Skip to main content

A Lot of OFWs Can't Be Home for Christmas Thanks to the Filipino First Policy



It's just a few days before Christmas, right? I was reminded of how certain parts of the Philippines couldn't celebrate Christmas because of Odette (and I was included). Before Odette, there was also Typhoon Phantone which hit on Christmas Day. The idea that nothing goes wrong on Christmas is absolutely stupid. Some people even die during the Christmas season. Christmas gets so often associated with family get-togethers. However, some people wouldn't be home for Christmas when they could've. I'm once again talking about OFWs. Yes, they're working abroad not because they're out there "conquering the world". Instead, they're out there because of one lousy policy since Carlos P. Garcia. That's namely the Filipino First Policy. Once again, I dare say out loud that the Filipino First Policy caused the Philippines to fail. That's why I wrote that Filipino First Policy has no place in the rising Asian century (read here).

I was rather disgusted when a certain someone said I'm a sayad (Tagalog word for crazy) that I can't accept that OFWs have to be separated from their families. If I'm not wrong, this guy was an OFW dancer in Dubai during his "prime years". Based on my estimate, he should be around 60 years old since he was 24 during the 1986 EDSA revolution. I even read Facebook comments from an annoying fat American guy who called the OFW program a "means of conquest". However, the glamorization of the idea is nothing more than wishful thinking. The OFW life is anything but glamorous. Some of them are in a country far, far away when they could've had their jobs here. It's understandable if soldiers can't be with their loved ones this Christmas. Some may be fighting in the Russia vs. Ukraine war. Some may be trying to fend off North Korean troops from entering South Korea. But why are non-military jobs included?

The Filipino First Policy was cooked up by Garcia for this reason. It was in hope that the majority of the economic power would be in the hands of Filipinos. As Garcia said during his speech on January 25, 1960, he said the following:
The "Filipino First" policy of this administration re­ceived a resounding popular indorsement in the last election. Politically we became independent since 1946, but econom­ically we are still semi-colonial. This is especially true in our foreign trade. This policy is therefore designed to regain economic independence. It is a national effort to the end that Filipinos obtain major and dominant participa­tion in their own national economy. This we will achieve with malice towards none and with fairness to all. We will accomplish this with full understanding of our inter­national obligations towards our friends of the Free World. We will carry this out within the framework of our special relations with the United States to whose citizens we granted until 1974, by Constitutional provision, equal rights as Filipinos in the exploitation of our natural resources and public utilities, and to whom we also granted trading parity rights under the Laurel-Langley Agreement. Under this policy we will welcome friendly and understanding foreign capital willing to collaborate with us in the exploitation of our vast natural resources preferably on joint venture basis.

This explains the rise of the 60-40 policy. I could remember comparing it to overpriced rent (read here). Let's imagine that the Philippines is a commercial space and foreign direct investors (FDIs) are tenants. Who in their right mind will rent a space if they had to give up 60% of their net income to the landlord? Definitely, that's nothing but overpriced rent. It's very different if tenants only had to pay the monthly rent and follow certain rules to continue doing business. FDIs are required to pay rent, pay their outstanding balances, and pay all government-related fees (which include taxes) if they want to continue doing business in another land. If they comply then they can continue to do business. If not, they can end up getting legal action which may include deportation and persona non-grata. 

The logic behind "Filipino First" is once again rooted in many myths. These myths include stuff like only foreigners will get the jobs, it will result in a loss of sovereignty (which Hilario Davide Jr. even suggested at one point), or that only the FDIs will get rich. Other myths may include that Singapore only opened to FDI because they don't have natural resources. Guess what? Vietnam is rich in natural resources yet it also progressed through FDI. Even worse, some people compare FDIs to foreign debt when it's not the case at all (read here). I'm really amazed at all this ill-educated foolish talk on Facebook. That's why I even had to write why are terrible economists (read here). A good example is like how Silent No More PH may fail to do a simple supply chain analysis.

What's even more stupid are "thought leaders" that demand more jobs while supporting the idiotic Filipino First Policy. That's why I wrote about that incredible irony if ever one demands more jobs while rejecting FDIs (read here). If their solution is self-industrialization then bad news. The late Lee Kuan Yew even stated in From Third World to First that if they waited for the Singaporeans to be industrialists--they would've starved as a result. That's exactly what happened with China during the Great Leap Forward. Today, we're seeing people in North Korea and Venezuela in that condition. Yet, some idiots still want to blame North Korea's poverty on South Korea or Venezuela's on the USA. I'm really laughing (and cringing) at the same time over such stupid comments.

Those who think the OFW program is better than FDIs just never know the real struggle. If they still think of OFW and FDI as a "game of conquest"--they're sadly mistaken. OFWs are required to follow the rules of the country they're in. If an OFW is in a Muslim country then they must obey the halal laws such as no pork, women must wear modest clothing and head covering, and the like. If an OFW is in India, they have to be careful about eating beef in a predominantly Hindu country. If they think OFW equals conquest then they need to experience OFW life themselves. They need to see how the OFW life means having a foreign boss in a foreign land. Some OFW families just take the remittance for granted. They could celebrate Christmas while their OFW relative may not be celebrating it at all. 

FDI means having a foreign boss who's required to submit to the country's laws. FDIs in the Philippines will still have to follow the local laws. FDI is frequently put into "In Rome, do as the Romans do." Jollibee today is now a multinational corporation (MNC). Where Jollibee goes, it must conform to the country's laws. Jollibee in Dubai will have to practice halal standards so no Bacon Cheeseburger over there. If only the country were more friendly to FDIs then more OFWs wouldn't be singing, "If only in my dreams, in my dreams" this upcoming Christmas. 

References

Books

"From Third World to First--The Singapore Story: 1965-2000) by Lee Kuan Yew
Harpers Collins Publishers

Videos

"The Singapore economic model - VPRO documentary - 2009"  by VRPO Documentary (September 8, 2018)
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics' Understanding of How Gasoline Prices Work

International State College of the Philippines Today is Flor Contempacion Day , and rallies are expected. However, whether it's Flor's death anniversary or not, rallies are expected for the wrongest of reasons. I would like to address this photo from the International State College of the Philippines' Facebook page. The demands here are rather clunky and stupid. We have the following demands that would naturally clash with each other, such as: No to the oil deregulation law while demanding lower oil prices. This is simply ignoring the basic fundamentals of economics, namely the law of supply and demand . They say that oil companies are greedy for gain. These rallyists probably don't really understand the difference between revenues and profits . Let's understand the Oil Deregulation Law  The Oil Deregulation Law, or the Republic Act No. 8479 , passed on February 10, 1998, under the late Fidel Valdez Ramos. Here's how the liberalization works: CHAPTER II  LIBERAL...
Read more

"Will #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics Lower Philippine Gas Prices?

Inquirer Gasoline prices have increased again, haven't they?  A few days ago, I wrote  why #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba's view of gas prices is questionable . Today, I feel like writing this after several complaints on Facebook. I would like to create a follow-up post. People are complaining too much without understanding the real reason why some countries have lower prices of gasoline. Real talk. We need to talk about economic policies,  and  of course, please do a study on supply-demand analysis  on supply chain management . Let's examine the complaints made by Bulatlat Bulatlat Here's a chart from Bulatlat that compares the increase in prices of gasoline between the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia. It's always problematic when people ignore simple economics. It's funny, but Bulatlat mentions this on their website: Note also how expensive our diesel and gasoline products are compared to those of our ASEAN neighbors. The estimated common price today of diesel in...
Read more

The Good Old Days when Gasoline was Cheaper Under the Late Noynoy Aquino

Millennials' Voice I would like to clarify first and foremost that this post isn't an attempt to say that the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III's legacy was all bad. Some good things happened. However, let me be clear that it's stupid to say, " We don't need economic cha-cha because of the late Noynoy. " However, let me clear that I decided to write this because of a Facebook post called Millennials' Voice , which wrote this: Did you know that during President Noynoy Aquino's time, the price of oil in the world market was high, between $100 and $110 per barrel. But even with those high prices, gasoline and diesel at local pumps in the country were still relatively affordable.  Under President Duterte, world oil prices went up and down, from a low of $41 to a high of $101 per barrel. The big jump to $101 in 2022 happened because of the war between Russia and Ukraine.   Now, under the current president, world oil prices have gone up again to around $...
Read more

The Tragic Windfall of the Late Flor Contemplacion's Family

PEH.ph Last year, I wrote an article talking about Flor Contemplacion crybabies spreading fake news for 30 years . I noticed that the movie could be watched for free on YouTube (which is one hour and 52 minutes long), and the one that you had to pay for via rent or personal soft copy ( which is two hours and two minutes long). I was looking into the film and realized the "for free" version lacks the exaggerated water dunking and electrocution torture scene, which I believe is available, which is a ten-minute difference. I remember seeing the old version where Flor was tortured by Singaporean police via water dunking and electrocution, to get an answer out of her. The famous line by the late Nora Aunor was, "I did not kill anybody!" It's 31 years, and I don't expect the fake news about Flor to stop just because  it's past 30. No, fake news is that hard to kill even in the digital age. It reminds me of the fate of Flor's sons , where one of them, Sandr...
Read more

Has Passing Down Hatred for Singapore (Because of Flor Contemplacion) Economically Helped the Philippines?

PEH.ph It was on March 17, 1995, when Flor Contemplacion was executed in Singapore. I've noticed that I've been addressing her as the late many times, even if the late is a statement that may be ony appropriate if the person has been recently deceased within 10 years. It's about to become 30 years since Flor was hanged in Singapore. However, generational hatred would've been passed down from 1995 up to 2025. Some people are still tagging #JusticeFor Flor. These traits may be passed down from the Batang 1990s to their children in this generation. It may also be passed down from parent to child, even if the child was born in the 2000s to 2010s. Somebody born in 2000s and beyond might even say, "Papa and mama told me about Flor Contemplacion! That's why I hate Singapore!" Talk about a child born in 2004 who's probably angry with Singapore, because his parents kept telling him about how Flor was supposedly "unjustly treated" over there.  Some tim...
Read more