The Parable of the Lubi Iton Bag

Introduction

First and foremost, let me remind you that this is a joke post. There was this picture on Facebook that went circulating as a joke. Lubi (coconut leaf) Iton is a joke in Louie Vuitton. Personally, I don't recommend branded items because most of them are just of the same quality as regular items. With the calls for the People's Initiative going on, I noticed some people are still spreading the wrong information about FDIs. You can have Facebook pages left and right doing so. You also have groups like Bayan Muna, IBON Foundation, Kabataan Partylist, League of Filipino Students, and Migrante International to name those opposed to FDI. Now, I hope that this joke post will fire some shots.

I took the idea from the CoRRECT Movement's "The Parable of the Mountain Bike". Take note that I intend to let this story be as funny (and offensive) as I can within reason. I will be putting real-life characters in this one. But this post will be written as a joke to address the foolishness of some real-life characters. There will be some people who will go by nicknames as well.

How the story goes

Once upon a time, in a country named the Philippines, the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines was born. People thought that the brighter days were ahead now that the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Jr. was deposed from power. It was a great day of victory. People were dancing in the streets. It was time to say, "The Philippines is free!" In 1986, a new constitution was to be written. They say it was written only by the best and the brightest. However, some fundamental flaws in the 1987 Constitution weren't addressed. The 1987 Constitution did indeed provide rules and regulations for human rights. What it missed (and sorely missed) was that economics was also needed to completely fill in human freedom. Instead, it was still following the late Carlos P. Garcia's lousy Filipino First Policy.

The time came when in 2023, the People's Initiative was born. Attempts to do so weren't successful in both the regimes of the late Fidel V. Ramos (because of a lot of misinformation) and during the time of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Sure, there were improvements during the time of the late Benigno Simeon S. Aquino. Atty. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo was also interested in amending the constitution for the sake of foreign investments. However, some people were still stubborn, treating the Constitution like it was a holy book. They started popping out Facebook pages. They would also quote from the likes of Silent No More PH to defend the "infallibility" of the 1987 Constitution.

Now, the move was made to promote Sariling Atin Only. In English, that would mean, "Ours alone only". To prove that the Philippines can do everything on its own - several groups who are against FDIs started to group together. The idea was to promote Filipino greatness. They all thought and thought. Sonny Africa of the IBON Foundation reviewed an old article on national industrialization and quoted this:

Our industrial backwardness has huge adverse implications. It results in massive domestic joblessness. Buying imported goods supports jobs abroad rather than in the country. Exporting our raw minerals and agricultural resources for processing in other countries creates jobs in those countries rather than here. Our people are thus forced into uncertain informal jobs or to work overseas. The absence of a robust, integrated Filipino industrial sector keeps our science and technology backward, keeps us dependent on foreign goods and services, and prevents us from benefiting from our natural resources. The domestic economy does not generate as much economic surplus as it could which keeps incomes low aside from giving foreign capital undue leverage over national economic policy.

The idea was to create a purely Filipino product. They had to find ways to make it look purely Filipino. Of course, these guys weren't exactly too keen on giving up their imported products. Finally, they gathered coconut leaves and other native materials. They created a bag called Lubi Iton. However, they hypocritically advertised Lubi Iton on a platform that's supposedly made by "American imperialists". They paid Facebook for the promotion. Soon enough, word came out and Lubi Iton caught the curiosity of the people. The tagline was written in Tagalog, It was written as, "Tangkilikin ang sariling atin! Bumili ng lokal para sa mga negosyante! Bilihin ang Lubi Iton! 100% Pinoy Pride!" In English, it would mean, "Support our very own! Buy local for our businessmen! Buy Lubi Iton! 100% Pinoy Pride!"

The launch took place at Club Filipino. Since most Filipinos were Catholics, they hired two bishops who were also against constitutional reform. The mass was presided over by Archbishop Socrates Villegas and assisted by Father Roderick Pabillo. The mass was scheduled to start at 9:30 A.M. but in the spirit of "Filipino Time"--they decided to start it at an hour later. This caused the chagrin of reporters who were willing to interrogate the event at Club Filipino. The event required people to speak only in Tagalog, because it was the national language. The lunch party would only serve Filipino food, never find that Filipino food is a mixture of several cultures.

