Why Filipino Entrepreneurs Saying "Only FDIs Will Get Rich!" May Actually Translate Into "I Hate Competition!"

I remembered the 2016 elections and I was talking about the need to abolish 60-40 ownership for businesses. Somebody foolishly told me, "Why will you let them invest here! Only foreign investors will get rich! (Read my answer here)" There are many reasons people say such foolishness. I blame a lot of stuff such as economic illiteracy, the person being just plain stupid (then again, some stupid people may be better than me financially), or they're just plain dishonest. If there's one thing that some people forget about swindlers--it's that swindlers know they're lying. I bet Charles Ponzi, from long ago, knew his plans were too good to be true. I feel the late Bernard Madoff knew he was lying. I feel that people behind the cryptocurrency scam know they're lying. I feel some people posting anti-FDI sentiments on Facebook also know they're lying. They know that FDI helps a country but there are some selfish interests on the part of those who say it.

It's laughably stupid and frustrating, at the same time when business groups are the ones saying it. I feel that groups like Bayan Muna, IBON Foundation, Kabataan Partylist, and League of Filipino Students, know that they're lying. I feel that the likes of Teodoro A. Casiño and Neri Colmenares really know they're lying. I guess they just want to look good by the way they talk and move. Why are there Filipino entrepreneurs, of all people, who are now saying that only FDIs will get rich if you let them invest in the Philippines? It's expected to see the likes of Bayan Muna, IBON Foundation, Kabataan Partylist, and League of Filipino Students make such statements. Filipino enterpreneurs saying that? I feel there's nothing but selfish interest in saying it.

Here's a cartoon that I found on Facebook by Tipid Racing. We can say that the person who got a new promotion and a car is the FDI or an MNC. The bitter person is the bitter Filipino entrepreneur. The person inspired by the successful person is the Filipino entrepreneur who sees an inspiration. Maybe, you can compare him to Tony Tancaktiong who sees McDonald's as an inspiration. Jollibee was never built on Tancaktiong hating McDonald's, Wendy's, or the like. Instead, Tancaktiong took inspiration to compete against FDIs of his time. Maybe, we can also think of a lesson that the late John Gokongwei Jr. learned from his maternal grandfather. That lesson Gokongwei Jr. learned was that "Never fear the giants. They were once small companies." Jollibee was a company of humble beginnings. Reading about several MNCs you may realize how they were just small-time before that. Maybe, one can read about Bill Gates or the late Steve Jobs. Maybe, one can read about Kentucky Fried Chicken. Those major international food chains weren't giants. Jollibee was once a small company, facing competition, and now it's facing competition worldwide.

Now, we can think that the two owners of the Filipino businesses have two different views. The sore loser says, "See! I told you only MNCs will get rich if you let them invest here!" The sore loser, for all we know, has a lot of imported luxury items at home. The sore loser may be buried in debt trying to impress everyone that he's rich. Meanwhile, the winner mindset businessman says, "Why not take it as an inspiration for success?" The winner mentality person lives a modest life, has plenty of money, and remains humble. The sore loser may be blaming FDIs that nobody wants to go to his business. Who would want to go to his business if he's giving low payments, overcharging people for lousy services, and he's probably a xenophobe who hypocritically uses an iPhone or iPad to write anti-FDI sentiments. The winner mindset guy, on the other hand, sees the FDIs not just as a competition but as a network of newer service providers, suppliers, and more importantly, newer customers.

One could say that the sore loser businessman was used to having very little competition. He thinks that he's entitled because he's the only one providing it. He hates the idea that FDIs, in a similar industry, will compete against him. He's so used to receiving money even if the products and/or services he provides are of poor quality. In short, that loser mindset businessman is so used to easy money. When he says that only FDIs will get rich--he's actually saying, "I hate competition! My easy money is gone!" The loser mindset businessman is angry at the MNCs who are "stealing away" his customers. If the loser mindset businessman wasn't exploiting his customers--the MNCs wouldn't be leaving him.

The winner mindset businessman sees the potential. Slowly, he sees that they must upgrade or perish. He may have competition but he tries to see, "What can I learn from them?" Maybe, he sees that with newer technology, he can upgrade his services. He looks at his customers now having new competitors. He sees that his old customer has been facing FDIs as competitors. What he sees instead is, "Okay! I got to serve them." Think about the local general merchandise selling everyday food items. A new MNC enters and he sees it that, "Well, they'd want to get what's readily available." He would start to approach these MNCs and sell quality goods. It might be that a company needs sacks of rice for their company canteen or for the households of the executives. If your customer has a competitor then why not take that competitor as a new customer?

The same old lie has been propagated. Filipino First Policy has only caused the Philippines to fail. That's why I can no longer take Hilario G. Davide Jr. seriously. Instead, I can take Kishore Mahbubani more seriously when he said that FDIs teach new skills, bring in capital, and provide jobs (read here). Singapore has become a model country to follow. Even Communist China and Communist Vietnam learned from it. The late Lee Kuan Yew's book From Third World to First should remain an inspiration. LKY himself should not just be used to quote against the Marcoses (read here). Instead, learn more about LKY's economic polices that brought Singapore from a third-world country into a first-world country.

"Filipino First Policy" Has NO PLACE in the Rising Asian 21st Century

I guess nobody saw the Asian 21st Century coming, right? China was once a poor nation but look at it now. Vietnam was once a poor nation but look at it now. Singapore was once a poor nation but look at it now. The late great Lee Kuan Yew wrote his book From Third World to First . I'm afraid some people have been using it to go against the presidency of Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. while ignoring what else Lee Kuan Yew had to say. Lee Kuan Yew described the Filipino press to be rambunctious on pages 304-305 which I agree. I'm afraid that the Filipino press may have had a hand in getting rid of any economic or political reforms that could help the Philippines. Yet, one policy has been holding back the Philippines for decades and yes, it's the Filipino First Policy . Reviewing the Filipino First Policy and why it has no place in the rising Asian 21st century I remembered how the values education subject taught Carlos P. Garcia's stupid Filipino First Policy as a Filipino value

The Problem with the Philippine Education System is That It Inadvertently Tends to Make One Stroke One's Ego

What happens is that the traditional Philippine education system focuses too much on monuments of fame rather than learning milestones . It reminds me of the incident where Rep. Raoul Abellar Manuel stressed out he was a cum laude, and that he's not stupid. I feel this is a microcosm of a much bigger problem that happens with the education system. I'm not going to deny that going to the University of the Philippines and graduating summa cum laude isn't an easy feat. However, I wrote an article on what's the use of being a summa cum laude when one opposes badly needed reforms . It's because whether we want to admit it or not, schools focus too much on the ability to memorize without also focusing on the ability to understand . Memory is also the least reliable tool. It would be time to continuously attack the problems of the education system. I felt shamed back then because students were often told, "Your grades will determine your future!" In college, I

Is Anybody Willing to Prove Filipino First Policy Has a Place in the Rising Asian Century for a Million Pesos, Tax Free?

Yesterday was the birthday of former president Carlos P. Garcia, who died in 1971. Garcia is often associated with the Filipino First Policy. Back in the 1990s, I remember how Filipino First Policy was taught in values education classes --never mind the glaring contradictions. The contradictions are that imported equipment was used, or that we can literally never escape the use of imported equipment. I wrote an article discussing why Garcia's Filipino First Policy has no place in the rising Asian Century . I haven't done academic work right now, having been disgruntled by the Filipino education system. Sadly, not even graduate school taught me the basics of stock market investment (such as equity funds) or how Cash 2 Go works. That's why some people say, "It's just a degree!" I often said, "Well your doctor went to college, your lawyer went to college, etc." However, it looks like a college degree may not be for everyone, under K+12! Some people are

The Philippines' Decades-Long OUTDATED Education System

As a child born in the 1980s, I would say I was born during the Marcos Years and I was about a year old when the EDSA Revolution happened. That means I've passed through a lot of stuff rendered obsolete today such as dial-up Internet (which my parents refused to get due to how it interrupted the phone lines unlike the Digital Subscriber Line), cassette players, VHS players, and may I mention the education system . It might be fun to think of times when people of my age group watched The Flintstones or The Flintstone Kids (picture above) during the 1990s imagining school during the stone age. However, these photos today may make me cringe to think about how I grew up in an outdated education system. My recollection of the outdated education system in my eyes from the 1990s before K+12 got implemented My current readings through the book From Third World to First by the late Lee Kuan Yew made me want to write this. The recent chapters I'm in are "Deng Xiaoping's China&qu

Pinoy Pride Economics' Filipino vs. Foreigner False Dichotomy

Two years ago, I wrote about the socio-economic cost of Pinoy Pride Economics . It might be better to call it Pinoy Fried Economics because such mentalities have caused the Philippines to fail. Pinoy Pride Economics has fried up any potential for the Philippines to improve. As it's August, the month is commonly called Buwan Ng Wika (month of the language), the celebrations tend to focus more on the celebration of Filipino Culture instead of Tagalog. I remember Buwan Ng Wika programs tend to showcase how cultural exchange evolved the Filipino Culture--such as showing the Chinese traders and Americans in their interaction with Filipinos. On this very first day of August, I'll discuss the problem of the Filipino vs. Foreigner dichotomy. Last I re-studied Filipino History, I never saw it as once free from foreign influence. The Chinese traded with the Philippines--way before the Chinese Communist of China (CCP) caused trouble because of their country's terrible leadership .

