Tsikoteers Redesign MVPMAP PhUV

[TambayBlues]

I agree with you on certain points however I tend to doubt how you got the figure that Cory borrowed $28 B. Economics is a very complex issue and some say it's a zero sum game similar to stocks trading. There will be losers and gainers in this whole equation. If you only think of the negatives happening in our country you will never see the whole picture. I agree that the manufacturing sector has lost to a great extent and there have been job losses. But did you ever consider that it was only during GMA's administration that we became a BPO power? All this service outsourcing was practically non-existent prior to GMA's rein. Would you rather work for a factory that pays less than P10,000 than a BPO job that pays P15,000. The SWS surveys are not generally accurate considering that a lot of Pinoys consider themselves poor out of humility and not necessarily for being under the poverty line. Even if you were the President, if your central bank doesn't have the financial muscle of China to artificially undervalue our currency via Central Bank interventions, market forces will still compel your currency to appreciate. If George Soros can bring the Bank of England to it's knees by speculative attacks on the British Pound, What sufficient countermeasures can our own CB do to stem the inflow of dollars? If you have been following the news closely you will find out that GMA's administration has been prepaying our loans primarily to reduce our dollar holdings. But still the foreign reserves keep growing. Tell the OFWs not to send money or the foreign investors to stop investing. Better yet tell Bush to arrest the dollar's decline coz almost all currencies from emerging countries are appreciating against the dollar not just the peso. The Indians are complaining too and when you have a billion Chinese and another billion Indians who have that extra purchasing power due to the falling dollar the result is worldwide inflation exacerbated by high oil prices.

RP Prepays $219.7M to exit from IMF Program
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-156451150.html

Intel will close not because of GMA's policies but moreso because of market conditions, the EU's lawsuit on the company and if penalized would reflect on the company's bottom line. The damaging war with AMD which has left both companies wounded etc. Not to mention the tight credit and market situation in the US. Intel also needs to retool the Cavite plant to make processors that would compete with AMD's upcoming cutting edge processors. This requires a lot of capital that their creditors might be reluctant to lend them given that the company is under restructuring. Read between the lines, here's an official press statement;

A brief statement from the company stated: "In an effort to keep employees informed, Intel has updated its employees that significant investments would be required to ensure the long-term viability of its factory building in Cavite." It did not explicitly disclose plans to shut down the manufacturing site.

AMD Plans to cut 15% of Workforce including Malaysia
http://www.crn.com/it-channel/18815831

AMD Jobcuts Follow Intel Restructuring
http://www.examiner.com/a-1326503~AMD_Cuts_Follow_Intel_Restructuring.html

Balance the negatives with these ones. All of these investors are using the same exchange rate so they might be mentally insane to invest and expand in our country, right?

RP 2008 FEBRUARY EXPORTS UP 10.7% OVER LAST YEAR'S FIGURE
http://www.greatpinoys.com/index.php...-year-ago.html

RP 2nd Most Optimistic Country After India
http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/doc...c_country.html

TI Builds 2nd $1B Plant in RP - Texas Instruments senior vice president Kevin Ritchie revealed that his company bypassed other competitive Asian countries such as Thailand , Viet Nam and China since the Philippines was able to offer quality labor and incentives. Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines executive director Ernie Santiago pointed out that the choice of the Clark Freeport Zone of the Philippines proved that the overseas operations of American companies like Texas Instruments need not automatically be relocated to the usually-default choice which is China . Santiago said the Philippines has the skilled workers and has the capacity to offer the right incentives to draw in companies of this type. What the Philippines needs to work on is its ability to promote the advantages of operating in the Philippines to foreign investors, stated Santiago . This, in the light of the growing appeal of the Philippines because of its efforts to ensure nationwide financial stability.

SAMSUNG GROUP COMMITS TO $2 B INVESTMENT - In March 2008, several media outlets in the Philippines reported that a company belonging to the Samsung Group of companies has committed to invest $2 billion for a new facility in the Clark Freeport Zone. The reports state that this facility will immediately require 36MW of power by November or 2008.

