundamentalist mullah who preached a very conservative brand of Islam that is still practiced in Saudi Arabia. #3 � According to Wikipedia, the mutawa or mutaw�een are religious police in Saudi Arabia tasked with enforcing Sharia law as defined by the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. �Among the things the mutaw�een have been criticized for include the use of flogging to punish violators.� wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Greetings from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , Tony! May I add that the lawyer of the 19-year old rape victim from Qatif was stripped of his license to practice law. How pathetic Saudi Arabia �s judicial system is. This country is the most atrocious (I guess) when it comes to dealing with women fairly, while gender equality never existed It�s ironic that they pray five times a day and yet their stony hearts (most of them) always persist that even they don�t spare to abuse their house helpers. Thank you. OFW (name and email address withheld), Saudi Arabia , Nov. 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Mr Abaya, The fact that it is beyond your comprehension for stoning a cat, dog or a 17 year old girl would lead me to believe that you are being ironic when you included blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed as something that a �superior� country should add to their list of accomplishments. I have spent part of my life living in a country where some of my closest friends are Muslims, Zorastrians, Hindus and Buddhists that got along very well because of a common respect for each other�s religious beliefs. I may not necessarily agree with a lot of the extremist practice of some ultra-conservative Muslims but let�s not forget that we Christians have practiced far worse atrocities in the name of furthering the religion. By the way, I am becoming one of your many �admirers� as I look forward to your weekly mailers. Cheers, Dennis Ponce Tagamolila, (by email), Nov. 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, The news of the gender equality rating of the Philippines is a refreshing uplift amidst al the never-ending corruption news. I am always impressed when I see the uniformed ladies from our local Camp in the nearby SM. I certainly wouldn't want to upset them, and I note that their male subordinates treat them with due respect. But come, surely everyone knows who's in charge in every Filipino home? Regards, Tom Hewitt, (by email), Essex , England , Nov. 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, I think one contributory factor why we are on top in that survey is, we are a poor country, where women competes with the men in gaining employment. Unlike those days where mothers are left at home to take care of the kids. See, being poor sometimes is an advantage. That's why we inherit the earth! Thanks. Bert Celera, (by email), Nov. 27, 2007 (But there are at least 50 countries poorer than the Philippines . How come they are not up there with us in the gender equality index? ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, The country's well-deserved ranking only affirms the reality that ours is a matriarchal society. So those who believe otherwise, perish the thought. Now, if they can just pull a heavier load much farther, we men can have extended fishing holidays! All the best, Raffy Alunan, (by email), Nov. 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww This article made me proud of the Philippines and the Filipino people. The Filipinos are smart, intelligent and educated. Josie Morgan, (by email), Nov. 28, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thanks a lot for this great news! It�s good to read something positive about our country. Now let's see if the other mediamen/major newspapers will pick this one up. It will be wonderful to see this in the headlines. On the other hand, it is revolting and disgusting to learn about the barbaric practices of the Arab culture against women. Women in the Philippines are fortunate to be in the midst of a civilized Filipino culture. Josie Banaag, (by email), Nov. 28, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: No. 6! And that's No. 6 in the whole world! In the privileged company of all those Scandinavian countries whose people are from another planet somewhere in the dim and far reaches of the Milky Way. I am ecstatic, almost out of my wits because news like this about the Philippines is very hard to come by. Filipinos do treat their womenfolk at least their equals and bestow on them the respect they deserve as human beings and not merely as chattels or as animals. Mar Patalinjug, (by email), Yonkers , NY , Nov. 28, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, I'm back again. I've been busy with the tree planting business together with the Laiban IP's-our fellow contrymen, the Aetas, the Dumagats, the Remontados. Thie are nature loving people. Now they know that burning trees to make charcoall is not the only options to make their family live. It is Agro forestry projects not by govrnment but by individuals, and responsible big corporations who teamed up together, plant trees and takes care of their fellow countrymen-the IP's. Taking