We beg to differ.
I try as hard as possible to play by the rules once I’m out of the house. I get in line, use the pedestrian lane, the overpass, use the proper loading and unloading zones, keep right in the escalator and sidewalks to make way for those people behind who may be in a hurry, always…
The question of what is wrong with the Philippines has baffled both Filipinos and foreigners alike. Some say that corruption and incompetence in government is the root of the problem. Others say that the voters who keep voting for corrupt and incompetent politicians are to blame. Either way, the real reason the country has not…
Any Filipino leader comparing oneself to Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew should just stop. And not just out of respect for the deceased. In 2010, a certain group of businessmen, the Anvil Business Club claimed current Philippine president Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino is like Lee in the sense that they are both incorruptible. That hasn’t turned…
Read More “Comparing Singapore and the Philippines? Why bother?” »
The death of Singapore elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) is notable for its timing from the perspective of the coming 2016 presidential elections in the Philippines. It mirrors a similar timeframe that served as a context for the death of former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino in August 2009, almost exactly a year before the…
Rest in peace Mr Lee Kuan Yew. LKY represents everything latter-day Filipino politicians are not. He had a vision for Singapore and the courage to break ground where lesser folk beholden to the popular sentiment feared to tread. The country LKY built is a stark in-your-face reminder that just about every “contributing factor” Filipinos, their…
Read More “Lee Kuan Yew and the Singapore he built is proof that the Philippines did it all wrong” »
So while the French are stuck with 5 million Muslims, Singaporeans are stuck with almost 200,000 Filipinos. France, of course, has bigger problems. The Muslim population there is proportionately bigger at 7.5 percent of the population. Filipinos “guests” in Singapore, on the other hand, make up less than 4 percent. Many French Muslims are citizens….
Read More “Facebook etiquette fail: Are Singaporeans getting fed up with Filipino guest workers?” »
We take it for granted that material and accounts that provide priceless outsiders’ perspectives on the Philippines are so readily available for all to learn from but forget (1) how books are prohibitively expensive to most Filipinos and (2) how most Filipinos lack any inclination to read books to begin with. So it is worth…
Filipinos are infamous for their short attention spans and stunted mental faculties. As a form of entertainment, many Filipinos rely on television. However mass media giants use this medium, whether to educate the population or turn them into mindless, loyal, zombies, its power cannot be underestimated. If they do decide to show nothing but dancing…
Read More “Da Pilipino way: showbiz and government are inseparable” »