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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Why Are We Poor? By Antonio C. Abaya Written Dec. 14, 2004 For the Manila Standard, December 16 issue The title is that of a talk delivered by Filipino novelist F. Sionil Jose before a gathering at the University of the Philippines in Diliman on Nov. 23 2004, which someone forwarded to me for my comments. Like me, Sionil Jose calls for a revolution. Like me, he says that �revolution need not even have to be bloody. How many lives were lost at Edsa 1? Not even 20. So Cory goes around telling the world that she had restored democracy in the Philippines. Sure enough, we have elections, free speech, free assembly but these are the empty shells of democratic institutions because the real essence of democracy does not exist here. And that real essence is in the stomach��� �True to her oligarchic class, she declared a revolutionary government without doing anything revolutionary; instead, she turned Edsa 1 into a restoration of the old oligarchy. So today, we are reaping the results of her negligence, ignorance and folly.� And like me, Sionil Jose rejects the communist revolution: �If the communists win, and I don�t think they ever will, they will rule just as badly because they are Filipinos unable to go beyond barnacled habits of mind, hostage as they always are to friends and family and to towering egos. The same egos aborted the revolution in 1896, the EDSA revolution in 1986, and now we see the same egos wrecking (sic) havoc on the Communist Party. We see these egos eroding our already rotten political system�..� So who will lead Sionil Jose�s revolution? �Certainly, not the masa, but one from the masa who understands them, who will not betray them the way our leaders betrayed the masa. Estrada is the most shameful example of that leadership that betrayed.� I realize that my sentiments are not ideologically correct, and I do not apologize for that. But I do not believe in idealizing and romanticizing the squealing masa, as doctrinaire communists do, and as the trapo manipulators of showbiz icons cynically do If there is going to be a revolution � violent or non-violent, bloody or bloodless - in this country in the next 12 months, it is likely to be led and fleshed out by the middle-class. This should hardly surprise the communists. Most of those who led their revolutions were middle-class intellectuals, not proles: Lenin (lawyer), Stalin (seminarian), Leon Trotsky (journalist), Mao Zedong (librarian), Fidel Castro (medical doctor), Che Guevara (medical doctor), Joma Sison (university professor). The exception who proved the rule, the only communist leader whom I ever truly admired, and after whom I nicknamed my only son, was Ho Chi Minh, who was an authentic proletarian. Even the �counter-revolutionary� communist leaders who de-communized the Soviet Union in 1989-91 were, not surprisingly, also from the middle class: Boris Yeltsin (construction engineer) and Mikhail Gorbachev (lawyer). Ironically, the revolutionary communist leader who reintroduced profit capitalism in China was a real prole: Deng Xiaoping, who did odd menial jobs to support his studies in France. But those who succeeded Deng � Jiang Zemin and almost all the members of the present politburo who are revolutionizing China � was/are engineers. The moral of the story, even from the history of the communist movements, is that it is the middle class that is the real vanguard of the revolution, any revolution, including the revolution of Sionil Jose. The proletariat or masa merely supply most of the warm bodies as well as most of the dead ones. This may sound crass and cynical, but it is the unvarnished truth. It is the middle class who have the education and the leisure time to contemplate and brood on the human condition, and the moral fortitude to act on their beliefs. Most of the masa are too caught up in the daily struggle for survival to afford the means and the time for critical thought, hence they become easy prey for manipulators of all stripes, from communist agitators, to trapo organizers of vacuous politicians, to the pied pipers of the mass consumption society seducing them with endless hours of singing, dancing and laughing. But, to get back to the original question, why are we poor? Sionil Jose says that �we are poor because we have lost our ethical moorings, this in spite of those massive religious rallies of El Shaddai, those neo-gothic churches of the Iglesia ni Kristo sprouting all over the country, in spite of nearly 400 years of Catholic evangelization�.� �We are poor because we are not moral. Can this immorality as evidenced by widespread corruption be quantified? Yes, about P20 billion a year is lost, according to NGO estimates. �We are poor because we have no sense of history, and therefore, no sense of nation. The nationalism that was preached to my generation by Claro M. Recto and Lorenzo Tanada was phony��� �We are poor because our elite from way back had no sense of nation � they collaborated with whoever ruled � the Spaniards, the Japanese, the Americans and, in recent times, Marcos. Our elite imbibed the values of the colonizer�..