PETRON AWARDS DAELIM TO BUILD $180M PETROCHEM PLANT
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5270143/PHILIPPINES-Construction-contract-award-for.html

IRAN INVESTS $125M IN RP PETROCHEMICAL PLANT
http://www.plastemart.com/plasticnews_desc.asp?news_id=11649

HANJIN NEEDS 40,000 WORKERS FOR $2 B MINDANAO
SHIPBUILDING FACILITY
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/54068

TELETECH DUMAGUETE OFFERS MORE SEATS HIGHER PAY
http://www.positivenewsmedia.net/am2/publish/Business_19/TeleTech-Dumaguete_offers_more_seats_higher_pay.shtml

HYATT TO OPEN 4 NEW HOTELS
http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/docs/biz_progress/archived/microtel.html

TOP GERMAN FIRM TO EXPAND CALAMBA PLANT
http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/docs/biz_progress/archived/continental_ag_calamba.html

DUTCH FIRM INVESTS IN RP POTATO PLANTATION
http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/docs/biz_progress/archived/potato_plantation.html

MALAYSIAN GROUP TO BUILD MAKATI HOTEL
http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/doc...up_berhad.html

BIGGEST XMAS TREE PRODUCER IN THE WORLD SHUTDOWN IN CHINA
http://www.china.org.cn/business/highlights/2008-03/14/content_12623662.htm

LITTALA TO SHUTDOWN S.CHINA FACTORY
http://www.topix.com/se/malmohus/2008/02/iittala-to-shut-down-h-gan-s-china-factory

CHINA, S. KOREA TO PROBE FACTORY CLOSURES
http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=111&sid=1353762

[s_quilicot]

PAG GUSTO MAY PARAAN! PAG AYAW MADAMING DAHILAN!

[jpdm]

[quote]

I agree with you on certain points however I tend to doubt how you got the figure that Cory borrowed $28 B.

I never stated she borrowed. She inherited it from Marcos (21 years).Do you know that Diosdado Macapagal started our borrowing and liberalization voodoo binge?

I agree that the manufacturing sector has lost to a great extent and there have been job losses.

Tremendous job loses.

But did you ever consider that it was only during GMA's administration that we became a BPO power? All this service outsourcing was practically non-existent prior to GMA's rein. Would you rather work for a factory that pays less than P10,000 than a BPO job that pays P15,000.

pardon me and excuse me. Is this the type of economic development that you know?BPO, with no local procurement? No real quality employment?High turnover BPO kasi di makatagal yung mga call center agents sa puyat?Mukhang mga zombie pag-uwi?College grad tagasagot ng telepono? No offense meant sa mga call center agents dapat temporary work lang yan. Definite na underemployed ka kung kung college grad ka at nasa BPO ka. Now, sacrifice mo health mo at career fulfillment mo for a for a measly 15,000 pesos just enough for a family of 3 to live confortably. I say no self-respecting university grad will choose working with BPO for the rest of his life.

Pacesya na ha pero di ko gusto dating na parang nag-discriminate ka sa pagkupara mo sa trabaho sa factory keysa BPO. Hindi ba class ang trabahador sa factory? low wage ba? marangal at tutuong trabaho naman, hindi lang pa-cute at may tunay na impact sa ekonomiya. bakit di ayusin ng DOLE o PEZA yan para tumaas ang suweldo o benepisyo ng workers. Anu ba ang multiplier effect ng BPO. Suweldo period.Wala na. Pag nagkataon lipat yan sa bansang mas mababa suweldo. Factory-real production. May epekto. may forward and backward linkages. anciliary industries. direct and indirect employment. Example. BPO. wala. Auto industry. parts, components, metal, rubber, plastic, leather, aircon etc.

The SWS surveys are not generally accurate considering that a lot of Pinoys consider themselves poor out of humility and not necessarily for being under the poverty line.

