We beg to differ.
The trouble with the Philippines’ political discourse today is that it is hopelessly partisan. As a result, there is no energy channeled into mapping a way forward for the Philippines. Instead, much of the talk is around discrediting one other. Whilst there is a small niche within the social media chatter that appreciates and rewards…
Overheard on my Twitter timeline: Filipinos are an “angry” people. As such, the landscape of political chatter is fertile ground for the Opposition (specifically the cancer within it, the Yellowtard clique) to mount one distraction campaign after another. Whilst reputable thought leaders tackle the hard-hitting issues — like the drug menace, public transport, public health…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent State of the Nation Address brought to the public’s attention the leaders of protest rallies in the country. A lot of people have noticed that some of those who organise rallies against incumbent Presidents have been the same people doing it for decades. Members of the public are simply tired…
Read More “Organisers of street protests in the Philippines viewed as freeloaders and moochers” »
How can we “help the poor”? It depends on one’s definition of “helping”. At its worst, “helping the poor” is seen by many as simply dropping a few coins in the poor box at church or donating stuff to a charity. The poor, in this regard, are seen as charity cases, and this has come…
Read More “The poor should be considered equal participants in the economy, not ‘victims’ of it” »
To Filipinos, rich people are “evil” and a life focused on the acquisition of money is a life to be ashamed of. And so there really is no reason to continue wondering why Filipinos remain an impoverished people today. The very idea of aspiring to be rich seems, to Filipinos, to be a thought to…
Whether one is rich or poor, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Everyone pays their way. Rich people are rich because they were likely to be exceptionally clever or industrious (or both). Poor people are poor because they likely habitually enter into commitments they are inherently incapable of honouring. The common denominator,…
Read More “KADAMAY squatter mentality at heart of chronic Filipino poverty” »
You made your bed. Now you have to lie on it. This is the underlying principle that guides whether or not “vice president” Leni Robredo was right to get onto the world stage to shriek about the “horrors” of the “extrajudicial killings” (EJKs) going on in the Philippines. The EJKs (whatever way it is defined)…
Read More “Leni Robredo epitomises the deep impoverishment of Philippine society” »
Filipinos once had the opportunity to be weaned off these clunky poor excuses for public transport. But that was several decades ago. That opportunity has passed. Today, Filipinos need to quit jeepneys cold turkey. It’s time. Jeepneys are an abomination. They encapsulate everything that is wrong with the Filipino — unsafe, mediocre, rehashed from old…
Read More “Let jeepney drivers go on strike — PERMANENTLY” »