care of our Orest watershed and Protected areas is taking shape- the grassroot approach. Now going back to your topic, for me we should be somewere below 50th. Why? Machusista kasi ang mga lalaki nating dito sa Pinas. Pag babae na ang Presidente, di makali ang mga baklang mga mambabatas nating pati na ang media, ang maga ambisyoso sa pulitika-di sila tumutulong kasi nasasapawan sila. Look for example si Tita Cory, now its Gloria. Kahit ke Tita Cory di sila lumusot, lalo na ke Gloria palagi silang bokya! Hehe. Rodolfo Cada, (by email), Npv. 28, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Good evening Tony! For a moment, I thought that perhaps, the fact that we have a woman president has catapulted the PHILIPPINES to the number six standing in the GENDER EQUALITY rating. Clearly, this has very little or no bearing at all. However, at any rate, this is something we Filipinos should be proud of and build upon towards the betterment of our country. I consider myself to be a member of the ETERNAL OPTIMISTS LEAGUE and as such with all sincerity proclaim..."MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!". Amen, Noe Castanos, (by email), Toronto , Ont. , Canada , Nov. 28, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: I am not at all surprised to see a higher ranking for the Philippines . Women in the Philippines in terms of education and opportunities are up there, There is irrefutable truth and evidence we value and respect our women without walls built for their privileges as in the case of many countries. As in any polls I always suspect how the questions are phrased and how each response is weighed in and factored into the conclusion. The family structure gives credence to the role and influence of women in raising the children. So if there is any validation to this, it appears children are being raised properly. I would guess. Perceived freedom and trust may be very important when the poll takers incorporate the number of females among the OFW contingents. That in itself reflects independence and freedom I suppose. I am guessing and fishing for reasons of course. Good news are far and in between, so let us bask in the limelight even for a short time. This one is worth a smile and pride. Remember, majority of polls is based on public perceptions unless quantifiable. Oscar Apostol, (by email), Roseville , CA , Nov. 29, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi, Tony! Once more we Filipinos are proving our gallantry by treating our women as equals! At home we pretend to be machos, although we fully well know that we defer to our spouses. It's a woman's world, after all! Woe, man! Rome Farol, (by email), Highlands Ranch, Colorado , Nov. 29, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww So Filipinos have nothing to be ashamed of, after all. Dr. Nestor P. Baylan, (by email), New York City , Dec. 06, 2007 (It does not erase the fact that we have many things to be ashamed of. But we do have other things to be proud of, such is this gender equality. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Forwarded to Tapatt by Misael C. Balayan) Source: http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200611230404.htm RP ranks 6th in gender equality The Philippine Star 11/23/2006 LONDON � The Philippines ranked sixth and was the only Asian country in the top 10 in a survey of countries that managed to achieve a semblance of equality between the sexes. Scandinavian countries are the most progressive in the world, but no nation has yet managed to bridge the gender gap completely, a report said Tuesday. Sweden, Norway , Finland and Iceland top the World Economic Forum (WEF) rankings, followed by Germany in fifth place. But a century on from the heyday of the women�s suffrage movement and nearly 40 years since the publication of Germaine Greer�s feminist bible "The Female Eunuch," the report points to only patchy progress. "We find that no country in the world has yet managed to eliminate the gender gap," it states. Cherie Booth, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and a prominent human rights lawyer, echoed this view at the report�s launch in London , saying: "There still is no level playing field for men and women." The nations studied had, on average, closed about 90 percent of the gender gap in education and health but only 50 percent in economic participation and opportunity, and 15 percent in political empowerment, according to Saadia Zahidi, of the WEF. Sweden is the only country in the world to close the overall gender gap by more than 80 percent, she added. Although there are 10 European Union countries in the top 20, five trail towards the bottom of the scale � Greece (69), France (70), Malta (71), Italy (77) and Cyprus (83). Their positions reflect low levels of political participation by women in decision-making bodies and poor scores in economic participation and opportunity, the report said. Factors including when the school day ends and whether children are expected to go home for lunch before returning to school may also have "quite a significant impact" on women�s employment, joint report author Laura Tyson, of London Business School, told reporters. EU newcomers Latvia and