� Here I disagree with Sionil Jose. To understand an economic phenomenon like poverty, one must look for economic causes, not moral or political or ideological ones. To put it simply and bluntly, we are poor because our economy did not and does not generate enough jobs for those who need and want to work. Why our economy did not and does not can best be explained by six economic reasons: One. In the mid-1950s, our minimum wage law came into effect. When American firms started to move their manufacturing activities to East Asia in the 1960s, they put up most of their factories in Taiwan and Hong Kong, not in the Philippines, even though most Filipino workers could understand some English (most Chinese then could not), and even though Filipino managers were familiar with American business practices (while most Chinese then were not). The compelling reason for choosing Taiwan and Hong Kong over the Philippines was: wages then were lower there than here, and, more important, there was no minimum wage law there. So even though the Philippines enjoyed the second highest standard of living in Asia next to Japan�s up to the late 1960s, we began to lose that lead to Taiwan and Hong Kong in the 1970s. (See �How the Philippines Got Left Behind, Part I,� Nov. 13, 2001.) Two. In the 1970s, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore deliberately geared their economies to the export of manufactured goods. In the 1980s, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia followed their lead. The growth of export industries created jobs, jobs, jobs, which in turn stimulated the growth of manufacturing industries for the domestic markets, which created more jobs, jobs, jobs. This pushed Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia (and Taiwan and Hong Kong even more) ahead of us in economic development in the 1980s. The Philippines did not seriously pursue an export-oriented strategy until the 1990s, under President Ramos, but by that time the global marketplace had become over-crowded, especially with the entry of the People�s Republic of China. In the 1970s, President Marcos had tried to join the export race, but this was opposed by communist high priests Renato Constantino Sr., Edberto Villegas, Walden Bello and Horacio Morales and their favorite sacristan Conrado de Quiroz, and was deliberately sabotaged by KMU communist labor militants through strikes after strikes against export-oriented manufacturing companies. In 1965, when East Asia was exporting only commodities, the resource-rich Philippines� total exports amounted to $769 million, while resource-poor South Korea and Taiwan exported only $175 million and $446 million worth, respectively. In 2001, after 30 years of manufacturing-for-export, South Korea�s and Taiwan�s exports reached $159 billion and $122 billion, respectively, while the late-coming Philippines� totaled only $37 billion. There is always a penalty for being late and last. (See �Losing the Export Battles,� April 19, 2002; and �How the Philippines Got Left Behind, Part II,� March 15, 2002.) So in those 36 years since 1965, South Korea�s and Taiwan�s exports grew 908-fold and 276-fold, respectively, while ours grew only 48-fold. I leave it to others to calculate how many million jobs we lost by default for not having pursued more vigorously a manufacture-for-export strategy in the 70s and 80s, as our successful neighbors did. Three. Having been left behind by the export bus, we also missed the tourism bus. In 1991, the Philippines and Indonesia drew in the same number of foreign tourists: one million. In 2004, or 13 years later, the Philippines is still struggling to attract 2.5 million, while Indonesia is expected to draw in six million, despite the Bali bombing in October 2002. This year, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are expected to attract 10-12 million tourists each. Again, I leave it to others to calculate how many million jobs we have lost by default for being such an unattractive place to visit. (See �Wow, Philippines!� July 08, 2004.) Several reasons account for our poor image, the most prominent being political instability due to coup attempts by Gringo Honasan, EDSA 1 and EDSA 2 and EDSA 3, high-profile kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf, terrorism by Muslim secessionists, endless insurgency by the NPA and acrimonious streets protests by communist front organizations. Take your pick. Four. Having failed to develop a wide manufacturing base during the export boom of the 70s and 80s, the Philippines under President Ramos foolishly embraced free trade and globalization, even ahead of, and more enthusiastically than, much more developed Taiwan and South Korea. We naively opened our economy to the products of more aggressive countries, thus forcing the closure of many domestic producers and the loss of jobs by countless Filipino workers. No wonder an average of 3,500 Filipinos leave these shores everyday for jobs abroad that they cannot find here. (See �Protectionism Wins Over Free Trade,� March 06, 2002, and succeeding articles.) Five. Similarly committed to free trade and globalization, President Arroyo has a pronounced bias against manufacturing, preferring to concentrate instead on agriculture, telecommunications and tourism (kuno). She does not buy the rule-of-thumb that I tried to sell to her: that a hectare of agricultural land, planted to rice or corn, cannot sustain even one family for one year; while that hectare of land, if converted to a manufacturing zone, can sustain hundreds of families. I thought my logic was unassailable. (See �GMA � the best there is but�.,� October 03, 2001, and succeeding articles.) Instead, President Arroyo goes for gimmicks like giving away P6 billion worth of free food every month to the 20 poorest families in every barangay nationwide, and selling railroad right-of-way to the squatters who occupy it. These gimmicks make as much economic sense as over-printing money and scattering it from airplanes. Six. Even as the economy failed to generate sufficient jobs in the last 36 years for the reasons outlined above, the Roman Catholic Church continues to actively oppose any and all artificial methods of birth control, stubbornly oblivious to the negative connection between a weak economy and a galloping population growth rate. We have truly become the leading experts in the world on How to Become a Poor Country in Six Easy Lessons. Our contribution to the stock of human knowledge. ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Why Are We Poor?