We beg to differ.
The grand-daddy of our culture-as-root-cause thesis, the late great Teddy Benigno, in his classic 2002 Star article Why investors avoid us: The trust factor highlighted what, at the time, was a very conservative forecast regarding China’s fortunes made in a Nomura Research Institute (NRI) study that foresaw a China that could “burgeon into the world’s…
Read More “Without operational excellence, capital is squandered” »
A visitor to GetRealPhilippines.com sent a letter by email dated 31 October 2005 that, in a nutshell, best describes the whole problem with our society’s regard for the youth. Here is an excerpt: we filipinos are so hypocrete. we live on lies and half truth. when I was a kid (am now 40 [years old])…
Read More “The Filipino Youth: where lies hope for a better Philippines in the future” »
President Noynoy Aquino (PNoy) will be giving his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) soon. Like his first SONA, his speech will most likely be full of motherhood statements similar to all the previous speeches he had delivered since he announced his plans to run for the Presidency in 2009. There is very little…
Read More “President Noynoy Aquino’s Second State of the Nation Address (SONA)” »
In the last couple of months, tension between China and the Philippines around claims of sovereignty over the Spratly Islands have escalated, punctuated most recently by the deployment of the Philippine Navy warship BRP Rajah Humabon which sailed on a “patrol” mission to the Scarborough Shoal off Zambales. The Armed Forces of the Philippines as…
Read More “Should the Philippines increase military spending and prepare for war?” »
As we approach the end of the fiscal year under the administration of a man who, during his campaign, trumpeted his envisioned role as President as one of being a “fiscalizer,” the time to take stock of what has been achieved or, at least, what groundwork had been lain over the last 12 months is…
Read More “What the context of the next State of the Nation Address (SONA) should be” »
Who really wins a game, the star player or the team? Our star players — doctors, IT professionals, artists — are leaving in droves for a better life with the winning teams because they are tired of propping up (being heroes for) what essentially is the losing team. Lea Salonga, for example, is an achiever….
Read More “What it means to be truly proud to be Filipino” »
The Filipino mind is Philippine society’s greatest enemy. If you read Philippine publications, watch local talk shows on TV or even just peruse other popular collective Filipino blogsites, you can pretty much tell what the national preoccupation is about. The national preoccupation is centered on the Filipino ego. To be specific, it’s all about who…
There is a big difference between being a mere cheerleader and being a true leader. Cheerleaders are able to whip up emotional fervor and lure people into spectacular but short bursts of mindless emotionally-fueled stampedes. Real leaders, on the other hand are able to sustain commitment by providing a solid foundation of substance underlying the…