Lithuania , which only joined in 2004, are in 19th and 20th position, streaking ahead of the five laggard nations and Austria (26) and Belgium (33). The report says that Germany �s success is linked to its high levels of female political empowerment, highlighted by the election of Angela Merkel as chancellor last year. The top five have changed little since the first gender gap study last year, when it consisted of Sweden , Norway , Iceland , Denmark and Finland . This year�s report praises the political position of women in Scandanavia � Sweden is the only country in the world with an equal number of male and female politicians, while in Finland , Iceland and Norway , women hold at least a third of all ministerial and parliamentary positions. Scandinavia also leads the field economically � the majority of all professional and technical workers are women. This position is helped by generous arrangements for women who want to raise a family as well as pursue a career, the report added. Sweden and Norway "offer amongst the longest maternity leaves and among the best maternity leave benefits in the world, while retaining high levels of women�s labour force participation," the report said. Denmark is rated eighth this year, while the Britain comes ninth, the United States 22nd, Australia 15th and New Zealand seventh. The relatively poor position of the US was linked by joint report author Ricardo Hausmann, of Harvard University , to the "weak" performance of women in politics. The two countries ranked as having the biggest gender gaps by the report are Saudi Arabia and Yemen , where the gap stands at 52 percent and 47 percent respectively. The study covers 115 countries from around the world, or over 90 percent of the global population, and measures four categories � economic, educational, political and health. � AFP ******************* Source: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/11/27/200611270051.asp It may surprise women from New York to San Francisco to learn that their Philippine counterparts are faring better. Ditto for women in London , Sydney and Toronto . The World Economic Forum's latest Global Gender Gap Index found the Philippines is doing more to empower women than the United States , United Kingdom , Canada or Australia . Of 115 nations examined in 2006, the Philippines placed sixth, well ahead of the United States at 22nd. Why should it matter to investors if women are gaining a bit on men? "This gap not only undermines the quality of life of one half of the world's population, but also poses a significant risk to the long-term growth and well-being of nations," World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab wrote in the gender report. Asian leaders and executives need to pay more attention to that argument. It should be no surprise that South Korea and Japan , two rigid economies that have underperformed in recent years, had low rankings in the latest list. Korea was 92nd - behind Cambodia , Tunisia and Bangladesh - and Japan was 79th, behind Zimbabwe , Italy and Chile . Then there are the cautionary rankings. China , Asia's most vibrant economy, was 63rd - a warning to leaders in Beijing to better utilize their female workforce. That goes even more so for India ; it came in 98th, behind Guatemala , Angola and Algeria . It's not quite that simple, though. This may be a case where the Philippines example is anything but good for Asian economies. The gender index tracks progress on economic opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment and health and survival. Excluding Australia and New Zealand (both of which were in the top 15), only four Asia-Pacific nations cracked the gender index's top 50: the Philippines , Sri Lanka (13), Thailand (40) and Mongolia (42). While the experience of each is quite different, their histories have a common thread: a reliance on remittances. The Philippine and Sri Lankan economies are particularly reliant on their citizens working abroad and sending money back home to support families and, by extension, local economies. Mongolia 's reliance is growing. And while Thailand is far less dependent on them, it was the world's eighth-biggest recipient of remittances from 1995 to 1999. "Remittances are an engine of development, but they are not a substitute for sound national policies in the countries," World Bank economist Humberto Lopez wrote in a recent report. Countries such as the Philippines claim that their overseas workers - most of whom are women - are the economy's secret weapon. The $13.4 billion worth of hard currency they are expected to send home to the Philippines this year will account for more than 10 percent of Asia 's 14th-biggest economy. The money supports banks; boosts telecommunications, retail, transportation and real-estate sectors; and helps the government pay its debt. "Look around at how crowded the malls are around here - that's because of remittances," Economic Planning Director Dennis Arroyo told me in Manila last week. Yet isn't this arrangement really a weakness? It shows the government is failing its citizens by not creating enough jobs at home. And for nations like the Philippines , the arrangement has become nothing less than