We beg to differ.
Indeed, the Chinese know how thing “work” in the Philippines. They have, after all, been prominent figures in Philippine industry since the Middle Ages. They know enough to fly above the radars of the natives and deal directly with the powers-that-be. That strategy of knowing and dealing with the right people continues to this day….
Read More “China knows how things “work” in the Philippines” »
The seeming aversion of Filipinos to large-scale infrastructure projects — the sorts needed to achieve the vast economies of scale needed to compete in the global market likely stems from the Filipinos’ heritage of smallness. This prescient snippet quoted from Nick Joaquin’s seminal piece describes the underlying character of Philippine culture that is at the…
Read More “Filipinos need to get better at killing in order to prosper” »
To be fair to the Philippine Opposition led by the Liberal Party (a.k.a. the Yellowtards), a strategic vision for the Philippines hinged on building infrastructure is counterintuitive to the average Filipino mind. This is because Filipinos do not have a strong historic tradition of building stuff. Indeed, much of the really large historical civil works…
After all, many Filipinos regret demanding — and gaining — independence from the United States back in 1946. Now they live with the reality that had eventuated from the prescience of the late Manuel L. Quezon, first President of the Philippine Commonwealth when he said: “I would rather have a Philippines run like hell by…
Read More “What’s wrong with being a “Province of China”?” »
It has become a social disease at a national scale. Self-righteous cliques within the Philippines’ chattering classes have turned piety selfies into the latest fad. Thanks to the recent critical statements Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had made against the powerful Roman Catholic Church, this has been observed most markedly amongst the “thought leaders” of the…
The latest brouhaha surrounding the diplomatic row with Kuwait that erupted following the going “viral” of a video of a “rescue operation” instigated by Filipino diplomatic personnel there has attracted much debate. The “discussion” surrounding this circus focuses on the minutiae of the debacle the Philippine government finds itself in in the immediate aftermath. What…
Read More “Do Filipinos want to continue to be known as the world’s servants?” »
Consider the vastness of the money-making machine that the Philippine Roman Catholic Church is. None of its activities including those that are financially profitable are currently taxed by the Philippine government. Catholic education alone, for example, is an expensive premium service that even the wealthiest of Filipinos clamber over one another to partake of. Yet…
It’s no secret that having fair skin in the Philippines translates to upward social mobility. If we consider for a moment that the skin colours that dominate Philippine entertainment may be good indicators of the sorts of folks Filipinos look up to and even worship, it is fair to conclude that this remains true today….