The Insanity of Quoting the Late Lee Kuan Yew About the Marcoses While Ignorning the Rest of His Helpful Advice for the Philippines

It may not be Singapore day yet, it's still July and that event is in August. However, some people are now raising placards all over again because the 17th Philippine president is none other than Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Som people tend to quote from the book From Third World to First . I did buy the book last year and started reading it slowly. I did get a slow read when it came to the late Lee Kuan Yew meeting the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. The description of Marcos was anything but flattering. I read the book and LKY mentioned that he was not confident that Marcos Sr. could pay back the money. The Philippines wasn't in the "golden years" as some would like to make it out. Yet, it seems that the only time LKY is ever mentioned is whenenver it's about the Marcoses and tends to be ignored when it's about how the Philippines can improve. Parliamentary system is often viewed in the wrong way Whenever Singapore is mentioned, I tend to talk about the parliamenta

The Economic Ignorance of Saying Landlords and Stock Traders Contribute Nothing to Society

Finding anti-capitalist (or better said, anti-business) wokes on Facebook (of all places) is just plain funny. Maybe, the term socialist isn't so negative since the late Lee Kuan Yew considered himself a socialist, the late Deng Xiaoping is the author of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and Vietnam still considers itself as a socialist country. The picture above this paragraph says that landlords and stock traders allegedly "contribute absolutely nothing to society". I feel compelled to write a bit of a post since, as a business graduate, I do feel insulted. Then again even if I didn't get an MBA--I do still feel insulted myself! How good landlords contribute to society Landlords are often said to be a blight. Some say that it's the "easiest job in the world". However, managing real estate (especially rentals ) isn't as easy as some think. I wrote an essay as to why being a landowner isn't as easy as some people think . I would like to d

Were Econ Cha-Cha Opponents Forced to Buy Luxury Products When They Have the FREEDOM to Buy More Affordable Products?

Do econ cha-cha opponents have no choice because FDIs "unfairly" own the means of production (read here )? There's always the tendency to say that they participate in capitalism because they have "no choice" but to participate in it to survive. The screenshot above is of Rosario Guzman of the IBON Foundation . They say that the business owners "unfairly" own the means of production (read here ). The photo above makes me laugh because why in the world are they using a MacPro ? I ask, "If you hate capitalism, why use Apple?" They have their usual rhetoric that it's because the workers should own the means of production as if workers were the ones who bought the equipment. It's as if the workers become the most liable for bad business decisions. One wrong check mark and the company may go south. Another question to fire is, "Did society force you to buy Apple products which you know for well, is rather expensive?" This may mak

It's Not Enough to Have a Good Teacher, You Must Have a System That Encourages Teachers To Do BETTER

It's been some time since Miriam Defensor-Santiago (or MDS for short) died in 2016. It's hard to forget the time she grilled former PNP chief Alan LM Purisima over the demise of SAF-44. While listening to her sermon, I remember the teacher I fondly called "My MDS style teacher!" I still owe a debt of gratitude to her for helping me become better. Yes, she was feisty, and not so many parents liked her temper. However, she was better than that elementary mathematics teacher. I may have not done well in high school but I say she was a good teacher. I failed to think outside the box. She always made us think outside the box. It's easy to say, "Well, we just need good teachers and there's no problem with the system." However, like MDS, I'd react to that and say, "Really?" That was MDS' reaction when Purisima tried to play with words. Purisima was infamous for saying that he didn't give an order and only advice. Even funnier was when

Where's One's Priorities in Complaining About Rising Prices?!

I found this meme on Facebook. For the sake of non-Tagalog speakers, it means: For each one that costs PHP 75.00 no complaints. PHP 50.00 per kilo, always complaining! Last year, I wrote about what's dubbed as pera-normal activities . I would like to write about another cause behind these pera-normal activities. People tend to complain that the prices of goods and services have risen. However, they have no complaints about the rising prices of things they don't need. The meme on Facebook shows two things--the gin and the kilo of rice. I was skeptical about President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr.'s promise of PHP 20.00 per kilo of rice. The promise is ridiculous but he won anyway . We can thank the presidential system and the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines for that! Now, critics of Bongbong are demanding PHP 20.00 per kilo of rice. Shouldn't the critics show why it's impossible given the current circumstances? This editorial cartoon from The Mani

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