an "addiction," says Ifzal Ali, chief economist at the Asian Development Bank in Manila . It's hard to believe so many young women would leave families - and, in many cases, children - behind to work in Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Kuwait City, Riyadh, Singapore, Tokyo or elsewhere if there were more jobs at home. And not only are politicians in Manila relying on remitted money, many of them seem to be encouraging even more women to leave. To compete with China and India , the Philippines needs to harness its local talent and avoid complacency. Just as countries with underground treasures like oil or diamonds have no incentive to create new industries to employ the masses, the Philippines risks growing smug amid all the cash flowing in from abroad. It's a wonderful thing to see women in Asia enjoying more opportunities, and it's a plus for economies. Better utilizing the female half of populations deepens labor pools and could boost growth rates. An increasing number of women still appear to be rising on the corporate and political ladders only because they are willing to leave their homelands. It's important to empower women; it's equally important to create an environment that the most talented female workers don't have to leave. This isn't a social or moral observation; it's purely an economic one. Women rising on gender-gap scales because they have more access to education are of limited benefit to economies in the long run if they seek employment overseas. Remittances are a short-term solution, not a sustainable development strategy. Globalization is about the free movement of goods, capital and people, and workers have every right to go where the jobs are. Today's massive migration of labor from poor nations to rich ones will only accelerate as aging populations from the United States to Germany to Japan increase recruitment efforts. It's important to examine the implications - good and bad. William Pesek is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own. - Ed. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reactions to �A Moral Alternative� (Nov. 08, 2007) Dear Mr. Abaya,. Although I agree that God helps those who help themselves, I could not find this quotation in the Bible. In regard to the success of the Asian Tigers I agree with your historical facts. With human endeavour, our Buddhists in Thailand , Taoists in Singapore , Communists in Hongkong, Muslims in Malaysia , even agnostics and atheists, can achieve amazing progress in economics. (The ethnic Chinese in Singapore and Hong Kong are predominantly Buddhists. Taoism is, like Buddhism and Confucianism, a Godless religion. Its 2.7 million followers are found mostly in China and Korea , according to the 2007 World Almanac, Very few people in capitalist Hong Kong are Communists. The economic movers in Malaysia are largely the ethnic Chinese, who are predominantly Buddhists, not the ethnic Malays who are predominantly Muslim. ACA). The Asian Tigers did it simply because in order to progress you need have faith as small as a mustard seed, good governance, good moral fiber and the right work ethic. (You describe it more eloquently). This formula works for all . (Not for countries that do not adopt the correct economic strategies, which we did not follow at the same time and to the same degree that our neighbors did. Myanmar, which is predominantly Buddhist, is another country that did/does not adopt correct economic strategies, and is consequently impoverished. ACA) So we ask, how did she (you mean PGMA? ACA), the leader at the start of the race, suddenly faltered and is now hobbling behind the others? (Actually, average annual GDP growth has been higher under President Arroyo than under Presidents Marcos, Aquino, Ramos and Estrada. But it is still below what it takes to become an Asian Tiger: an average of 8 to 12% for 20 years. PGMA benefits from OFW remittances, which were much lower during the watch of the other presidents. President Arroyo�s failure is more moral than economic. ACA) First, our nation started off with a vision. Then, her moral fiber became tattered. She developed the leprosy of bad governance. Her politicians made a mockery of the rule of law. She lost her hard work ethic and came to love Hollywood and "good time." Though she could hardly afford it, she came to embrace la dolce vita, exchanging frugality for frivolity, farms for subdivisions, national forests for logging camps, precious local pesos for "imported" labels, etc. So, the vision faded. And, as we all know, without a vision, a nation becomes lost. . So, we see her, the former leader of the pack, limping embarrassingly far behind, swallowing the dust of those far ahead. Heck, we even have to send our OFWs scrambling to scoop crumbs off the floor from the tables of the Asian Tigers now. Secondly, divine providence equips men and women with all the necessary tools and talents to compete in any race. But if the runners somehow badly disable themselves, like the Philippines , only divine intervention may prevent disaster. This is why I gave my comment about divine intervention. It is not necessary for progress. It is only necessary to stave off disaster. In respect to