First World Philippines

[i am bob]

Wow! The world has gone to hell and the Philippines is leading the charge! I'm so glad that the economists amongst us are presenting the facts...

Seriously, folks, there is a lot of new employment going on in this country... New businesses opening up, others relocating as well! Which means jobs in construction... Jobs in administration... White collar, blue collar... Not to mention the spinoff effect on supply, housing, retail and so on! Nobody has seen this?

Yes, there is still corruption in some government offices but nothing like it was a few years back... And nothing like it is in some so-called corruption free western countries! But we don't talk about that because we may be taking about our own family members or even possibly ourselves! No way our own governments would ever be corrupt, could they? Hmmm....

Sorry about the rant but I get so tired of hearing stories repeated that originated in a different time that consists of nothing but negative information yet not a word of how things are improving... Sure there is bad but there's also a lot of good happening out there!! Y'all gotta stop listening to these Survivalist radio shows after midnight!!! Or is it just all the expat whining from the seats at the bottom of the escalator? It's not all roses out there but somebody surly must have seen something sitting improvement that isn't buried under 20 tons of manure? Sure, it's a slow process to change and improve a country but it takes time to do something right! It's not something you can just slap together unless you have All the people behind you! There's a reason the Philippine economy is rated so high lately... Yes, there are still problems we can talk about with the Philippines... But can't we also recognize where things are getting better?

[Dave Hounddriver]

Sorry about the rant but I get so tired of hearing stories

 

And yet, you just told a story with no references to make it real.

[RBM]

 

There is no sense of getting things done to a "higher" standard.

That is 100 % right. You can see it everywhere. I just finished building my house and sometimes it just looks as if everyone is blind. You can tell someone to retouch a certain thing, and they will retouch the part you pointed at. Everything more than 10 cm off in any direction seems to be non existing for them. In the end, we did a lot of it ourselves, it's the only way to get it done right...

 

 

 

Going through this right now...

 

yes agree with most posters, the large corps a certainly doing very well, the gap is widening no doubt. 

 

As Jon1 pointed out to become forst world the general public need a major mind set change. This is unlikely. 

 

My major concern for expats living doctors are just blatantly ripping off patients. Yes I know this as a fact not a story. This first class hospitals. 

 

My second concern would be, as pointed out  by a poster is the ever increasing peso, one really needs to be earning here.unless availing a nice pension.

[John Michael Kane]

I am bob,

 

Those who have been in the country for a long time have the benefit of trying to be more objective to compare a "then" and "now" view of the Philippines. Unless you've been around for a while, you can only observe things as they are currently. In my own case, less than a month! So compared to back in the USA, things are very backwards here in terms of infrastructure and other areas, but they could still be a vast improvement over years ago, but I wouldn't know, as I wasn't here years ago. 

 

It is hard even in the first-world like the USA to find true statistics on employment, as our Department of Labor has cooked the books for years and under-reported the true number of unemployed people. It is far worse than they lead on. Poverty is still far more endemic here in PH, but there do seem to be pockets of improvement in some areas. My concern is that power still seems to be concentrated in relatively few hands, but I'm trying to remain hopeful that the middle class can grow, even if marginally, it will better than nothing.

[MikeB]

Or is it just all the expat whining from the seats at the bottom of the escalator?

What?

[Midniterider]

Wow! The world has gone to hell and the Philippines is leading the charge! I'm so glad that the economists amongst us are presenting the facts...

Seriously, folks, there is a lot of new employment going on in this country... New businesses opening up, others relocating as well! Which means jobs in construction... Jobs in administration... White collar, blue collar... Not to mention the spinoff effect on supply, housing, retail and so on! Nobody has seen this?

Yes, there is still corruption in some government offices but nothing like it was a few years back... And nothing like it is in some so-called corruption free western countries! But we don't talk about that because we may be taking about our own family members or even possibly ourselves! No way our own governments would ever be corrupt, could they? Hmmm....

Sorry about the rant but I get so tired of hearing stories repeated that originated in a different time that consists of nothing but negative information yet not a word of how things are improving... Sure there is bad but there's also a lot of good happening out there!! Y'all gotta stop listening to these Survivalist radio shows after midnight!!! Or is it just all the expat whining from the seats at the bottom of the escalator? It's not all roses out there but somebody surly must have seen something sitting improvement that isn't buried under 20 tons of manure? Sure, it's a slow process to change and improve a country but it takes time to do something right! It's not something you can just slap together unless you have All the people behind you! There's a reason the Philippine economy is rated so high lately... Yes, there are still problems we can talk about with the Philippines... But can't we also recognize where things are getting better?

These are not figures pulled out of a hat they are real and opressive. 

"As of January, the Philippines unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent, up from 6.5 percent in the previous period and 7.1 percent a year ago. The figures translate to about 2.96 million unemployed people."

"Of that total, 15-to-24-year-olds comprise 48.2 percent, while those between 25 and 34 comprise 29.9 percent, meaning most new graduates end up unemployed. About 20 percent of the unemployed are college graduates, 13.3 percent are college undergraduates and 34 percent are high school graduates."

Further, 

"Gerard Seno, executive vice president of the Associated Labor Unions, blames the "ineffective implementation" of job generating programs, specifically for the manufacturing and agriculture sector, as one of the major causes of unemployment.

“It suggests that many investors are reluctant to invest because the concerned government actors failed to act on the high cost of electricity, the lack of basic modern infrastructures, rampant smuggling, changing rules, declining peace and order, graft and corruption, and judicial red tape,” Seno says."

 

http://www.ucanews.com/news/philippines-labor-slump-hits-graduates-hard/70632

 

It is also being discussed in the media here that evidently the lack of a K-12 educational system is limiting even OFW income due to the fact that the rest of much of the world to include nearly all of the ASEAN nations has had it for years and Filipinos are view as having drawn the short end of the stick whereas other countries are seen to have the missing  two years but not anyone from the RP. I have heard although I wasn't here at the time either that many Thai students also used to come to the RP to study but upon arriving back in Thailand they couldn't find suitable employment because of this shortage of education. Even the quaility of nursing education is now suspect as I believe it's around a third of the applicants fail their national qualification exams. 

And yes it is a bleak picture not to be distorted though rose colored glasses when you consider the current trends blended with the doubling of the population in short order. 

"However, several studies and economic analyses point to a bleaker picture, noting weaknesses in the labour market and widespread and even growing poverty. The Philippine labour market was already in distress even before the global crisis. According to the UNDP Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific report, that in the Asian region, the Philippines is one country where strong economic growth in recent years was not associated with a decline in poverty."

Despite reports of GDP growth, pervasive poverty still exists in rural areas. Poverty still affects over a third of Filipinos. The Philippines poverty incidence is at 33% based on 2006 data. Three out of four Filipinos (73%) reside in rural areas with agriculture as their main source of income. 

Agriculture has been regarded as the bedrock of the Philippine economy, or so they say, and yet it has been neglected for the past twenty or so years. Along with construction, agriculture recorded a negative 5.8 percent growth in 2009." 

 

"The Philippines in the global economic crisis: the social and local dimensions"  A technical note for the policy coherence forum (Lourdes Kathleen Santos, March 2010)

 

And ANY culture that allows superior court cases to run on for decades without resolving the issues gives rise to the maxim "justice delayed is justice denied" which finds the faulty mindset on display in the example of the 29 year old Marcos recoupement cases: 

"Eight high-end paintings in the possession of the heirs of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos were ordered temporarily seized on Monday, September 29.

The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan issued the writ of preliminary attachment to secure a payment in case the Marcoses are declared guilty of amassing illegal wealth in relation to assets still disputed in Sandiganbayan Civil Case No 0141. It was the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) that sought for the issuance of the writ." 

 

http://www.rappler.com/nation/70511-court-seizure-marcos-paintings

 

http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2012/april2012/189434.htm

 

Strongmen are admired as much here as Putin is in Russia. The former action movie star mayor of Manila is the former president Estrada who has STILL not finished his schedule of repayment for known and proved misappropriate of millions if not billions of pesos. It goes on and on. 

"Then-President Arroyo immediately pardoned Estrada after he was convicted for plunder by the Sandiganbayan Special Division on September 12, 2007.'

 

http://www.manilatimes.net/estrada-stays-as-manila-mayor/168533/

 

"Ferdinand Marcos' corrupt activities commenced while he was a congressman and head of the import control board, which allowed him to gather large bribes in return for approving import licenses. As congressmen, Marcos soon became a millionaire largely based on his 10% cut from government deals. When Marcos became President, he acquired an epic appetite for bribery. What distinguished Ferdinand Marcos, from other Filipino corrupt politicians was the scale of his corruption. He was not bound by the "socially acceptable" norms of plunder."

 

http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/conferences/transnational/chaikin.pdf

 

Marco's son is now a powerful Senator, his daughter a provincial governor, and his former wife also serves as a congresswoman. Nobody cares it seems, hardly anyone bats an eye. Just watch telenovelas and ignore the criminality. 

 

http://www.icij.org/offshore/ferdinand-marcos-daughter-tied-offshore-trust-caribbean

 

Have to add some humor here or we'll just collapse under the weight of all these whacked (but true) sad sack facts:

 

http://www.filipiknow.net/interesting-facts-about-imelda-marcos/

[afathertobe]

My view is that the Philippines has to copy the economic strategies of Thailand in the 90s; it needs FDI in manufacturing to first and foremost be able to produce its own basic industrial goods and later perhaps export it. That the Phils has to import basic motorbikes in a nation of 100M is ridiculous. I am aware of ASEAN free trade rules, but they have to change their industrial (and investment) policies asap given their population growth and employment problems. 

[cebuseminole]

I can remember when almost every EXPERTsaid that the RP would one day equal Japan's economy. Truth is the country has for years and continues to trend downward in practically every facet.--Too bad the trillions of US dollars have been for naught. Look at war ravaged South Korea-heck-look at every other Asian country.

I have always been a "glass-half full" type person. IMO after 5 years here as far as concerns this country,it's a "glass more than half empty" I came prepared for the long haul(I/we thought)built a beautiful home, that is less than 2 years old, and we are chucking it.

Edited March 11, 2015 by cebuseminole

[frosty (chris)]

I would be very surprised if the PI even becomes a 2nd world country in 50 years with all the problems they have. It won't matter what politician is in power, like all of them they talk a lot but say nothing. This country really needs some sort of plan to rid itself of rampant corruption at nearly every level of government, needs a good 10-15 year infrastructure roll-out and the most important thing needs to get an education system in place that actually teaches properly. To me the people here are too inwardly looking, there is no big picture outlook and I suppose when you are poor all you are worried about is how you can feed you ever growing family. You only have to look 40-50 odd years ago to countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore and to a lesser extent Vietnam, they have all come ahead in leaps and bounds and the PI has ........................................?

[i am bob]

Wow! The world has gone to hell and the Philippines is leading the charge! I'm so glad that the economists amongst us are presenting the facts...

Seriously, folks, there is a lot of new employment going on in this country... New businesses opening up, others relocating as well! Which means jobs in construction... Jobs in administration... White collar, blue collar... Not to mention the spinoff effect on supply, housing, retail and so on! Nobody has seen this?

Yes, there is still corruption in some government offices but nothing like it was a few years back... And nothing like it is in some so-called corruption free western countries! But we don't talk about that because we may be taking about our own family members or even possibly ourselves! No way our own governments would ever be corrupt, could they? Hmmm....

Sorry about the rant but I get so tired of hearing stories repeated that originated in a different time that consists of nothing but negative information yet not a word of how things are improving... Sure there is bad but there's also a lot of good happening out there!! Y'all gotta stop listening to these Survivalist radio shows after midnight!!! Or is it just all the expat whining from the seats at the bottom of the escalator? It's not all roses out there but somebody surly must have seen something sitting improvement that isn't buried under 20 tons of manure? Sure, it's a slow process to change and improve a country but it takes time to do something right! It's not something you can just slap together unless you have All the people behind you! There's a reason the Philippine economy is rated so high lately... Yes, there are still problems we can talk about with the Philippines... But can't we also recognize where things are getting better?

These are not figures pulled out of a hat they are real and opressive. 

"As of January, the Philippines unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent, up from 6.5 percent in the previous period and 7.1 percent a year ago. The figures translate to about 2.96 million unemployed people."

"Of that total, 15-to-24-year-olds comprise 48.2 percent, while those between 25 and 34 comprise 29.9 percent, meaning most new graduates end up unemployed. About 20 percent of the unemployed are college graduates, 13.3 percent are college undergraduates and 34 percent are high school graduates."

Further, 

"Gerard Seno, executive vice president of the Associated Labor Unions, blames the "ineffective implementation" of job generating programs, specifically for the manufacturing and agriculture sector, as one of the major causes of unemployment.

“It suggests that many investors are reluctant to invest because the concerned government actors failed to act on the high cost of electricity, the lack of basic modern infrastructures, rampant smuggling, changing rules, declining peace and order, graft and corruption, and judicial red tape,” Seno says."

 

http://www.ucanews.com/news/philippines-labor-slump-hits-graduates-hard/70632

 

It is also being discussed in the media here that evidently the lack of a K-12 educational system is limiting even OFW income due to the fact that the rest of much of the world to include nearly all of the ASEAN nations has had it for years and Filipinos are view as having drawn the short end of the stick whereas other countries are seen to have the missing  two years but not anyone from the RP. I have heard although I wasn't here at the time either that many Thai students also used to come to the RP to study but upon arriving back in Thailand they couldn't find suitable employment because of this shortage of education. Even the quaility of nursing education is now suspect as I believe it's around a third of the applicants fail their national qualification exams. 

And yes it is a bleak picture not to be distorted though rose colored glasses when you consider the current trends blended with the doubling of the population in short order. 

"However, several studies and economic analyses point to a bleaker picture, noting weaknesses in the labour market and widespread and even growing poverty. The Philippine labour market was already in distress even before the global crisis. According to the UNDP Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific report, that in the Asian region, the Philippines is one country where strong economic growth in recent years was not associated with a decline in poverty."

Despite reports of GDP growth, pervasive poverty still exists in rural areas. Poverty still affects over a third of Filipinos. The Philippines poverty incidence is at 33% based on 2006 data. Three out of four Filipinos (73%) reside in rural areas with agriculture as their main source of income. 

Agriculture has been regarded as the bedrock of the Philippine economy, or so they say, and yet it has been neglected for the past twenty or so years. Along with construction, agriculture recorded a negative 5.8 percent growth in 2009." 

 

"The Philippines in the global economic crisis: the social and local dimensions"  A technical note for the policy coherence forum (Lourdes Kathleen Santos, March 2010)

 

And ANY culture that allows superior court cases to run on for decades without resolving the issues gives rise to the maxim "justice delayed is justice denied" which finds the faulty mindset on display in the example of the 29 year old Marcos recoupement cases: 

"Eight high-end paintings in the possession of the heirs of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos were ordered temporarily seized on Monday, September 29.

The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan issued the writ of preliminary attachment to secure a payment in case the Marcoses are declared guilty of amassing illegal wealth in relation to assets still disputed in Sandiganbayan Civil Case No 0141. It was the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) that sought for the issuance of the writ." 

 

http://www.rappler.com/nation/70511-court-seizure-marcos-paintings

 

http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2012/april2012/189434.htm

 

Strongmen are admired as much here as Putin is in Russia. The former action movie star mayor of Manila is the former president Estrada who has STILL not finished his schedule of repayment for known and proved misappropriate of millions if not billions of pesos. It goes on and on. 

"Then-President Arroyo immediately pardoned Estrada after he was convicted for plunder by the Sandiganbayan Special Division on September 12, 2007.'

 

http://www.manilatimes.net/estrada-stays-as-manila-mayor/168533/

 

"Ferdinand Marcos' corrupt activities commenced while he was a congressman and head of the import control board, which allowed him to gather large bribes in return for approving import licenses. As congressmen, Marcos soon became a millionaire largely based on his 10% cut from government deals. When Marcos became President, he acquired an epic appetite for bribery. What distinguished Ferdinand Marcos, from other Filipino corrupt politicians was the scale of his corruption. He was not bound by the "socially acceptable" norms of plunder."

 

http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/conferences/transnational/chaikin.pdf

 

Marco's son is now a powerful Senator, his daughter a provincial governor, and his former wife also serves as a congresswoman. Nobody cares it seems, hardly anyone bats an eye. Just watch telenovelas and ignore the criminality. 

 

http://www.icij.org/offshore/ferdinand-marcos-daughter-tied-offshore-trust-caribbean

 

Have to add some humor here or we'll just collapse under the weight of all these whacked (but true) sad sack facts:

 

http://www.filipiknow.net/interesting-facts-about-imelda-marcos/

The unemployment rate you quoted for the 4th quarter of 2014 from the newspaper is partially correct... According to the National Statistics Office, this number is correct by excluding the numbers from Leyte. If the numbers available from Leyte were used, once again the rate would be more than 7%.

You go on about corruption on government yet you use references to events mostly from 2005 and before. Things have changed in the last 10 years! Sure, some government personnel and politicians are still trying to steal from the people but many are now being held accountable as seen through the Pork Barrel scandal and other similar events. Even the Vice President is being queried about his overpriced building in Makati... The newspaper did a good job if telling us that the Marco's haven't followed through on their court orders. But it also neglected to say what the courts are doing about it... In other words, half the story. What about education? No Grade 12? Look again! Yes, this is a recent change but it did happen so it's now a moot point. As for the percentage of those who pass their licensing exams? I wonder how many university students in the west would pass both their university course and then a licensing exam... After all, universities are also known for their pass rate but using a bell curve... It doesn't mean the students know their profession any better! What the LTO exam shows is that those who pass this test know the true knowledge required for their profession.

My whole point is not that the Philippines is not a perfect world but that it is getting better compared to their past... To hold the past against them while no longer a valid argument - or even while being changed - does an injustice to the the Philippines and those who are working hard to make it better!