if you think the Philippines is poor..

[DT]

I can't really say if our country is poor or not...There are things the Philippines is rich in but somehow our leaders aren't able to manage the available resources too well...And sadly, they have to glorify our OFWs as "heroes" of the sagging economy...Come to think of it, if there are enough decent jobs or opportunities in our country, would you think one would risk working in a far away land and be separated from his/her family?..I thought so too.

Let me share a favorite quote of mine about personal wealth:
"Wealth is a person’s ability to survive so many number of days forward…or if I stopped working today, how long could I survive?”

OT: i'm here in NY now and i'm interested in where i can get a decent meal for $2.25. but, hey, that was 2001 right?

[bad driver]

hmmm... ASEAN countries have similar corruption perception levels (from transparency.org). Malaysia is the exception... borderlining on being "acceptable"

Malaysia 5.1
Vietnam: 2.6
Philippines: 2.5
Indonesia: 2.2
Myanmar: 1.8
Thailand: 3.8
Laos: 3.3

I was talking about this list:
http://www.worldaudit.org/corruption.htm

tho it's outdated (2004)... I just read/heard a similar list just recently. I'm not sure where.... sa Anc ata.

[badkuk]

actually a lot of african countries as far far worse off than us. sa somalia, kahit anong oras, pwedeng magkaroon ng tribal war/ethnic cleansing. kung mura ang buhay dito sa pinas, buy one take one dun B)

*relative* to our asean neighbors, however, kulelat pa rin tayo. reason? the infamous "pwede na" attitude

[Alpha_One]

*relative* to our asean neighbors, however, kulelat pa rin tayo. reason? the infamous "pwede na" attitude

Nah, it's because we're currently in a "trial and error" period of the nation's history (which I think is coming to a close). Remember, between the mid-Martial Law days and the Cory days, the economy was significantly slowing down (and shrunk in the '80's!).

Part of the current problem is that the politicians don't have the political will to tell the people what's good for them (the corruption is another issue, but not as big). We can't have this "I will defer to the people" attitude all the time, because your people tend to be unreasonable sometimes.

[badkuk]

alpha_one:We can't have this "I will defer to the people" attitude all the time, because your people tend to be unreasonable sometimes.

very true; eto nga ung argument ni socrates(or was it aristotle) in pushing for a republic form of government. i'm sorry to say this, pero some people just don't know what to do with their freedom. imho democracy only works if people can be depended upon to think and act for the common good, and be responsible for their actions

the corruption is another issue, but not as big

ay, dito tayo magkatalo sir alpha :D

[Alpha_One]

ay, dito tayo magkatalo sir alpha :D

I knew that would be misinterpreted...

...should be "slightly smaller issue" (by microns, hindi naman nanometers).

[Isuzoom]

Eh paano kasi itong mga stupidong politikos instead na help nya mga squating mag sariling sikap inaalagan para forever mag squating para sa vote nya for election. With this kind of mentality, paatras tayo instead forward. I hope and pray na matamaan ng lintek ang mga tadong ito!

[Mguy]

OT: i'm here in NY now and i'm interested in where i can get a decent meal for $2.25. but, hey, that was 2001 right?

Chinese take outs are usually cheap. I stayed in NY but over the Weschester Area in White Plains early this year. You could get a decent meal (rice + 1 viand) for $3.99. I'm sure you could find some other cheap place but a real meal there would cost you from $10 to $20.

Spent most of my time eating at the deli or Mcdonalds.

BTW, the guys at NY find it hard to believe that I have 2 nannies here back home because the labor there is so expensive.

[blve_ice]

haha, it was actually a corrupt politician who said that. he was criticized kase for using expensive limousines during trips to the US while most of his countrymen go hungry. His reponse? "The Philippines is a rich nation pretrnding to be poor."

Dude, really can't remember who said that exactly, but would appreciate it very much if you could give out the name. Anyway, corrupt or not I still believe that we are a rich nation, maybe not that rich in terms of economic progress, but certainly not that poor either. Like what I've said my point is if we can just get our acts together and work together as one, nothing is impossible.

As for the negative image that is being projected abroad, I think it's because we tend to tolerate these things and just accept whatever prejudice the international community throws at us. Bottomline is, it's always up to us whether to stick with these lies which when told over and over could eventually become the truth, or do our duty as responsible Filipinos to counter these, promote who we really are, and be proud of it.

Just an optimist 2 cents. Peace!

[oldblue]

the Philippines is rich. We have more malls than hospitals. san ka naman nakakita starting from Monumento Malls na, then in between almost every MRT stop -> Malls hanggang dulo ng Edsa which will be the biggest & grandest mall ever, the SM Mall of Asia. Yun mga taga-America, hindi nyo pa kasi nakikita yun SM na tinatayo sa Reclamation, it will definitely take your breath away.

If you've been to Megamall, they have 2 buildings: A & B.
But this under construction mall consists of five bldgs. A to E. shuttles will be fielded just to get from one bldg. to the next. the front of this mall is a circumferential road similar to QC circle: the purpose -> dun iikot lahat ng buses of EDSA!

now If I were the SM tycoon himself, why would I build malls of "epic proportions" kung wala naman pambili nor pang-kain ang mga pinoy?

even sa mid-terminal station ng MRT, which is SM City yun opposite lot nya, They're (the Ayalas) building the new nature mall of Q.C. -> perhaps 2x or 3x greenbelt 3.

let's face it, yun mga pinoys na nag-decide to stay dito, madami din ang happy. Malls here are like oasis in the desert. We like to spend on places that we view as paradise.

yes, corruption is rampant here. but corruption malamang hindi naman lahat napupunta sa masama. popular & multi-branched business franchises (like the regular stores in the malls) are owned by political clans or powerful families. go figure! hehehe