your observation that previous pleas for divine intervention have failed, I can only submit that God always answers a prayer. However, he may say yes, or, he may say no (because granting it would be bad for the pleader), or wait (because he has something better in store for the pleader). He never says maybe. He does not always give the answer directly. He grants the answer "in his time" or orchestrate it to happen and, always, it's according to his eternal will. We can not pray to the Creator asking him to grant precisely the answer we wish or want. We can not, as it were, "twist God's arm," for he is the Creator after all. Moreover, the prayers for divine intervention alluded to may have been directed toward the wrong beings in the spiritual world. I believe that only the Triune God is omnipresent and almighty and has the power to hear the prayer of any individual in any point of the universe and decide and act on the prayer all at the same time. Moreover, he knows your prayer even before you utter it so there is really no need for repetitous praying or chanting for God is not deaf. All other beings in the physical or spirit world are neither omnipresent nor almighty, thus, they have no power to hear any of the billions of prayers in any of the billions of places in the universe nor can these beings decide or act on said billions of pleas simultaneously or in the numerical order they are received. And, according to the Bible, no one goes to the the Father except through his Son (This is religion, not economics or political economy. ACA) Lionel Tierra, (by email), Sacramento CA Dec. 02, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Regarding the message about Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore , I only can fully agree. I have visited Singapore first time near 30 years ago and it has been ruled like under dictatorship. But it was clean, safe, that green city that many Philippine. places claim to be but never are. I remember one evening after strolling around, I did not know in the dark anymore where I am and where is the way to my hotel. A taxi brought me then there, it was just few corners around and charged ten dollars which was too much. When I told the driver to issue a receipt so that I could check it at the Tourist Office, he returned five dollars and begged not to report him because he could lose his license and maybe being put to jail. Soon later, a newspaper reported that a foreign couple had complained about another overpriced trip with a horse cab. When the driver has been identified after some months, he got two years jail. A restaurant cook was fined 500 dollars and reported to public for not wearing his cap when cooking. People put their litter exactly under overfilled litter boxes or they would be fined 200 dollars. Tourists with dirty clothes or hair have been refused at immigration until they changed cloths and haircut. People that tried to go ahead at waiting lines have been ordered to go back at the end of the line when they reached the counter. That was the way, Lee teached good manners to his people. And in the same style, he teached them to face their problems and to solve them, without asking for divine help and gifts pouring down from heaven. It did not take very long and Singapore became a tiger nation, or more matching, a lion nation, referring to its symbol. In the Philippines , a President like Lee could not do the same because he would have a hardship to find enough honest and hardworking people in government, police and military for to control the island country Philippines . Remember when Marcos took over, the Philippines was also rated as most corrupt in Southeast Asia and Manila the most criminal capital in Asia. Marcos cleaned up within two years but the longer his administration remained in power, the more it became the same again. Regarding Sinking currency like Sinking country, I can not agree the same. Yes, the dollar is down but within its own country USA , its purchase power is not much down. And the cheap dollar, with the low interest rates as main reason, is already solving a lot of credit problems especially. of home owners, and boosting exports which then will create jobs, increase tax income and sooner or later the dollar will go up again, as it happened already in the seventies. Then the rate was down to the same low but not too long after has more than doubled. Those who have been able to hold dollars and the banks, made extreme profits. Do you think the Central Bank would still buy billions of dollars when expecting the value would never go up and just create big losses? No, what happens now is a big assault at the remittances of OFWs. Their families get less "strong pesos" but the strong peso has less and less purchase power at home. Ironically, exactly goods which are imported on cheap dollars increase permanently, instead of becoming cheaper in "strong pesos". The strength of the peso is not more than a fiction, the high exchange rate is coming from the low dollar and not from a super Philippine economy. But the Philippines will soon feel the problem of an expensive currency on exports, investments, tourism etc., as even the strong euro is already hitting the