The Philippine Situation: A change in social dynamics is what we need

[thadzonline]

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Are we still looking for persons to blame for our country's issues? PGMA? Erap? Marcos? Government? The need to change our system of government? A culture of corruption?

Seldom do I hear the business sector being blamed.

Fact of the matter is greed is at the center of this, IMHO. The same greed that brought about the global financial crisis.

Notice how we do business and how our laws and government favor the privileged, moneyed few. Take the case for example of the expensive oil pump prices. Who actually benefits from it and who bears the burden.

The lowly driver, whose meager keep for the day is further diminished by the rising prices of oil, becomes more hard-pressed to make both ends meet. He struggles to provide his family and himself with the most basic of needs. He struggles to feed them even with instant noodles, canned sardines and smoked fish. He struggles to clothe them or provide them decent shelter. Even the cost of public education is a burden. And so, him and his fellow public transport drivers/movers demand for fare increase. If granted it somehow gives them some more breathing room at the expense of the riding public, most of whom are piecemeal wage earners who struggle just as much to make both ends meet. Bear in mind also that the prices of the most basic of commodities hike up when oil prices are hiked up.

While the oil executive, clothed in the most elegant textile brands, ride in the most sleek sports utility vehicles, dine in the finest restaurants, drink the most expensive wines, send their kids to the best private schools of the land, and live in the most royal manors. For the sake of social justice, are they willing to take drastic pay cuts and share a part in the burden of expensive oil prices? Not to forget that their pump attendants and laborers hardly share in the profit that these multinational oil firms rake.

We must also make businesses accountable for the social injustices that they have long been committing to the majority of our people. For how much of the wealth that the lowly laborer created for them do these tycoons really deserve whilst their workers are mired in poverty? Isn't this exploitation and robbing the lowly laborer of a decent life?

We must bring to task our government, especially our legislators, to look after the welfare of the majority of people and not just that of the privileged, moneyed few as is embodied in Sections 9 and 10 of Article II(Declaration of Principles and State Policies) of our present constitution:

Section 9. The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.


Section 10. The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.

[kamikaze_007]

..so true..

..and this has become a vicious cycle in our society..something that is hard to cure!..

[unsay_ngalan_nimo]

change in social dynamic.. yup pwede ang revolution parehas sa cambodia sa khemer rouge na panahon...

change gyud ang social dynamic ana nato.. deads tanan educated and datu...

or pwede sad deads tanan pobre na ang mabilin kay mga datu and educated...





kung legal sad pwede unta ang CARP iyang proper implementation... pwede sad health care and education free for all...

pwede sad unta ang atoing tax na gibayran kaayo gamiton ug sakto with a maximum 10-15% lost to corruption..

[thadzonline]

dili man tingali kinahanglan gyud nga mag armed struggle para ma change ang social dynamics. Businesses can start say for example with sharing at least 20-30% of their net profits to their employees who by the way worked hard for them to realize that profit anyway.

[BananaQ]

What's this? Cultural Revolution? Or The Killing Fields?

The purpose of businesses is for profit. As of now, the Philippines has some of the most business unfriendly attitudes, and it's ranked at the bottom of the business competitiveness index. Dili lalim mag negosyo intawon diri sa Philippines oi... It takes like months to get some simple business permits... Even small businesses that has like one motorcycle, it can take a year before it actually gets to have a plate number! And it's useless talking to the BIR people that your business is not doing well in times of financial crisis, mo increase gyud kuno ug 20% ang imong taxes year after year!

Some of those heavily regulated industries like rice, di tawon lalim... Mobaligya pa na ang NFA ug mas barato pa sa puhonan sa local rice. Usahay kanang laws sa Philippines gani, kuwang na lang gamay moingon na nga bawal man moganansya, bisan na nagpatong ra na ang uban ug 5 pesos kada sack! Unsa may ipangbayad tawon anang expenses sa tindahan? Unsa may ipangbayad nimo sa suweldo sa mga tawo.