� Dear Mr. Abaya: I always look forward to reading your column in the Manila Standard. They are well written, perceptive, and full of good common sense. Your column in today�s issue (Dec. 16, 2004) of the Manila Standard is no exception. We often hear or read about government programs intended to fight poverty. In your column you listed several reasons why we are poor. While you have listed the details, I think you have still missed the central perspective through which we must view our problem with poverty. Poverty, like darkness, is a negative condition. Like darkness, which is a condition marked by the absence of light, poverty is a condition marked by an absence of wealth. Poverty is the result arising from the lack of production, underproduction, and the absence of human artifacts with a utility value. Vast natural resources are not wealth until capital, labor, and private initiative join to convert these natural resources into something that has utility value for us Filipinos. All the oil in the American Indian reservations in Oklahoma did these indigenous people no good until capital, labor, and bu siness brought oil drills and got the oil from its underground storages. If poverty is a condition marked by the absence of wealth, it stands to reason that it can eliminated only by the creation of wealth. Wealth in turn can only be created by business, investments, human initiative, and private enterprise. The role of government, therefore, is to promote the creation of wealth by encouraging our people and foreign investors to initiate, to enter, or to join enterprises that create wealth. The Philippines is about the only country in Asia where it is most difficult to initiate investments or to run a business. Private enterprise is faced by a solid wall of red-tape to surmount in addition to having to deal with interference and stone walling from almost all government agencies, from the lowly town officials that issue business permits up to even the Supreme Court. Entrepreneurs and investors are not asking that the government make it easy to do business here. They are asking only that the Philippine government does not make it more than difficult to do so. I think that unless our government and its bureaucrats change their attitude towards business and private enterprise, we will be doomed for sometime to come as the perennial basket case of Asia. Yours truly, Carlos Esteban, Jr., [email protected] 312 Shaw Boulevard Mandaluyong, Metro Manila December 16, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Quite often I am asked ' what has and is wrong with the Filipino economy' and I struggle to answer. Therefor , thank you for this. Your analysis is excellent but until a group of non-corruptibles can take over the reins and lead the country out of its present quagmire, all the logic in the world will not salvage the situation. Marcos made the fatal error of railroading Tagalog through the schools. The Phippines was way ahead of its Asian counterparts in its ability to communicate with foreign buyers. Regrettably no longer. Regards Brian Harber, [email protected] December 17, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I was then a student in the university when the Philippines and its Asian neighbors set on a race to prosperity, and I was a curious onlooker. China started its iron and steel industry utilizing the crude, backyard system. Korea and Taiwan borrowed heavily to build their blast furnaces and steel plants. They relied on ship-breaking as the primary source of raw material and in the process became the world's giant in ship breaking. Soon they were sourcing Australian iron ores to manufacture virgin products, so competitively priced that they forced the shut down of the biggest and only remaining iron and steel plant in the United States. We also joined the iron and steel bandwagon and used our Japanese reparations for payment , among other things, for rolling mills, and for what? - to manufacture steel bars and galvanized iron sheets! To do this, we needed iron ingots produced by our neighbors. When our neighbors developed their chemical, plastic and later, their synthetic industries, we also tried but our sheer addiction to "debates" and "commission" failed to resolve which project to approve. The result: our neighbors, with basic industries behind them, can manufacture ships, heavy equipment, transport, and manufacturing plants. Their basic industries also made it easy for our neighbors to develop downstream industries which now support the production of every conceivable kind of products and durables, matching Japan in quality. Our neighbors filled their own domestic consumption requirements from large plants and shipped quality products to the world. We also went into specialty manufacturing for export but we failed to graduate from low-value to high technology products, and now we are faced with stiff competition from China, Bangladesh, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Romania, and practically every third world country. We did not go into basic industries and instead pursued the policy of "import substitution" to propel our economy. Under this scheme, we import semi-processed and finished materials to produce a product that is currently imported, ostensibly to save on foreign exchange. This scheme became the monopoly of our privileged elite who were very clever to adapt their classic "tenant-landlord" system to similarly work in the corpoate world. In other words, our industries were like small haciendas, protected by special laws, which assured their perpetuity, irregardless of the level of their efficiency, quality of the product they turn out, or contribution to the national economy. In sum, I believe ours is a case of lack of vision and resolve, a result of a confused outlook of a people unable to free itself from the bondage of colonial mind set. Yours truly, Virgilio Leyes, [email protected] December 17, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Sir, I have read your article. It was enlightening. I am an American Soldier married to a Cebuana. My job is Musician in the US Army and I travel a lot (playing in a lot of places, especially 2nd and 3rd world countries that we are trying to make a good impression). I always attributed the problems in the PI (that term may offend you, but it is the term that I learned from fellow servicemen who served there.... To be fair, I am from the South East US {wrong side of the War between the States a hundred years ago..}, so you can refer to me as redneck!)....to what I have heard as Crab Mentality. Your article goes much deeper. My wife graduated from AMA with a degree in Computer Science. This led to the situation in my wedding that a lot of the wedding party were computer geeks....some of the best minds in the PI. One of our sponsors was one of my wife's professors. Brilliant man. All of his students want to leave the PI and he and I had a long discussion. Something you did not touch on in your article. Your country is exporting a lot of your best intelect. What do you think? Every computer geek, engineer, nurse, and doctor, dreams of getting out of the PI to somewhere they can make a lot of money, some of which is to support their family in the PI. To me, this is a short term solution to the capital problem. What if they stayed in the PI and did as the Indians (not American, but in India) did? Do a little research and you will find that when most Americans phone technical support for their computers, they are actually talking to an Indian in India. I look forward to corresponding with you (if you have the time) and am also CCing my wife so we can all talk (yep, we sleep in he same bed, but with my job, sometimes email is best to keep up with each other!). Have a good'un!! J Larry Tilby, [email protected] December 17, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thanks, your article has enlighten me. We should be competitive in products export, and not in singing and labor export. We shoiuld also control our population, and be moral. I agree with your revolution but this should be than by people who has a high moral value. But if this will be done by soldiers who has lot of vices and no moral , just an ideology that they cannot apply even to themselves, it is a disaster. We could be industrial country at the same time we could be agricultural. The big mistake by the government during Mr. ramos time he should control to touch agricultural land converted into housing. Housing should expand vertical and not horizontal to saves land. If you start the revolution with moral values, i will join you, although this is not my ideology but i feel its time before its too late. We will kicked both right and left. We need people who are in the middle class because we cannot find from lower and upper who have good senses. We will kicked the administration and the opposition, they will never be a part of better Philippines because they are proven and dont prove anything. What we need are people who need genuine changes. A genuine revolution by genuine people with genuine hearts. No blood will flow on the street. A revolution without the participation of military and political figure from left or right but mainly by a patriotic people who respect others right to live with decency. So when we will start this? Alexander Carranceja, [email protected] December 17, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, I agree mostly with what you say. I have a proposition which says that our problem lies with the fact that racially we are Asian (but, alas, only pussycats) but in mentality we are of the Latin America mold. Old oligarchs, protectionism, overvalued nationalism (which says that the Manila Hotel is a "national heritage"). I think that some nationalists think that our natural resources are heirlooms hidden in our BAUL and Bill Gates, the Ceo of the top Fortune 500 will come here begging to see our treasure. Ross Tipon, [email protected] December 17, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Thanks you for sending me this and others of your very incisive articles. I truly appreciate them. As a matter of fact, I quoted you in one of my weekly Friday Inquirer Business Section commentaries. Please ,if convenient, email me your phone and fax number so I can fax you this article. I'm practically your neighbor, since I live in South Green Park Village. Best regards, Ernie Ordonez, [email protected] December 17, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, I posted your recent article in our e-forum for additional audience. Knowing the thinking of some of the 'better' writers in the group I expected (and I was right) interesting reactions. Here's one of several. Season's greetings! Ed J.T. Tirona (Mang Senyong in our e-forum) ********************************************** From: "Jess Guim" <[email protected]> Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 19:53:08 +0800 Subject: [botomo] Why Are We Poor? (My Own Version) Reply-To: [email protected] Dear Mr. Abaya: The reason why we are poor, because we were educated by our parents to become servants, not businessmen when we grow up. We were thought to STUDY, FINISH COLLEGE, AND HAVE A GOOD JOB (or work for somebody). So, the problem now in our country is unemployment, because everybody is looking for a job after college, not minding or making their own businesses. Billionaires like Bill Gates and Michael Dell, did not finish colleges, but became millionaires at their young age, because in their own homes the concepts of business were already implanted into them when they were still young. The reason why we are poor, because we were educated by our teachers to become heroes, not businessmen, as we read from cover to cover the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo - as we memorize the lines of "Florante at Laura." We grow up emulating the lives of dead heroes, instead of emulating successful businessmen and millionaires. The reason why we are poor, because that's what we mostly read in newspapers and all forms of media, even here in the Internet. Let's try starting discussions on how we could generate business or money, and forget about the thousands of lists why we are suffering or why we are poor. Initiate this kind of idea (positive way to make money or build business) in all corners of the Philippines, and see what happens in a shorter time, as compared to our long years of agonizing (AND POLITICISING) poverty and criminalizing all those who created our sufferings. Jess Guim, [email protected] December 15, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, As usual, nobody tells it like you do. Excellent analysis, to which I could not agree more. Am in California, to visit my first "apo". Two of my kids are here studying and working part-time. I supported a PMA graduate in the last elections, whose mind works like an engineer's. I don't know where you stood then, but I hope you got to read about our platform of government. Let's have coffee or lunch when I get back in the middle of January. By the way, look at how your "screaming masa" cry all over their fallen idol. As if he actually did anything for them other than pander to their lowest taste. Anyway, despite whatever's happening and not happening in our woebegone country, a Merry Christmas to you and your family. Lito Banayo, [email protected] December 17, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww May I assume that before planning a larger scale of solving our economic problem in the Philippines, we have had planned an effective legislation and lobbying (which is legal in some states of the US). We have knowledgeable lawyers in the Philippines who can draft an effective legislation. President Arroyo is an economist and we may have an allay there. Cover letter should touch her sense of justice and decency. A little positive stroke may be very effective in influencing anyone including the President. I hope and pray that all people involve in this movement have honest intentions and movement is devoid of corrupt interest groups. Adelina P. Sampang, [email protected] A concerned Filipino American December 20, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Thank you for providing the answers for a fundamental question that has been bugging me for years (Why are we poor: 6 easy lessons in achieving world class poverty). It should be required reading for every Filipino who cares about his country, particularly to: GMA and her cabinet; the Senate; the House of Representatives; the opposition; the Makati Business Club and other captains of the industry; the Church; the military; the opposition; the academe. It should be included in the Social Studies subject in the primary and secondary grades as well as in the college level. Questions should be included in all Government exams for professionals (PRC). In hindsight, I still think if Marcos didn't turn to the dark side, he was the Man, he could have made a difference. Unfortunately, he blew it. In 1965, I remember, Lee Kuan Yew, Soeharto and Macoy started as strong leaders. The rest in Southeast Asia came later, fast forward, to 2004, all of the countries mentioned became wealthy and are enjoying a relatively high standard of living and a better quality of life while our country has gone from bad to worse. And we are supposed to be a country of geniuses, bright, smart people, maabilidad, matinik, magaling mag -English, has more than 90% literacy rate, hard working, adaptable, flexible and other encomiums. It's tough to reconcile it. It's too depressing, but Merry Christmas anyway. Auggie Surtida, [email protected] December 20, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Regarding your column which came out in the Dec. 16, 2004 issue of your paper, I beg do differ. I agree with the assertion of the novelist F. Sionil Jose. We are poor because we are morally corrupt. It is so ironic that we are so Catholic, so Christian and yet so corrupt. I believe that the issue of poverty is not an economic phenomenon but rather a social one. Even so, at the risk of being so pedantic about it, you are forgetting that economics is a social science. Thus, the economic choices we make are influenced by our social background and philosophical leanings. How we view the world and how we view mankind is largely influenced by our social background. As the saying goes, KUNG ANONG TANAW, SIYANG TINGIN. Perhaps if this country can be ruled by someone who is really from the masses and not just someone who claims to be from the masses like ERap, perhaps we can rise above this debilitating poverty. I do agree with you that the Church stand on population control is part of the problem. But then again, that is their stand. In the end, our leaders should have the guts to assert their will and not kowtow to the will of the Church. For after all, there is a separation of the Church and State. But for fear of incurring the ire of the Church, no leader has been bold enough to fight the Church. In fairness to the Church, they should make that stand because that is their job. To make known that man is more than flesh and should not be slave of his flesh. Also, to tell us there is more to life than what is now, that there is an afterlife and everlasting life, etc. To do otherwise will weaken the very essence of their existence. The State on the other hand is on the business of NOW and the coming generation in this very real and physical world. Thus, it is the business of the State to assert its own power to the same populace. For the life of me, the separation of the powers of the Church and that of the State in other countries is quite clear. In fact, I am of the impression that the influence of the Church in other Catholic countries is as good as zilch. So, why can it NOT be done here? Because our leaders and the Catholic Church are working for themselves and not for the welfare of the masses. I really believe that as long as the