European economies. Like Airbus, it has full order books for years but still has to terminate a big chunk of its workers tp trim costs, because most orders are in dollars while the expenses, salaries, taxes, have to be paid in euro. It is only the Philippines , where economy should be boosted by a high "strong" peso, higher costs, more and more non-working days. Maybe this really needs divine help. [email protected], Germany , Dec. 02, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Filipinos want GOD to do the work for them. Let's just go to church and let God do the work. :) In the meantime, let's all sing Que Sera Sera together or join a gang called The Bahala Na. We left the Dark Ages a long time ago but it seems like we still are in one in the Philippines ... Unfortunately, the Catholics still insist that birth control is against God's will and should not be practiced. "Go forth and multiply. God will feed your children." Or the State... or whatever. Bahala Na. Just make sure you don't forget your tithe or your offerings when you leave. Unless the people face up to the reality of science (and self-help) instead of superstition and so-called Divine Intervention, the country will never past "Go." There's always the option of being a colony again as someone suggested. Any takers? [email protected], Dec. 03, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reaction to �Competing with Japan � (Aug. 30/Sept. 06, 2007) Mr. Abaya, Your take on this "competition" between Japan and the Philippines in the 20th century had the same effect on me. It�s like comparing apples and oranges; hands down, there�s no contest. Japan is in a different league. Comparing a former colony to an independent country can be misleading. This was the case for the Philippines when you consider how far the country had sunk since independence. No doubt the American presence temporarily concealed its cultural weakness. When America left, these flaws began to show up, resulting in the country�s collapse. Yet the people are smart and if they are willing to change, there are a lot of things to learn from a successful country like Japan . Here are some stories and traits that may inspire the people to make changes necessary for success. In 1543, shipwrecked Portuguese traders unintentionally introduced the arquebus (ancient rifle) to Japan when a local warlord saw a Portuguese shoot a duck. With keen foresight, the warlord saw the value of the arquebus. He bought the "rifle" and ordered his artisan to make copies. By 1550, the Japanese were producing large quantities of arquebuses. In the Battle of Nagashino (1575), a peasant army armed with 3,000 arquebuses defeated the best cavalry in Japan . By 1600, Japanese guns were the best in the world. However, the use of arquebuses and other firearms were halted for the next two centuries by decree of the shogun. For Japan �s industrial success in the 20th century, they credited their achievements to two Americans, Henry Ford and Edward Deming. Ford for his ideas on mass production and Deming for statistical control. The Japanese were so appreciative of these foreigners that they named their annual industrial award the Deming Prize. What can the Philippines learn from this? We can start with foresight, a quality most Pinoy leaders lack; then add adherence to proven processes, as the Japanese were known for. Here it�s worth mentioning that the Filipino�s weakness was a penchant for making shortcuts, going for the fast buck or one-hit mentality. This reckless practice can leave out important aspects that usually backfires. Another good trait to have would be an open mind. It doesn�t matter if the idea came from a foreigner, if it works, use it. In relation to this, I blame Filipino pride, nationalism (the Pinoy version), prejudice, politics and superiority complex. Other qualities the Philippines can pick up from the Japanese that are not cited in these stories are team play, humility, dignity and honor. The Japanese are known as consummate team players. They live for the team or the group. In contrast, Pinoys are individualists; there�s even a word for it: "amor propio" (love-of-self, self-centeredness, selfishness, egocentric, etc). This explains the me-first attitude of Pinoys. Humility and dignity are traits that are expected of Japanese. There�s a recent story about the sumo grand champion, Asashoryu (a Mongolian fighter in Japan ), who got suspended for bad conduct. Among his accusations was "failure to adopt the humble and dignified attitude expected of a yokozuna and to act as a good role model for the sport". It was also said that if Asashoryu were Japanese he would have quit out of dignity. From the Bushido (Samurai) Code, the Japanese acquired a sense of honor. This compelled them to do their best in order to make their family, group, clan or country look good. If they failed in their effort, they felt a tremendous sense of shame. A recent example was Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who quit his post due to poor performance. Coincidentally, the consequence of Japanese honor was their high sense of morals. Failure to maintain high morals meant being ostracized by their countrymen. Compare and contrast