Philippine society -- fundamentally flawed!

[benign0]

"I would rather have a Philippines run like hell by Filipinos than a Philippines run like heaven by the Americans" -- Manuel L. Quezon

Is that so? Were we consulted? On the fourth of July, 1946, we sentenced generations of Filipinos to live their entire lives in a country run like hell by their compatriots. How does pride in self-rule stack up to the reality that in the more than 50 years of independence, the majority of Filipinos lived in absolute poverty and countless others suffered, died, or disappeared as a result of the greed and lust for power of our leaders.

Our country is sick in every sense of the word and we are a morally, intellectually, and spiritually bankrupt people. Our virtues, once comforting when invoked, now, at best, point out disturbing ironies about us: packed Sunday masses and images of presidents, mayors and congressmen knelt in prayer, “third largest English-speaking country in the world”, “where Asia wears a smile”, “Asia’s most vibrant democracy”, etcetera, etcetera.

Let’s give it a break! (1) our brand of Christianity is medieval, (2) we not only cannot speak straight English, we are trying to banish the language from our education system, (3) we laugh at just about anything, even our own stupidity and on every conceivable medium – mobile phones, the Internet, etc., and (4) showbiz personalities are dancing and singing their way into office. Growing pains, yes, but we could have had as our mentor, a country that already had more than 200 years worth of lessons in democratic governance. But no! In 1946, we chose to learn to walk before we could even barely crawl.

Any way one looks at things, the reality is this: we’re stuck with each other and that stigma of being Filipino that was aggravated by Erap’s presidency. The first step in the right direction is to swallow the bitter pill and take a good look at ourselves. That's us! Non-partisan, nothing personal. It's all in the culture.


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[darkwing]

nice post, what are we going to do about it?

[cerebus]

@dark wing: by stopping finger-pointing, buddy.

@ benign0: nice site. hat's off.

guys you got to visit benign0's site. i really like the non-partisan part.

[darkwing]

@dark wing: by stopping finger-pointing, buddy.

@ benign0: nice site. hat's off.

guys you got to visit benign0's site. i really like the non-partisan part.

what finger pointing? i was asking what should we do about the problem? or is that a crime already? hehe anyways the website is really good, Get Real Philippines!

[benign0]

@dark wing: by stopping finger-pointing, buddy.

@ benign0: nice site. hat's off.

guys you got to visit benign0's site. i really like the non-partisan part.

what finger pointing? i was asking what should we do about the problem? or is that a crime already? hehe anyways the website is really good, Get Real Philippines!

Thanks guys.

What am I doing about it? Basically nothing. The issues are too big for a two-bit webmaster like me (and I've got a day job to boot).

But visit the "Solutions" section of the site. I propose a "solution framework" there. At least it's a start.


www.getrealphilippines.com

[mannyamador]

In 1946, we chose to learn to walk before we could even barely crawl.

I think the Americans chose for us, dude. They gladly gave way to the nationalist aspirations of some of our leaders because they did not want to take responsibility for their former colony. By granting us "independence", they got to wash their hands of much responsibility while retaining lots of control. Japan, however, would yield far greater returns for them. That's why they spent more for Japan's "rehabilitation" than they did on the Philippines.

Take note, however, that the time of greatest economic growth and properity for the Philippines was when we were an independent democracy until before the Marcos regime. This clearly illustrates that poverty is often more a result of bad governance and corruption than anything else.

Bad governance comes about when persons in power do NOT listen and obey the moral and spiritual values that have been around for thousands of years. They have withstood the test of time. Bad governments, however, don't.

[cerebus]

In 1946, we chose to learn to walk before we could even barely crawl.

I think the Americans chose for us, dude. They gladly gave way to the nationalist aspirations of some of our leaders because they did not want to take responsibility for their former colony. By granting us "independence", they got to wash their hands of much responsibility while retaining lots of control. Japan, however, would yield far greater returns for them. That's why they spent more for Japan's "rehabilitation" than they did on the Philippines.

Take note, however, that the time of greatest economic growth and properity for the Philippines was when we were an independent democracy until before the Marcos regime. This clearly illustrates that poverty is often more a result of bad governance and corruption than anything else.

Bad governance comes about when persons in power do NOT listen and obey the moral and spiritual values that have been around for thousands of years. They have withstood the test of time. Bad governments, however, don't.

you got it right, manny. poverty is often more a result of bad governance and corruption than anything else.

about america washing their hands well. . . i don't think so. they just don't want to appear imperialist because after the war most major power (uk, france, belgium) give independence to their colonies. and also our leaders before are atat-na-atat to carve out their sphere of influence after the american leaves (hence money and power).

japan wage war against the allied during ww2 because they are capable to do so. that means they are already rich and powerful. after the war, they became again rich and powerful. is it because of the US aid? no, sir it's because of the kind of people the japanese are.

[benign0]

In 1946, we chose to learn to walk before we could even barely crawl.

I think the Americans chose for us, dude. They gladly gave way to the nationalist aspirations of some of our leaders because they did not want to take responsibility for their former colony. By granting us "independence", they got to wash their hands of much responsibility while retaining lots of control. Japan, however, would yield far greater returns for them. That's why they spent more for Japan's "rehabilitation" than they did on the Philippines.

Take note, however, that the time of greatest economic growth and properity for the Philippines was when we were an independent democracy until before the Marcos regime. This clearly illustrates that poverty is often more a result of bad governance and corruption than anything else.

Bad governance comes about when persons in power do NOT listen and obey the moral and spiritual values that have been around for thousands of years. They have withstood the test of time. Bad governments, however, don't.

But we've been out of that whole Marcos thing for almost 20 years now and we are still a basket case nation.

Welcome to the real world, dude. To expect a nation to prosper on the merit of who governs the people is a cop out. You are simply passing accountability to Government when in fact the people should be accountable for creating their own opportunities to prosper.

Check out the Chinese-Pinoys. They were subject to the same dysfunctional governance as Malay Pinoys. And they even started out as Third Class citizens when they first set foot in our islands. Yet today, they are captains of Philippine commerce. (Click here for more insight on this )

There is no excuse for failure of Pinoy society - not the Government, not the "imperialists". The only thing we can blame is the Filipino himself -- a people saddled by a culture not compatible with global standards for prosperity.


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[shoeless_rebel]

i have to agree with you on that benign0 but we can't disregard the damage caused by the marcos regime... marcoses left us a national debt that is quite impossible to pay. since then a major portion of what our government earns goes to cover the interest of that debt. and it's a quite large chunk... money that should be invested on our educational system, agriculture and industry etc... thus sinking us deeper in to the sh#t hole that we call poverty...

[benign0]

i have to agree with you on that benign0 but we can't disregard the damage caused by the marcos regime... marcoses left us a national debt that is quite impossible to pay. since then a major portion of what our government earns goes to cover the interest of that debt. and it's a quite large chunk... money that should be invested on our educational system, agriculture and industry etc... thus sinking us deeper in to the sh#t hole that we call poverty...

Of course the Marcos thing cannot be discounted. On the other hand it can't be used as an excuse forever.

Countries like Japan and Korea were utterly devastated by war yet recovered spectacularly.

Singapore was a tiny colonial backwater that was under constant threat of invasion. It was dependent on Malaysia for 80% of its water supply and trade. Now it is an economic powerhouse at a par with any Western nation.

So while failed societies like ours keep looking back for reasons and worse excuses as to why we are like this today, progressive nations keep looking forward for opportunities and solutions.


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