Intawon... huna-huna-a tarong... nag negosyo na tawo ug naay investment kay maka profit. Ug sila ang hing take sa risk kung malugi ang negosyo. Unya depending on the industry, naa man profit sharing ang uban starting from certain levels pataas because they are valuable to the company and they also take risks in buying/selling decisions. Pero kung apil pump attendant nimo, gusto nimo ipa profit sharing. Ngano maglabad-labad pa man tawon na mga tawo ug ulo sa paghuna-huna ug investments. Nganong magkapoy-kapoy pa man tawon na ug eskuwela para maka abot ug higher position. Mag gas boy na lang, pareha ra mo naay share. Di pa ka maalkansi ug mokalit ug ubos ang presyo sa gasolina.

[lestat1116]

yup sakto c bananaq. mas nindot pa magbusiness sa china, malaysia or indonesia or even vietnam. our tax is high, our salary is super high compared sa other countries. china mo support pa sa new incoming business. dri wala jud. ngayo ang taga export n business group dri sa cebu og incentives or help from the government wala or naa pero naay catch. saon nalang ni

[joshua259]

usa ra akoang ma sulti ani... SUPPORT LOCAL PRODUCTS

[thadzonline]

usa ra akoang ma sulti ani... SUPPORT LOCAL PRODUCTS

This idea of supporting local products would work....in the 1960's..yes it did under the administration of then President Carlos P. Garcia, remember "Filipino First " policy? That was what economists referred as export substitution, and while Pres. Garcia instituted that, South Korea, Taiwan and other nations who were once less progressive than us chose to traverse the path of industrialization, and voila! after a few decades overtook us in progress.

OK gyud unta kaayo na ang idea of first supporting local products over imported ones, especially if superior and quality sa atong local products. In the era of free trade, people will by products of superior quality and think value for money. It's just unfortunate that when the time we opened up to free trade, our industries are in its infancy stage and is unable to compete with what the outside world has to offer. Sadly, even until now many of our locally-manufactured products are substandard.

[thadzonline]

What's this? Cultural Revolution? Or The Killing Fields?

CUltural revolution? yes. BUt I'd also say a big part of it is cultural restoration of our time-bound cultural values such as hiya, utang na loob, bahala na, pakikisama, lakas ng loob & pakikibaka.

Killing fields? Nowhere do you see any mention of that in my first post. That probably is mere hasty ASSumption.

The purpose of businesses is for profit. As of now, the Philippines has some of the most business unfriendly attitudes, and it's ranked at the bottom of the business competitiveness index. Dili lalim mag negosyo intawon diri sa Philippines oi... It takes like months to get some simple business permits... Even small businesses that has like one motorcycle, it can take a year before it actually gets to have a plate number! And it's useless talking to the BIR people that your business is not doing well in times of financial crisis, mo increase gyud kuno ug 20% ang imong taxes year after year!

True! Which is exactly the point....and False! That is only true for the small entrepreneur but not for big capitalists, think oil, think telecommunications, think business process outsourcing. That is why the gap between the moneyed and the poor becomes bigger as time passes kay whatever few opportunities the poor have to do business, they do not have the clout and influence of big businesses to demand faster processing of their requirements. Should I mention also their lack of capacity to bribe as much as big capitalists do? And who bears the brunt of higher government taxation of these big businesses anyway? Dili ba ang consumers, majority of which are lowly laborers? EVAT sa oil, nakapatong sa pump price. Proposed tax sa text, giamin na sa telecoms firms nga ipasa gyud nila sa consumer. Mangawat pa gyud ug load, di pa gyud mohatag ug tarong nga serbisyo.

Some of those heavily regulated industries like rice, di tawon lalim... Mobaligya pa na ang NFA ug mas barato pa sa puhonan sa local rice. Usahay kanang laws sa Philippines gani, kuwang na lang gamay moingon na nga bawal man moganansya, bisan na nagpatong ra na ang uban ug 5 pesos kada sack! Unsa may ipangbayad tawon anang expenses sa tindahan? Unsa may ipangbayad nimo sa suweldo sa mga tawo.

This is true only if you are referring to the small entrepreneurs and not the big multinationals. Look at how profitable these multinationals are.

Intawon... huna-huna-a tarong... nag negosyo na tawo ug naay investment kay maka profit. Ug sila ang hing take sa risk kung malugi ang negosyo. Unya depending on the industry, naa man profit sharing ang uban starting from certain levels pataas because they are valuable to the company and they also take risks in buying/selling decisions. Pero kung apil pump attendant nimo, gusto nimo ipa profit sharing. Ngano maglabad-labad pa man tawon na mga tawo ug ulo sa paghuna-huna ug investments. Nganong magkapoy-kapoy pa man tawon na ug eskuwela para maka abot ug higher position. Mag gas boy na lang, pareha ra mo naay share. Di pa ka maalkansi ug mokalit ug ubos ang presyo sa gasolina.

Ohh so you are saying the pump attendants are not valuable to the company. Well, maybe because, they're dispensable kay dali ra makakitag ikapuli. Congratulations for treating our fellow humans as mere commodities that we can dispense at the snap of a finger. An organization is only as good or as strong as its weakest link.

I've got a question for you. Don't those oil executives have more than enough of what they need for them to live more than just a decent life? And nevermind if the pump attendant can hardly even live half a decent life? Isn't it discriminatory and divisive for a schooled person to say: "I deserve a more decent life than you Mr. pump attendant because I was privileged enough to have been able to attend school because I was born to well-off parents while nevermind that you weren't because by force of circumstance you were born poor and while you did work as part of the team that helped this organization realize profits, you deserve much less because you are just a pump attendant and your actions spell little to the success of the organization"?

And oh by the way, remember who bites the bullet, driver, lowly laborer who had to schrimp more to make both ends meet and para dili mainterrupt ang status quo ug mapreserve ang lavish and extravagant lifestyes for middle managers and their higher-ups.

Here' a hypothetical situation for you:
If businesses allocate say for example 20-30% of their net profits to employee profit sharing, it benefits not only the employees but also the enterprise:
1. Employees will labor more to become more productive kay naa sila paabuton nga incentive. Of course we all know that an increase in productivity will lead to higher profits.

2. Employees will strive to practice good customer service and aim for improved customer satisfaction. Happy customers come back as repeat clients and are a good source of referrals for new customers.

3. When these employee profit sharing programs are anchored on receipts records, employees will willingly fill up official receipt forms, in turn allowing government to more efficiently collect taxes and shore up state revenue.

4. Employees morale is improved, they feel a certain form of ownership or stake in the organization and feels the work they do is valuable. Employee vigilance is raised and thievery drastically reduced or even eliminated.

[thadzonline]

yup sakto c bananaq. mas nindot pa magbusiness sa china, malaysia or indonesia or even vietnam. our tax is high, our salary is super high compared sa other countries. china mo support pa sa new incoming business. dri wala jud. ngayo ang taga export n business group dri sa cebu og incentives or help from the government wala or naa pero naay catch. saon nalang ni

The ills of free trade and greedy capitalism. Think business process outsourcing, signature shoes manufacturing sweatshops. The greedy capitalist would scour the world to look for the cheapest labor to manufacture his goods, and consequently maximize his profits to proportions only imagined in a world where free trade was non-existent.

Laborers of different countries compete against each other and bid to offer the cheapest labor available nevermind if it should deprive them of even half a decent life. The classic case of the NBA superstar with his multi-million shoe endorsement deals that sell for sky-high retail prices yet are manufactured using child laborers in Indonesia, China or Vietnam who get paid less than a dollar per day, not even enough to feed themselves, much less afford them education which has become but a privilege. Do we want our people to accept even smaller wages for their labor just so we can compete with cheap labor from other countries? Bahala na ug gamay, basta naa? Mas maayo na lang kay may makaon pa kaysa wala?

Seriously, I don't think we are limited to just those choices. If we open our minds, there is much we can do to change our social dynamics. And I'm not talking here of armed revolution or the rule of anarchy. We can start with legislation, after all, our constitution lists social justice for all as a principle of the state.