this to the Philippine experience. An incident in the 90�s, during the academy awards ceremony called Famas (Phil. version of the Oscar's), a mother-daughter team tried to cheat in front of national TV. Instead of being ostracized, the Filipinos quickly forgave and forgot. Today this family remains popular; their TV/movie careers not only intact, it�s actually brighter! If the last incident was bad enough, consider an event that was probably the biggest swindle of the 20th century; an event that legitimized and encouraged bad behavior. I�m referring to a bill the Philippine congress passed in 1932 to honor a villain convicted and executed for treason in 1897, and turn him a national hero. You can call it conditioning the nation to poor judgment of character. This bill set the negative cultural pattern for modern Philippines . I�m referring to a national holiday blessed by congress to honor a general who maintained his arrogance after loosing all twenty-seven (27) of his battles. He would get voted out of office through his lack of abilities. Yet he still had the impertinence to regain his lost leadership through dubious means when he tried to divide the organization by creating a splinter group. This act exposed this man�s purely selfish motives; it was also treason since they were fighting a war of independence against Spain . I rate the example of this man as the model for most of the treachery, conceit, selfishness and divisiveness occurring in the country today. It�s said that heroes were meant to be role models, when Congress turned Andres Bonifacio into a hero, Filipinos began to copy his example. In my opinion, a key to fixing the weakness in Filipino culture lies in casting this man from the roster of Philippine national heroes. In case you find this idea silly, just imagine if this scenario is possible in Japan ? I believe any decent Japanese general would quit, change career or commit "Harakiri or Seppuku" (suicide) long before loosing twenty-seven battles. Dante Balacanao, (by email), Southern California , Dec. 01, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reaction to �Fidel Castro Trillanes� (June 10, 2007) Dear Mr. Abaya, I found myself re-reading your piece on the phenomenon that was Trillanes. It's now apparent that my own initial impression of the Senator the first time he spoke to the media during their first press conference at the lobby of Oakwood. Back then, his penchant to be nothing but a pretty face who might've been fed a few key phrases from whatever revolutionary text-book he had been fed. His colorless monotone and lack of any real depth in his arguments just reinforce the impression of a Manchurian Candidate or revolutionary-by-rote. Hardly Fidel Castro. Certainly not Edjop or any true revolutionary who matched their deep conviction with a sharp, remarkable intelligence. I mean, no one argues that we should set high standards for our government but shouldn't we demand even higher standards of those who seek to replace it? Erwin Romulo, (by email), Nov. 29, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reaction to �Deeper in Scheisse� (Oct. 18, 2007) Mr. Abaya, you are correct, we Filipinos are really in deep shit, thanks to this kapampangan real "dugong aso" president so unlike her late Father. Although I am told she never got any good trait from her Pampangueno father, all she got are the bad traits of her mean pangasinense/visayan mother. In fact we got into this mess because of two women kapam- pangan presidents, darn it, I am kapampangan but I am so ashamed of being one because of these two...one a total tanga and this one prides herself to be better educated, but totally corrupt and deceitful. Never again in our history will any kapampangan ever sit in that palace, never again! Both take pride in showing the public how pious they are, when it is all show. When people parade themselves being pious, they are full of shit!!! all superficial and kaplastikan, both! One has met her karma, her daughter, the other is already suffering her karma, her husband. I recently bumped into a former Finance Minister who told me this government is now operating on deficit. I would not be surprised if this is true, at the rate she is buying everybody. I just wish all those who she is buying will also meet their karma one day, as the toad continues to suffer from now... This, operating on deficit despite the billions of OFW remittances coming in. And because of what is happening to the earnings of OFWs, they are thinking/studying what to do if they would go for withholding their remittances. Can you just imagine what will happen to our country if that happens? How long are we Filipinos going to take this woman and her team of equally corrupt and deceitful? Further, I feel sorry for that wimp Romulo Neri for not having had the balls to tell it all...what is he afraid of? Afraid to lose that job? Please tell him he could easily land a job at any multinational firm who will pay him better. Now you mentioned Dick Gordon, he is the one guy who will pull us out of this mess, but will he run? I wish he would! Sophia Santiano, (by email), Canada , Nov. 28, 2007 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |