Filipinos, Culture And Lifestyle

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Old55
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Call centers and more OFW's

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MacBubba
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 The question of how to break out of the mold is very confounding.  Methersgate's comment that very few OFWs succeed in worthwhile savings is probably correct. 

 

I believe that upbringing has something to do with retention of money and property.  People might find it hard to believe that there are well-heeled Filipinos who have managed to remain incorruptible and have not advanced themselves at the expense of others, but there are still many of them.  They were taught to be sensible about their expenditures and to apply themselves to their professions, and by so doing, have managed to conserve what they inherited, and even build on it. 

 

I know...not everyone has an inheritance to conserve.  My point is, if the same values could just be embraced by more people, then they might improve their odds.

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Call me bubba
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I read this article on another website, it is from a column of Boo Chanco in the Philstar.

 

I found it interesting, especially when you find out who wrote it and when!

 

 

 

"Purveyors of the rosy picture continue to roll out endless statistics and charts to depict a growing economy, a country on the move..."

 

"Beneath the outpourings of self-serving government data, hidden underneath the trappings of the good life in the big cities, there remains a depress and dispirited people."

 

"Against the yardstick not of statistics but of the quality of life, the Filipino people as a whole are a melancholy-if patient-mass. Their daily diet is monotonous (rice, fish, vegetables), their clothes are threadbare and their homes primitive and crowded... In sum, the blessings of liberty have not included liberation from poverty."

 

"Foreign gadgetry and other luxury goods continue to flood the cities, and more people travel... But this only serves to dramatize the great disparities and chronic inequities of Filipino society."

 

"Indeed, the Philippines is a land of traumatic contrasts. here is a land which a few are spectacularly rich while the masses remain abjectly poor. Gleaming suburbia clashes with the squalor of slums."

 

"Here is a land of freedom and its blessings are a reality for a minority and an illusion for the many. Here is a land consecrated to democracy but run by an entrenched plutocracy."

 

"Here, too, are people whose ambitions run high, but whose fulfillment is low and mainly restricted to the self-perpetuating elite. Here is a land of privilege and rank-a republic dedicated to equality but mired in an archaic system of caste."

 

 

Guess who wrote those paragraphs? 

 

They were paragraphs in an essay written in 1968! and published by the prestigious international journal, FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

 

The author is none other than Benigno Aquino, Jr., the father of the current tenant at Malacanang!

 

Not much of a change since this was written, oh yes there has been one improvement - Call Centres!

 

 

Papa Carl

here is the  link for the above story

 

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/24006/benigno-s-aquino-jr/whats-wrong-with-the-philippines

 

and a previous topic on the forum

http://www.philippines-expats.com/topic/19272-whats-wrong-with-the-philippines-article-1968/

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i am bob
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I fully agree with those above.  The original post shows how things were and we can all see what has changed.  One of the issues that the government has found is that, regardless of how beneficial it would be to change things, change can not be carried out by waving the magic wand!  The term "baby steps" is appropriate for displaying the maximum speed that change can be carried out in a country such as the Philippines.  Some would say "But look at the former Soviet countries!"  Sure, it worked for them as they had no alternative.  Here in the Philippines, a democratic population has to be appeased with each and every step.  So, back to "baby steps"...  And, hopefully, the political agenda on who will be next in the Presidential Seat won't destroy that which has been accomplished to date and build on, rather than tear down the good that has been done so far.  

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Americano
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The Philippines will not change and become a prosperous country until corruption is stopped at all levels of government and just as important, all people are honest in their dealings with other people.  Its been proven throughout history that when the people are dishonest with each other then the country will suffer greatly. You can't buy anything from a private business or person in the Philippines without them trying to take advantage of you. Very few people deal honestly in the Philippines. That kind of attitude and behavior is sure to keep a country poor.

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Kinilaw
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Part of the reason why the Philippines seems so blessed is part of the reason it seems so cursed. There isn't the same level of urgency or accountability seen in some other cultures.

 

Around six years ago there was a small earthquake while I was on the 6th floor of the Cebu Holdings Center. Not exactly a modern building, so I quickly gathered my laptop and stood to walk out the door.

 

I noticed that all the staff were still sitting in their seats. I told them I was leaving the building and that they were welcome to join me. Suffice to say I walked out alone down the fire escape.

 

Around an hour later I returned, comfortable that there weren't any more aftershocks and asked the staff why they didn't leave. They replied it didn't matter since it was up to God.

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i am bob
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The Philippines will not change and become a prosperous country until corruption is stopped at all levels of government and just as important, all people are honest in their dealings with other people.  Its been proven throughout history that when the people are dishonest with each other then the country will suffer greatly. You can't buy anything from a private business or person in the Philippines without them trying to take advantage of you. Very few people deal honestly in the Philippines. That kind of attitude and behavior is sure to keep a country poor.

So what you are saying is that our home countries are poor countries too?

:)

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Americano
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The Philippines will not change and become a prosperous country until corruption is stopped at all levels of government and just as important, all people are honest in their dealings with other people.  Its been proven throughout history that when the people are dishonest with each other then the country will suffer greatly. You can't buy anything from a private business or person in the Philippines without them trying to take advantage of you. Very few people deal honestly in the Philippines. That kind of attitude and behavior is sure to keep a country poor.

So what you are saying is that our home countries are poor countries too?

:)

 

 

No, they are not poor, but our home countries don't have the level of corruption and dishonest dealings that are present in the Philippines.

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