Church meddles in the governance of this country, whoever sits in Malacanang will not matter. NOT EVEN THE RECENTLY DEPARTED FPJ CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! I do not know how and when we lost our moral moorings but we lost it. The much touted Filipino resiliency is a BIG LIE. From physics, I learned that an object that bounces with the same height is a perfectly elastic object. It is quite ideal since no such object exists. Thus, whenever we bounce back from a debacle, we loose a part of our original self. No one comes out of a battle unscathed or unhurt. The experience always changes a person either for the better or for the worse. Right now, I say we have been changed by the numerous disasters, both natural and man-made, for the worse. We are seeing the worse in us. Some or most of us are scrambling to get out of this country, legally or illegally, to migrate or to work as a slave in another country. Those who opted to stay are either cheating the government in every opportunity like paying lower taxes, installing illegal jumpers to lessen those damn electric bills, etc. Yes, we are seeing the worse of us and we are reaping the fruits of our evil ways. God help us! May God help this country! Or maybe it would even be better if we, as a race, just vanish into thin air like some old civilization in Peru. LUKE IVAN B. MORO, [email protected] Brgy. Pinagkaisahan, Makati City December 22, 2004 Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Sorry, about the attachment. Comments came from a family member still living in the Philippines whose ideas merit your consideration: 1. In paragraph 3, an example even in recent times was EDSA III where the masses came in hordes at the doorstep of Malacanang. But it was for nothing because their leaders abandoned them. 2. In paragraph 5, not only were the Huks active in the countryside but the urban socialistas like Crisanto Evangelista et al. active in the capital. Like I said that kind of situation was dangerous. 3. In paragraph 7, not only were the foreign governments but their private businesses opposed the manufacturing projects of Marcos (personally, can you blame them)? 4. In paragraph 8, please note the difference between US government system putting emphasis on the principle that civil service is subservient to the elected officials and serve at their pleasure. The British system on the other hand maintains that career civil servants are the cream of society's educated and well-motivated individuals. In the Philippines the people elect/vote on the basis of the candidate's popularity and not the substance of the program they advocate. In other words, there should be more education of the masses long before the election time through the media: radio, newspaper, TV and what not. 5. In paragraph 9, to put it simply let us have individual as well as collective initiative without waiting for government assistance. Government resources are very limited considering our expanding population. 6. In paragraph 10, agriculture was the backbone of countries in Europe even those with small land areas; the case of Taiwan is another example. 7. In paragraph 11, the conclusion is that the priority is for the greater goals like the quality of life of Filipino families. If you need some clarification, please let me know. Adelina Sampang, [email protected] December 23, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More reactions on why we are poor.... Ed J. Tirona, [email protected] December 23, 2004 Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 02:49:32 +0800 Subject: [botomo] Re: WHY WE ARE POOR May I butt in? Empowering the powerless is one my passionate advocacies, and although it is long path, it can be done in one generation IF WE BELIEVE WE CAN. WHY ARE WE POOR? Because we do not know how to be rich! We are always contented mediocrity. Even words in our language or dialect include phrases (that should be a taboo in every home, but that is a fantasy) Sapagkat kami ay tao lamang, puede na yan, nakakaraos naman, makakalusot na yan, Bathal na, compadre ko siya, naareglo yan dahil mayroon na kaming CA$hsunduan... Dahil may pinagsamahan... These self-defeating cultural "flaws" (for lack of a better term) in our Filipino psche are not prevalent or obvious in the WASP culture... but of course they have other "cultural flaws" too. In a globalized knowledge based society, we must not be "proud" to get the best of other cultures to replace the bad ones in our Filipino culture...(Physically even the offsprings of mixed marriages are more beautiful, taller, flair complexion and can really compete in the Miss Universe or Miss International Beauty Pageants, like Gemma Cruz, Lalaine Bennett, Gloria Diaz, Aurora Pijuan, etc etc) So culturally we can also win by getting the best of the other cultures... So we should discard many Spanish heritage like the fiestas... yabang at too much consumptions... without producing... too much reliance on God to provide the food for l0 kids in one family... And can we do all these things... EDUCATION FROM THE VERY BEGINNING... FROM THE HOME... AND HAVING MORE ROLE MODELS... NOT THE ARTISTAS GOING TO CONGRESS OR MALACANANG... CRITICAL THINKERS MUST COME BACK.. GOOD GOVERNANCE SHOULD BE ASPIRED FOR... i can go on and on but I dont want to bore you guys...that is my dime's worth... And when all is said and done, what are you doing about it? please do not be a member of a NATO (NO ACTION TALK ONLY) Planet of 40 million filipinos! Ernie Delfin, [email protected] December 23, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, Here's an interesting positive follow-up from Jess Guim of N.Y. Merry Christmas! Ed J.T. Tirona, [email protected] December 23, 2004 Re: HOW CAN WE BE RICH? Or Simply, How Can We Get Out of Poverty? Anybody starting from farmer, factory worker, or middle class you mentioned have all the chances to become rich if they wanted so. But the main reason why most of Filipinos can not do so, because our culture had thought us that the best way to earn money is to go and finish college. Then find a good job � or serve other businessmen make more money. I remembered serving in our government for 10 years, but I was burried to debts. My GSIS housing loan was delayed for several unpaid months. But when I left the government and had my own business, in less than three years, I was able to totally pay-off my GSIS housing loan, was able to buy another second house, and another first class subdivision lot. I did it all from different kinds of making money like buying old motorcycles, repair them and sell them 5 times the original price I bought them. There was a time that a bank lent me P100,000.00 payable in one year. But after two days I paid it off, because I already earned profit from it in 24 hours. My record of loan payment was probably the first in the history of this bank � a loan payable in one year, paid by me after two days! When I opened a tricylce business, I would get three brand new motorcycles using the amount to fully pay one brand new motorcycle as down payments. Then let the tricycles earn day and night to pay off the three motorcycles in less than a year. I was earning three times, from the money which I supposed to fully pay one motorcycle for the tricycle business. In less than a year I had fourteen tricycles, simply by using the same strategy - getting three motorcycle loans, instead of fully paying one motorcycle. When the "Beer na Beer" was introduced in the market, the distributor of this new brand of beer would leave piles of cases of beer in my sari-sari store to be introduced to the customers. But since the customers were accustomed to San Miguel Beer, "Beer na Beer" lays in my store bodega untouched. I've thought of selling them at manufacturer's price, with no profit from me. Then I used the sales of those "Beer na Beer" to buy rice, charcoal, and sugar. So, even if I did not make profit from "Beer na Beer," I made 5 to 10 times profit from the easy to sell rice, charcoal, and sugar when I RE-PACKED them - money coming from "Beer na Beer." I used the same strategies with the chocolates, left to me by "Serg", payable in three months, but with post dated check. I would sell the chocolates at no profit, then roll the sales on other fast selling items. So, in three months, I was using the money of "Serg" chocolate to make more money for my store. How I learned to make money or to be in business? That's because in my childhood days (from isang kahig isang tuka family) I've learned doing it by selling vegetables coming from our backyard. Out of the sales, I would buy pan de sal for breakfast of our family of 11 children, a mother, a father, a lola and lolo. On weekends, I was selling "Taliba" and other newspapers, so, I would have baon for my weekdays in school. Then, when I didn't have paper in school, I would initiate a raffle inside the classroom as a game in our vacant time. One ticket number for one tablet paper. So, from a classroom of twenty to thirty, I earned a lot of tablet papers, because the first prize was 5 papers, second prize 4 papers, and third prize 3 papers. I kept 18 tablet papers as profit everytime I initiate raffle on our vacant times. (Nobody mind the prize, 'coz everybody was enjoying the raffle game, which you could not find in an ordinary class even these days.) In my high school days I've thought of making money from those abandoned pechay and other vegetables during summer vacations, left by students in plots for the Agriculture class. The agricultural land of our area was so vast, that everyday I had something to sell on vacation days. From the sales, I bought Agricultural tools, and gave them to the school. But most important, I was earning money from my share of the sales - from plants that were abandoned by students. At the opening of the class I was a hero, because of the new tools I bought for the school. But I have a lot of money, too, for my baon! I want to tell more stories, but rather not. The above was too much already, para angatin o buhatin ko ang sarili kong bangko. But my point here was to answer the question of Mon, how could a farmer, a factory worker, or member of middle class family can become rich? My general answer is anybody could become so, if you were trained how to earn money or start a business in your childhood days. You could do it now, without those knowledge in your childhood days, by learning from books or from other people. Jess Guim New York City wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww |
Allow me to react on this very vital subject which I think should be the most pressing concern of the government. I found the number 6 item is the most urgent. I have read this morning an article at the Manila Standard about RP Forest being taken over by 19M Filipinos, which reminded me of your article. If we really try to look on the overall development issue, a very high population growth in this country is one of causes of our problems. It seems that there are sectors who allow this to happen so people will remain poor and rely on certain groups (politicians or any institutions who want to influence the decision of the poor majority in this country). Those interested groups who want followings. Poor people will be less educated, have lots of needs and will continue to rely on them. Instead of empowering them - intellectually and economically - so they can make their own decisions, they advocate a climate of dependency for selfish ends. This is my wild speculation but I just can not imagine why leaders in this country have not acted decisively on this particular problem. Our population growth rate of 2 % plus is very high compared to some developed countries at less than 1%. We will continue to build more schools which have always been inadequate, more services and facilities which have always been not enough. More poor people in the highlands will be drawn to insurgency thereby increasing more budget for the military which only end up being siphoned by corrupt military officials. This particular problem creates more problems if we try to look the cause and effect relationships. Practically the increasing population have stretched government resources too thinly. If we can not effectively feed the people (since we are importing rice almost every year), why did we allow population to increase at an alarming rate. It needs leaders to come to their senses and face the problem squarely. Looking on the trend and the lack of political will and decisiveness of the past and present administration in this issue it seems we have no where to go. Serious problems needs serious and sensible solutions. Of course we know there are still lot of problems if we can address the population issue but I believe we will be reducing some of it if population management will be given top priority. Driggs Matabaran, [email protected] December 29, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww |
| Dear Tony,, In the 60s when our class in Economics discussed a study on the effects of the minimum wage legislation of the late 50s to P120 per month (-yes PER MONTH younger friends!) I recall the following observations: 1.Many labor intensive companies and small businesses (usually sole proprietorships) who could not afford to comply were forced to lay-off some workers/laborers but management (proprietors) demanded higher efficiency(output) from those who were retained with increased salaries (or else...)to cover for lost production. Result: Overworked personnel. 2.Because of the lay-offs there was an overall decrease in production output as the expected higher efficiency demanded from the retained workers was barely realized. Result: Higher cost of production and eventually higher selling prices. 3.Higher selling prices resulted in lower sales (due to less consumption) which meant lower tax base for government revenues. 4.Less consumption (some by postponing or stretching consumption- di na muna bibilhin ang kina-kailangan) meant slower or less turn-over ('paikot' of capital) so total annual projected return is not met. This contributes to lower sales. 5.Lower ROI means less profits placed in the bank. Result: Less money for loans as capital investment and following the law of supply and demand (which Amang Rodriguez (?) wanted repealed!) resulted in higher cost of money (interest rates) and further increase in cost of production. Social Impact: 6.Less employment means higher burden/dependency ratio. Example: The total family income with 2 employed (with increased wages) is less than the income of same family with 3 employed prior to the legislated wage increase. Result: Many family members had to stop going to school which contributed to our present population of uneducated and misiformed but who have the power to choose our political leaders. 7.The unemployed continue consuming but not doing any productive activity. Result:Boredom, depression etc which in many cases lead to illegal or criminal activities and criminal gangs (Sigue-sigue, Sputnik, etc), organized crime led by some notorious politicians (you can supply the names- some have been resurrected in today's politics) aggravating pressure on government services (police, medical etc,) and, due to limited budget, lower quality or inefficient services. 8.The announced increase in minimum wage attracted labor force from the provinces particularly from the Visayas and Mindanao (to a lesser extent) with some effects in agricultural production output. Using the cheapest form of transport (benefitting shipping lines). They land in the Tondo, Binondo and Malabon areas, spilling to Caloocan where they seek "temporary" shelter with their poor 'extended' relations (pinsan ng pinsan ng kaibigan, etc). Result: Congestion, mushrooming of shanty populations and aggravating poor environment and the general social conditions. This lead to further pressure on gov't social services. 9.Many of those who came (women hoping to work in factories) ended up as katulongs or were forced into prostitution particularly in Caloocan, Makati (Culi-culi) and Bulacan (Bocaue). This somehow eased the economic situation of many of the migrants but meant the loss of dignity for some. 10.The resulting discontent was taken advantaged of by the enemies of gov't (communist opposition, etc). Result: More budget needed for the Armed Forces (opportunity for graft) and peace keeping efforts instead of for stimulating the economy for development. These were, as far as I can remember, the analyzed effects of the forced increase in the minimum wage in the 50s, borne by empirical data gathered by governemnt and other economic observers. Ironically, the non-thinking original trapo(s) behind the legislation became bida and popular as 'maka-mahirap' and ... (sob)... got re-elected....! Small wonder why we are in our present predicament. Still... and all the more... Mabuhay! God bless you, Ed J.T.Tirona, [email protected] January 20, 2005 MY REPLY. I agree with you 100%. Please see my article �How the Philippines Got Left Behind, Part 1� (Nov. 13, 2001). OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
| Manuel Teodoro here. I am the chief anchor of Caracol Television News--Colombia's highest rated news source. Our spanish language broadcast is seen on satellite and cable in the USA as well. Being half Filipino and half Colombian ( I anchored RPN 9News alongside Kathy Santillan and Harry Gasser in 1987-1988 ) I take great interest in current events in " my other country " . Your article " Why we are poor " , was a well analyzed and researched piec of journalism. Kudos to you amigo and know that in Colombia there is a "meztisong bangus" journalist you can count on. Hasta la vista. Manuel Teodoro, [email protected] Colombia, January 22, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww |