Philippines education standards today

[Jack Peterson]

A Little smiley light hearted ditty about kids and learning;

  

[Terry P]

4 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Yep, I was a little surprised at the relatively high tax rates here, including personal, corporate and sales. 

Reasons to come here - cheap labour to an extent; government subsidies; the ease at which the tax burden can be reduced for large companies; relatively inexpensive land and buildings (location dependant) and so on.   The place hasn't been a magnet for foreign investment until now so who knows what has attracted Dyson.  Duterte has stated many times he wants to make it easier for foreign companies to set up here - maybe this is bearing fruit now?

Foreigners from highly developed places won't relocate here for significantly lower salaries - there are few selling points for foreigners living here (let's not get into that though) so one can only assume they are coming from other places where salaries are also  relatively low.  China, India, Thailand, Latin America and so on.

Who knows? 

 

I certainly hope you are right HK 

Could do with a few success stories after all the doom and gloom posted lately

[Gandang Smile]

4 hours ago, hk blues said:

Yep, I was a little surprised at the relatively high tax rates here, including personal, corporate and sales. 

Reasons to come here - cheap labour to an extent; government subsidies; the ease at which the tax burden can be reduced for large companies; relatively inexpensive land and buildings (location dependant) and so on.   The place hasn't been a magnet for foreign investment until now so who knows what has attracted Dyson.  Duterte has stated many times he wants to make it easier for foreign companies to set up here - maybe this is bearing fruit now?

Foreigners from highly developed places won't relocate here for significantly lower salaries - there are few selling points for foreigners living here (let's not get into that though) so one can only assume they are coming from other places where salaries are also  relatively low.  China, India, Thailand, Latin America and so on.

Who knows? 

All the directors, country managers and CEO of multinationals, even BPOs, have generous packages here including 200 sqm condos in Makati or BGC. They are seconded here and sometimes companies have to convince them by giving them every possible perk including private schools for their kids.

Then there are rare bubbles like the Asian Development Bank, or USAID, which pay international-standard salaries which are even tax-free! I know a few people who work for ADB and make $200K USD a year. Tax-free, in Manila...just imagine how comfortable they are!

In fact, ADB knows it so well that they have a policy that forbids international staff to buy property within 50km radius from ADB (the Manila city centre), because they know that, with that kind of money, the temptation to cash in and build a small estate empire is very high.

[Gandang Smile]

5 hours ago, TerryP said:

Philippines for one I presume. 

Setting up an R&D facility and already having a sizeable manufacturing plant

Who knows other things might be in the mix

Well, until Duterte decides to phase it out, the Philippines still has the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) system, where companies pay no corporate tax, no VAT and no custom tax on imports and international purchases, for a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 5.

Plus, PEZA company owners get a free entrepreneur visa, which is what I had when I came here in 2015.

[Terry P]

3 minutes ago, Gandang Smile said:

Well, until Duterte decides to phase it out, the Philippines still has the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) system, where companies pay no corporate tax, no VAT and no custom tax on imports and international purchases, for a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 5.

Plus, PEZA company owners get a free entrepreneur visa, which is what I had when I came here in 2015.

HK had already qualified the point for me on corporation tax in an earlier post although differing slightly from your qualification

However thank you for your contribution fascinating how things can be interpreted in different ways

[Gandang Smile]

3 minutes ago, TerryP said:

HK had already qualified the point for me on corporation tax in an earlier post although differing slightly from your qualification

However thank you for your contribution fascinating how things can be interpreted in different ways

I know this very well because I spent months doing my homework before coming here in 2015. On paper, PEZA looked an amazing opportunity, and the only one of this kind available in SEA. When I came here I did get, say, 50% of the benefits of PEZA confirmed.

What I was over-optimistic about was how hard it would be to find clients here, without spending a small fortune travelling to Singapore, HK or Sydney to shake hands with them. Manila is not exactly a "vantage point". I found myself without a decent sales machinery and that was the downfall of my company, 2.5 years later.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Gandang Smile

[Terry P]

4 minutes ago, Gandang Smile said:

I know this very well because I spent months doing my homework before coming here in 2015. On paper, PEZA looked an amazing opportunity, and the only one of this kind available in SEA. When I came here I did get, say, 50% of the benefits of PEZA confirmed.

What I was over-optimistic about was how hard it would be to find clients here, without spending a small fortune travelling to Singapore, HK or Sydney to shake hands with them. Manila is not exactly a "vantage point". I found myself without a decent sales machinery and that was the downfall of my company, 2.5 years later.

If you are struggling having done all your research before arrival and obviously having a worldwide network of business contacts that indicates to me how driven the locals are here to achieve any form of success. To me they are to be admired

[Gandang Smile]

7 minutes ago, TerryP said:

If you are struggling having done all your research before arrival and obviously having a worldwide network of business contacts that indicates to me how driven the locals are here to achieve any form of success. To me they are to be admired

I struggled because I realised that PEZA was a "best fit solution" for large companies that have:

• big upfront contracts where they know they will have a, perhaps low, but predictable revenue/profit for at least the duration of the programme (3 years)
• large investment in equipment (e.g. PCs and comms equipment, industrial machinery, furniture, etc.)

Perfect fit for a BPO or a manufacturing plant, but not so good for a software company that has to battle tooth and nail for 6-month projects worth 150/200K USD a piece, in the best case.

If all has to be told, I was also let down by a few partners and clients in London, one whom subsequently turned around and has hired me on an individual basis, and 2 whose promises or help never materialized.

Don't want to bother further with "too much data"...

And yes, starting a business is even harder for locals than it is for well-connected scion of top families. So many times I heard "I started to work at this bank" or "I am director of this company because the owner is my ninong/ninang" (godfather/godmother). All the connections that cannot be made by blood, they are made by having these peoples' blessing. Duterte is said to have 100s of godchildren in Davao, including a few people I know.

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by Gandang Smile

[Terry P]

6 minutes ago, Gandang Smile said:

I struggled because I realised that PEZA was a "best fit solution" for large companies that have:

• big upfront contracts where they know they will have a, perhaps low, but predictable revenue/profit for at least the duration of the programme (3 years)
• large investment in equipment (e.g. PCs and comms equipment, industrial machinery, furniture, etc.)

Perfect fit for a BPO or a manufacturing plant, but not so good for a software company that has to battle tooth and nail for 6-month projects worth 150/200K USD a piece, in the best case.

If all has to be told, I was also let down by a few partners and clients in London, one whom subsequently turned around and has hired me on an individual basis, and 2 whose promises or help never materialized.

Don't want to bother further with "too much data"...

And yes, starting a business is even harder for locals than it is for well-connected scion of top families. So many times I heard "I started to work at this bank" or "I am director of this company because the owner is my ninong/ninang" (godfather/godmother). All the connections that cannot be made by blood, they are made by having these peoples' blessing. Duterte is said to have 100s of godchildren in Davao, including a few people I know.

 

I see your dilemma and wish you luck in your future endeavours

Back to the topic subject

It's established that without privelige or a healthy bank balance at least it is difficult for children to get a decent education

With what has been revealed about the difficulty of establishing a business of any consequence without the necessary connections

Is it any wonder so many fall by the wayside?

 

 

[Gandang Smile]

31 minutes ago, TerryP said:

I see your dilemma and wish you luck in your future endeavours

Back to the topic subject

It's established that without privelige or a healthy bank balance at least it is difficult for children to get a decent education

With what has been revealed about the difficulty of establishing a business of any consequence without the necessary connections

Is it any wonder so many fall by the wayside?

Putting everybody's views together, I think we can conclude that, when it comes to local kids (not foreigners' kids) having quality education:

• quality education that is less competitive to access and relatively hassle-free is provided by the 10% private boarding schools and colleges: the usual Ateneos, De La Salle, and established (> 50 years in operation) private institutions
• quality education that is free for all but more competitive and harder to handle is provided by the University of the Philippines or the Institute of Technology franchises, usually in all tier-1 and some tier-2 cities
• free quality education is not that affordable anymore, once learning materials and logistics are factored in - this effectively means kids who are poor but bright are privileged if they happen to live in a big city or at close distance to a Pisay/UP campus.

Having said that, I did hear a few stories about kids who move in with their uncles or even family friends in a large citites, so they can have lodging and food as well as easier access to their college campus. It's not that uncommon.

In the end, Terry et al., the old adage holds...if there's a will, there's a way.

What I tend to criticise is the culture of laziness and mediocrity that seems to propagate from the adults of the family to the children. Alas, this is something that exists in every country, not just the Philippines.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Gandang Smile