Philippines Discussion Thread

[Asigna]

Philippines will never be the regional power she was in the 70's. I don't think a economic reform will happen in the Philippines for another 20 years.

You are so pessimistic. We do not need people with attitudes like you. If you look at us today, we are no longer sick man of Asia due to our economic growth, but what more if we concentrate in industrializing ourselves by producing more electronics, hasten our agriculture of use the ways of Singapore?

Indonesia is nothing compared to Singapore...Singapore, the meager island has become an economic power of our time.

Economic reforms won't happen? That will depend on which kind of leaders go to us through the centuries. You tend to generalize Philippine politics to be all incompetent. Generalizations are bad enough. There are certain people in country who might be potential leaders for our nation so it will become great again. This is just an assumption. I need not to elaborate but it is a hopeful assumption.

[The Republic of Pantalleria]

Indeed, and besides we are currently the second fastest growing economy in the continent, we have been placed by the World Bank as the 16th largest economy in the world by 2050 at the rate we're going. Therefore we have every reason to be optimistic until 2016 that is.

[Connori Pilgrims]

1.) the economic growth that everyone is touting and praising is mainly in BPOs, remittances and real-estate. Industrial output has yet to significantly improve outside electronics (and even then its sub-components, not final assembly, so little value added).

2.) as several news sources and the government itself have pointed out; this economic growth has not translated to either increased jobs or poverty reduction. Thus we are no closer to solving any of our major social ills than when the new Aquino president started.

Economic growth is good, but it has to be actually usable growth that improves the country as a whole, not the pockets of the Lopezes and Sys and their ilk.

Neither complete pessimism nor naive optimism is fitting here; what is needed is ever more caution and ever more redoubled effort to improve the Philippine nation.

Unfortunately, save for a very few determined souls in government and out of government, everyone else seems deadly determined to keep going business as usual... doesn't help that come 2016 the accursed Maligno seems fated to win the highest office of the land since there are so many stupid, stupid people...

We have 2 years to stop this... whether anyone can is of course the big unknown.

[The Republic of Pantalleria]

1.) the economic growth that everyone is touting and praising is mainly in BPOs, remittances and real-estate. Industrial output has yet to significantly improve outside electronics (and even then its sub-components, not final assembly, so little value added).

2.) as several news sources and the government itself have pointed out; this economic growth has not translated to either increased jobs or poverty reduction. Thus we are no closer to solving any of our major social ills than when the new Aquino president started.

Economic growth is good, but it has to be actually usable growth that improves the country as a whole, not the pockets of the Lopezes and Sys and their ilk.

Neither complete pessimism nor naive optimism is fitting here; what is needed is ever more caution and ever more redoubled effort to improve the Philippine nation.

Unfortunately, save for a very few determined souls in government and out of government, everyone else seems deadly determined to keep going business as usual... doesn't help that come 2016 the accursed Maligno seems fated to win the highest office of the land since there are so many stupid, stupid people...

We have 2 years to stop this... whether anyone can is of course the big unknown.

First of all number 1, you forgot about tourism and the fact that we're still trying to industrialize, 12 years being ruled by corrupt idiots can't be fixed in just 4. secondly, I'm actually glad that unemployment hasn't gone down that much yet, because that means that the growth that we have right now can be maintained in the long run due to the fact that more and more people will be employed and the value of their employment will also decrease, again 12 years under two idiots can't be completely fixed by one. We should be more optimistic rather than pessimistic because we're changing for the better, and the World knows it. The question is, do we know it?

[Asigna]

Ang problema dito is that our country experiences high economic growth, it had very little economic development. Where does all the money go? Last week we, Zamboanga city were promised "normalized electricity levels" but we got 9 hours blackout per day. Even though we don't have blackouts, we still have to pay. This is proof of the corruption that has to be purged if not by justice, but with brutal force.

[Nationalist Eminral Republic]

Ang problema dito is that our country experiences high economic growth, it had very little economic development. Where does all the money go? Last week we, Zamboanga city were promised "normalized electricity levels" but we got 9 hours blackout per day. Even though we don't have blackouts, we still have to pay. This is proof of the corruption that has to be purged if not by justice, but with brutal force.

That's what happens when you let the private sector take over services that shouldn't be for profit. Areas like energy should be nationalized, or if its privatized the government should put tight regulations. I think the government still hasn't realized that throwing money at the problem, like the power crisis in Mindanao, will not solve anything. They should actively be involved and cooperate with energy companies there.

[The Republic of Pantalleria]

Ang problema dito is that our country experiences high economic growth, it had very little economic development. Where does all the money go? Last week we, Zamboanga city were promised "normalized electricity levels" but we got 9 hours blackout per day. Even though we don't have blackouts, we still have to pay. This is proof of the corruption that has to be purged if not by justice, but with brutal force.

That's what happens when you let the private sector take over services that shouldn't be for profit. Areas like energy should be nationalized, or if its privatized the government should put tight regulations. I think the government still hasn't realized that throwing money at the problem, like the power crisis in Mindanao, will not solve anything. They should actively be involved and cooperate with energy companies there.

To some degree, I must agree. It is supposed to be the responsibility of the national government to provide its citizens with services that are fairly priced and absolutely reliable... Unfortunately though we can't just nationalize willy nilly or else we'll end up like Egypt...

[Nationalist Eminral Republic]

That's what happens when you let the private sector take over services that shouldn't be for profit. Areas like energy should be nationalized, or if its privatized the government should put tight regulations. I think the government still hasn't realized that throwing money at the problem, like the power crisis in Mindanao, will not solve anything. They should actively be involved and cooperate with energy companies there.

To some degree, I must agree. It is supposed to be the responsibility of the national government to provide its citizens with services that are fairly priced and absolutely reliable... Unfortunately though we can't just nationalize willy nilly or else we'll end up like Egypt...

Start with regulations. The problem is when the government can't fix shit they themselves made, they privatize it.

[The Republic of Pantalleria]

To some degree, I must agree. It is supposed to be the responsibility of the national government to provide its citizens with services that are fairly priced and absolutely reliable... Unfortunately though we can't just nationalize willy nilly or else we'll end up like Egypt...

Start with regulations. The problem is when the government can't fix shit they themselves made, they privatize it.

I guess that's sort of true...
Anyway, what on Earth is this?

Seriously I wish that doctors were at least 50% rich in the way this ad is making them to be... (even though only 15-18% are in real life)

[Nationalist Eminral Republic]

Start with regulations. The problem is when the government can't fix shit they themselves made, they privatize it.

I guess that's sort of true...
Anyway, what on Earth is this?

Seriously I wish that doctors were at least 50% rich in the way this ad is making them to be... (even though only 15-18% are in real life)

I think doctors like her and others of tax-paying citizens will have no problem paying with taxes as long as they can see where it goes. But we can't. We need to cut back our tax rate if that's the case (which Sen. Angara is pushing right now). But what confuses the hell out of me is that the rest of the people foot the bill while Philippines' richest guys are not in the top taxpayers' list.

Anyway, we've got two guys for the 2016 election (Binay, Alan Cayetano). Oh God anyone but Binay.

[Neo Philippine Empire]

We don't want all the Spratlys...

Ohhh... That is the first time I heard it from a Filipino

Indeed, and besides we are currently the second fastest growing economy in the continent, we have been placed by the World Bank as the 16th largest economy in the world by 2050 at the rate we're going. Therefore we have every reason to be optimistic until 2016 that is.

That is very unbelievable of course, just because we have a "just fine" president here in the Philippines doesn't mean the next leaders are going to be better.

[The Republic of Pantalleria]

We don't want all the Spratlys...

Ohhh... That is the first time I heard it from a Filipino

Indeed, and besides we are currently the second fastest growing economy in the continent, we have been placed by the World Bank as the 16th largest economy in the world by 2050 at the rate we're going. Therefore we have every reason to be optimistic until 2016 that is.

That is very unbelievable of course, just because we have a "just fine" president here in the Philippines doesn't mean the next leaders are going to be better.

Why can't he just run for reelection I mean, FDR ran for President 4 times and he's the best President America has ever had...

[Connori Pilgrims]

Ohhh... That is the first time I heard it from a Filipino

That is very unbelievable of course, just because we have a "just fine" president here in the Philippines doesn't mean the next leaders are going to be better.

Why can't he just run for reelection I mean, FDR ran for President 4 times and he's the best President America has ever had...

Constitutional limitation; president of the Philippines can only have one term; no reelection for consecutive terms.

A reactionary measure with good intentions (i.e. prevent another Marcos) but instead has winded up causing a different kind of harm (a good president can only do good for 6 years; a bad president is incentivized to maximize plunder within their limited time - Erap and GMA being noteworthy examples)

[Luziyca]

The Philippines are beautiful, but I am attracted to Ferdinand Marcos.

[Nationalist Eminral Republic]

Ohhh... That is the first time I heard it from a Filipino

That is very unbelievable of course, just because we have a "just fine" president here in the Philippines doesn't mean the next leaders are going to be better.

Why can't he just run for reelection I mean, FDR ran for President 4 times and he's the best President America has ever had...

Maybe we can just do what we've always done and vote for the lesser devils.

[Connori Pilgrims]

Why can't he just run for reelection I mean, FDR ran for President 4 times and he's the best President America has ever had...

Maybe we can just do what we've always done and vote for the lesser devils.