Are you sure? This statement reminds me of the Arroyo administration's official statement dismissing subjective poverty measure (meron bang objective? wala naman e. NSO and NSCB use the same technique in FIES with matching hula at guessonomics )Reminds of of the infamous Marie Antonette dismissing the poor in France. Dito nakapila ang mahirap sa init ng araw para sa bigas. Ngayon humble lang pinoy para di sabihing mayaman. SWS only confirms what the National Statistical and Coordinating Board (NSCB), Asian dvelopment bank (ADB), World Bank (WB), Millenium Development Goals(MDG) and even CIA have found out. Hindi ko na nga binanggt ang Ibon Data bank mas malala dun.

Maraming mahirap, I suggest read the real news. Kagabi lang sa GMA 7 sa Fuga Island maraming di kumakain. Check the poverty incidence statistics in the philippines vis-a-vis ASEAN na lang. Im sorry baka puro panood at basa ka lang ng press releases ng NBN 4 at ng government--- ay talagang mayaman na Pinas pag government ang mag-report.

What sufficient countermeasures can our own CB do to stem the inflow of dollars? If you have been following the news closely you will find out that GMA's administration has been prepaying our loans primarily to reduce our dollar holdings. But still the foreign reserves keep growing.

Kailangan ang bansa ang pera. bakit pipigilan? press release na naman naumaapaw tayo sa dollars. Kung ganuon dapat i-suspend na R-VAT kasi ok na pala fiscal health ng Pinas pala. E hindi e. A measly $36 billion Gross International reserves (GIR) hina-hype na ng gobyerno?. E kulang pang pambayad ng $54 billion utang or $ 51 billion import natin per year yan. China ($1.3 trillion GIR) Taiwan (close to $ 1 Trillion)). Barya lang sa atin kumpara sa mga bansang iyan. Prepaying ba or refinancing? Check our foreign debt sa BSP website $54 billion pa rin. Umuutang ang gobyerno para magbayad ng utang...gets mo...ni-ro-rollover ba...

Tell the OFWs not to send money or the investors to stop investing or better yet tell Bush to arrest the dollar's decline coz almost all currencies from emerging countries are appreciating against the dollar not just the peso. The Indians are complaining too.

What? pag-hindi nag-remit ng pera OFW, bagsak Pinas, lalabas talaga pagka-inutil ng gobyerno ni Gloria. saan pa kukuha ng pera. Yung 7.2% na imagined na GDP growth ng Pinas galing sa NFIA ( remittances ng OFW) yun. C+G+I+ (X-M)+ NFIA= GNP o GNI. Alisin mo yun NFIA paktay PInas.

Patay nga negosyo sa Pinas. Divisoria at Baclaran na lang kumikita, puro illegal Chinese, Korean at smuggled goods pa kumikita.

I

ntel will close not because of GMA's policies but moreso because of market conditions, the EU's lawsuit on the company and if penalized would reflect on the company's bottom line.

Taga-cavite ako. Nag-re-retrench na Intel. Pasarado na.


Ok siguro yung Texas Instrument. Iran petrochem investment. the rest almost all pledges pa lang. Tska puro hotel? Potato?chip assembly? walang real production (upstream and downstream/integrated manufacturing/food production) Check the FDI in ASEAN and China. Mamamatay tayo sa inggit sa laki. Karampot dito. unemployment here runs to millions and hotels, potato plantation cannot absorb those jobless people. Manufacturing, industry, agriculture

This country is dying because of wrong economic policies. Because of us Pinoys who keep on day-dreaming that we live in disneyland.We mimic the USA. But reality check. We are light years away from that advanced country. Hundred years away from our wealthy Asia-pacific neighbors.

[scharnhorst]

Just a little tidbit: Cory refused to ask for debt forgiveness when it would've been readily given...

[TambayBlues]

Like I said before economics is a zero sum game. It is naive to expect that it's always a win win situation. Japan had the term called "endaka" which means hollowing out which means their economy's productive capacity was shipped offshore or outsourced. Dami rin nawalan ng jobs sa Japan, sa US and even now in Korea. I repeat it again, Globalization implies mobile capital and mobile labor. Trade liberalization is a requirement under the WTO and since were a signatory to it we shouldn't be surprised coz other countries are also required to abide by it. Comparative advantages play a big part in this whole arrangement. I wonder why China has a trade deficit with our country. Would it have been possible if they were more protectionist of their industries? If Intel is not satisfied and TI and Samsung are satisfied enough to invest then by all means, it's just the way it is. If there are numerous Korean company owners held against their will by Chinese factory workers for not paying their salaries due to plant closures brought on by business or other issues, Is there anything unique that is happening sa Pinas that we should magnify the problem to the point that it becomes destabilizing and polarizing for the whole nation? Not even the most competitive nation on earth called China or even America can prevent business decisions no matter how favorable their investment climate is. In a similar vein, if you don't like to stay sa Pinas go abroad no one can prevent you. What is right with the way TI and Samsung are run that they are expanding while Intel is closing even though operating environments are practically identical? Even here in America practically most of the news is negative layoffs here and there, this big bank closing here and there,this airline closing. And the point with comparing factory workers vis-a-vis BPO workers is not to highlight which one is more glamorous/ prestigious but merely from a worker's economic standpoint. A better salary obviously permits a better quality of life never mind the fact it's not even what you were trained for in college. I'm not saying its an ideal situation but I cannot blame an ex-factory worker who would rather work in a call center because of higher pay. There's nothing wrong with it coz its purely a personal decision based on one's personal needs. There are a lot of engineers in advanced countries who are not working in the engineering field so why gripe about it. There's nothing so abhorrent and unique about it. We have to face the reality that we can no longer compete as efficiently as before precisely because the ballgame is far different now when factories can be shut down and shipped in a matter of hours to another country and where automation is becoming the norm. Imagine power costs being second most expensive to Japan in Asia and a higher labor cost compared to Vietnam, China, India etc. but still, companies dare to even consider us and for that alone we should be thankful. We should be thankful we still produce and even export food in Pinas knowing that the Arabs and africans would probabaly marvel at how green our countryside is nevermind the fact that we import the others. I know there's a lot of people who already skip meals in Pinas coz they cannot afford to buy or simply have no money. I was waiting at a bus stop in one of the big cities in America and right in front of me this half naked 20 something white guy started going through the nearby garbage can and literally ate the leftover food in a styrofoam like an animal.There is hunger, food riots, stampede and death in China, food riots in the Middle East even though they are flush with oil dollars, tortilla riots in oil exporting Mexico, food riots in India, an entire streetfull of people sleeping and shitting before your very eyes in sidewalks here in America and in other countries. The point I'm saying is hunger and poverty is now a global phenomenon due to the falling dollar and high oil and commodity prices. Ours is not an isolated case. Before GMA implemented the e-VAT the international community was already predicting that we would become the next Argentina coz our finances was really that bad. It was a bitter pill we had to take and no matter how unpopular it was and how worse our situation is RP has never defaulted on its loans precisely coz our past leaders including Gloria knows the catastrophic effects it will have if we did. We survived that dark phase in our country's history, the Garci crisis and we will survive this rice crisis too. Rice is not the only food in the world. Hongkong's industries was hollowed out by China and is now practically a service economy. Whatever investment it is for as long as it brings food to the table in a decent way to someone in need then who are we to undermine their importance just because it doesn't really have so much value added? If anyone of you thinks Cambodia, Bangladesh, Myanmmar, India or Indonesia has a better millenium development goal statistics why don't you live there. Whatever ails our country I still feel were still comparatively better off than other countries though a lot of work obviously still needs to be done and thank God our gov't. is addressing this issue. The hardest part with surveys and economic data is that we have a large underground economy that is so hard to quantify but contributes a large portion to our lifeblood as compared to other countries that comparisons can become skewed. There are 192 members of the UN is our situation really that worse off compared to the famine and HIV stricken African countries with civil wars or even Myanmmar with their junta govt. Ten percent of our population migrates similar ratio to Australia's population that migrate to other countries. What is wrong with Oz that they are leaving and What is wrong in the UK that they're migrating to Oz? Point is We are not the only country with a diaspora. The current rice crisis is but a symptom of a long neglected agricultural sector which didn't receive as much allocation in our national budgets even before GMA came to power precisely because interest payments alone to service our debt eat up so much of the governments revenues. Borrowing costs for farmers were much higher then compared today. Low tax collections from businesses who would rather cheat on taxes etc. And if you factor in the yearly cost of typhoon and drought damages to our crops, high oil and commodity prices, hoarders and of course corruption then you have a ticking bomb waiting to happen. It was a long drawn out process that started years ago under the previous administrations. It didn't happen overnight and it just so happens global economic forces exacerbated the problem to the point that it manifested its full effects under GMA's term. This hunger and rice issue is much more complex than anyone of you can imagine and for anyone to blame it solely on GMA is the height of ignorance. She's doing her job and If anything what she needs from us right now is support more than anything else. The next 2 or 3 yrs is quite precarious for the US and world economy at large and I really think what were seeing right now is but a prelude to a much worse scenario before it can get better if at all. If there's a wrong time to be fragmented this is surely it.