Not necessarily singling you out, but this kind of mentality is precisely why nothing good will ever happen to the Philippines. If it isn't "lets try to rally around lesser evils" its "rally around whoever can pay me more come election time".

The sooner the people get fed up with these shit options and actually risk themselves for something, the better off this country will be.

[Aleckandor]

How are things in the homeland of my biological progenitors? Hopefully, the typhoon didn't affect you guys much. Me and my family have been sending money back home and we're still trying to find out if those relatives of ours still in rural Mindanao are okay...

The Philippines are beautiful, but I am attracted to Ferdinand Marcos.

My parents lived under the Marcos Administration for the majority of their youth spent in the PH before immigrating to North America (and then conceiving me). They say that for all of his twisted schemes to forcefully curb opposition, corrupt those around him, and pocket the cash for himself, he had at least made the islands just a little more decent to live on than before, having actually not wasted all of the money that came his way to build schools, hospitals, roads, the like.

I share some of that sentiment, but his family is probably the most toxic I've ever heard of. A hundredfold more worse than the Mindanao 'Zamora' Clan my maternal grandmother came from (they obtained local financial and political power through the threat of their connections with the Hukbalahap after WWII, which grandmother wasn't at all fond of).

[The Republic of Pantalleria]

How are things in the homeland of my biological progenitors? Hopefully, the typhoon didn't affect you guys much. Me and my family have been sending money back home and we're still trying to find out if those relatives of ours still in rural Mindanao are okay...

The Philippines are beautiful, but I am attracted to Ferdinand Marcos.

My parents lived under the Marcos Administration for the majority of their youth spent in the PH before immigrating to North America (and then conceiving me). They say that for all of his twisted schemes to forcefully curb opposition, corrupt those around him, and pocket the cash for himself, he had at least made the islands just a little more decent to live on than before, having actually not wasted all of the money that came his way to build schools, hospitals, roads, the like.

I share some of that sentiment, but his family is probably the most toxic I've ever heard of. A hundredfold more worse than the Mindanao 'Zamora' Clan my maternal grandmother came from (they obtained local financial and political power through the threat of their connections with the Hukbalahap after WWII, which grandmother wasn't at all fond of).

A little bit? Better? Marcos? Have you seen the economy and the communist party under his control? I'll tell you this, one of them significantly decreased and the other significantly increased.
Keep in mind that the Philippines was the second fastest growing economy in all of Asia (second to Japan)

[Nationalist Eminral Republic]

Maybe we can just do what we've always done and vote for the lesser devils.

Not necessarily singling you out, but this kind of mentality is precisely why nothing good will ever happen to the Philippines. If it isn't "lets try to rally around lesser evils" its "rally around whoever can pay me more come election time".

The sooner the people get fed up with these shit options and actually risk themselves for something, the better off this country will be.

Well if there's no one decent to run in the elections, then what else can you do? Good thing we now have the power to pursue someone to run for presidency.

[Asigna]

Well if there's no one decent to run in the elections, then what else can you do? Good thing we now have the power to pursue someone to run for presidency.

If ever Miriam Defensor or Rodigro Duterte ran for president, who would you choose?

[Nationalist Eminral Republic]

Well if there's no one decent to run in the elections, then what else can you do? Good thing we now have the power to pursue someone to run for presidency.

If ever Miriam Defensor or Rodigro Duterte ran for president, who would you choose?

Miriam Defensor, just because I think she has more knowledge about policies than Duterte.

[Asigna]

Miriam Defensor, just because I think she has more knowledge about policies than Duterte.

Duterte could fittingly head some paramilitary gang across the country to maintain true order in his won effective way, no matter how much the cost of morals. Defensor, i could already imagine the woman rebuking nations with her diplomatically aggressive foreign policy.

But sadly, the woman won't run for president.

[The Scientific States]

The Philippines seems like a nice country. The people are extremely friendly from what I hear, the economy is growing, and it's pretty. Also, the culture is awesome.

[Asigna]

The Philippines seems like a nice country. The people are extremely friendly from what I hear, the economy is growing, and it's pretty. Also, the culture is awesome.

It's not enough. We still don't have the nationalistic pride in our politics making other neighboring nations think we are an incompetent country that can easily be manipulated and punished if we don't comply with them, notoriously China and Hongkong.

[Nationalist Eminral Republic]

Miriam Defensor, just because I think she has more knowledge about policies than Duterte.

Duterte could fittingly head some paramilitary gang across the country to maintain true order in his won effective way, no matter how much the cost of morals. Defensor, i could already imagine the woman rebuking nations with her diplomatically aggressive foreign policy.

But sadly, the woman won't run for president.

We shouldn't close that possibility. Anything might happen.