[TambayBlues]

Just a little tidbit: Cory refused to ask for debt forgiveness when it would've been readily given...

Are you kidding me. Did you know what happened to her when she went to the US to ask for foreign aid from the US congress. All she got were mostly hand claps during her speech. And to think that she was asking for an amount far less than our foreign debt really boggles my mind on how you came up with this idea. If you don't believe me read it in TIME magazine its right there in black and white. You obviously don't know that to sink a nation into the quagmire of debt is one of the most effective ways to control a nation's affairs and policies. I suggest you watch "Money Masters" in youtube so you'll get a better idea of how the world works and who controls whom.

[jpdm]

At least we agree on some points Tambay blues...

Perhaps we are both concern about whats happening in this country.

I truly hope, Pinoys here and all over the world will not get tired helping our country and overcome this hundred years of economic maldevelopment and poverty.

I will never leave this country kahit madali lang para sa akin (maraming offers from abroad)


Those things that i have mentioned (socio-economic facts) need to be mentioned to remind our fellow Pinoys that we are fighting for survival. And before helping other countries/people we should first help ourselves.

Right now, our farmers, entrepreneurs and workers are dying. The masses (majority) are dying.

And i squarely blame the government/the state because they have all the powers.

My apologies but i am convinced the Gloria administration is squarely to blame for these problems( Jocjoc's Fertilizer scam, missing irrigation funds, skewed priorities (Php 85 billion on external defense but 16 billion on agriculture, Zte deal instead of farm to market roads, farm inputs and infrastructures, almost zero support to local industry, entrepreneurs, science and technology and agriculture.)

It pains me to see this country went to the dogs when arroyo replaced estrada.

Im one of those people who actively supported Edsa 2.

anyway, politics aside, both of us want our country to prosper.


And I definitely appreciate all your posts in this dedicated thread.

Join the tsikot design team. perhaps, in our own small way we can start some positive changes.

[TambayBlues]

No one needs to tell me na me nagugutom na sa Pinas. I lived there for 35yrs. The mere fact na merong namamalimos sa lansangan natin is already evidence of hunger. Do we really need surveys for that? Do we really need to make Fuga Island an example like it was the first time in the history of Pinas na me nagugutom just to boost the ratings of these TV stations or to make it look as if the current administration is not doing anything. Sa gate pa lang ng GMA News meron na malamang namamalimos why do they have to go that far? I'm not discounting the fact that its a problem and I'm not discounting the fact that we have problems. My point is our problems are not unique but were still better off than other third world countries who also have similar problems were not at the bottom of the list as some people in the media or opposition paint our situation to be. Maganda tong discussion natin dito maraming good ideas, maybe we should open up a separate forum entitled "If you were the President of RP how do you solve the following problems".

[ehnriko]

Tambay Blues...

Naantig ang puso ko sa spontaneous speech mo ah...

I agree with you 100%....

Bottomline! Ask what we can do for our country... and do something about it!

I appreciate all your inputs... the links... tips... insights. You have no idea how significant they are.

Keep it coming.

Best regards.... and More Horsepower!

[ehnriko]

"If you were the President of RP how do you solve the following problems".

I was waiting for you to say that...