After a grueling hour of waiting, the mass began at 10:30 A.M. Villegas delivered a sermon on how FDI is not pro-Filipino. Readings were also done by other stubborn anti-reform politicians and lawyers. After the opening mass, the product launch was done. Lubi Iton bags were brought in by the members of Kabataan Partylist and the League of Filipino Students. Villegas began leading the blessing of the Lubi Iton with holy water. The invocation was spoken in Tagalog.

It was time for the open forum with the reporters. The reporters couldn't help but backbite the organizers for their lack of consideration. It's because one hour is a lot of time and the reporters may have other things to do. The same went with the guests. Those who would answer questions were Atty. Neri Colmenares for Bayan Muna, Arlene Brosas for Gabriela, Frances Castro for Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Raoul Manuel for Kabataan Partylist, Carwyn Candila for League of Filipino Students, Joshua Nadura for the Philippine Anti-Fascist League, Gary Martinez for Migrante International, and Africa for IBON Foundation. Just then, nobody could help but comment that the people were using MacPRO laptops.

Just then, somebody stood out from the crowd who joined the product launch. He soon asked if Lubi Iton was supposed to support Sariling Atin Only mentality, why was the board launching it, using imported products, pointed out that they were using MacPROs, that the types of equipment were all imported, and that the Lubi Iton bag even had a paid sponsorship from Facebook. It was to address that if they hated American imperialists so much--why even buy American imperialist products?

Raoul replied that they were simply forced to participate in capitalism to survive. Joshua replied that they had no choice but to use the equipment. The same person then even further asked if they were forced to buy iPhones and MacPROs. The same questioner talked about how national industrialization failed and that even Communist countries like China and Vietnam succeeded. Joshua tried to say how he could take the person seriously with that question. The questioner soon took a lot of data, read from several pages of the book From Third World to First citing Vietnam's and China's openness. The same person cited the study of the late Nguyen Duy Cong aka Do Muoi and the late Lee Kuan Yew. Gary got offended and mentioned the late Flor Contemplacion, the moment Singapore was raised. Members of Migrante International began to sing "Kahit Konting Awa" or "Just a Little Pity" to help them remember Flor.

The event soon turned sour. Even more, as Sarah Elago was receiving calls using her latest iPhone, she was reminded Apple was an FDI and that none of them were using Pinoy-branded gadgets. Sarah got mad and started crying loudly. Raoul jumped to Sarah's defense and threatened to punch the same questioner. Soon enough, more people who attended the event started to raise their doubts. More similar questions such as showing studies in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and many more countries that progressed using FDI. More and more people read from LKY which only caused more members of Migrante to shout "Justice for Flor Contemplacion!"

Without a choice, the organizers of the event called security and threw away the people. Villegas and Pabillo took some holy water, sprinkling it on them, calling them as unholy demons who defile the 1987 Constitution. Soon enough, the people were escorted away from Club Filipino. Just then they forgot to throw one more person who said, "What's next? Are you calling the International Criminal Court, which by the way, is foreign, to arrest us?" Angered, they threw away the last person until the room was left with just them and their kind, or so they thought.

The event left the members losing their appetites but they had to eat anyway. However, the scandal wasn't exactly hidden. The people they threw out had purposely irritated them. The whole tantrum wasn't put in the pages of the people involved. It was supposedly blocked on Facebook but through some technicality, the scandalous tantrum was shown. It was put in YouTube and got so many views. The Lubi Iton bag, which was supposedly launched, soon got boycotted. It's because the people behind Lubi Iton were revealed to be selfish people, after their own interests only.

Leaving a thought

It would be worth asking, "What is the agenda of economic protectionism anyway? Is it about Filipino businessmen or only those who are considered in the oligarchy? Is it all about the interest of the Filipinos or the interest of those in power?" With the example shown, they tried to advertise Filipino First but ended up showing their inconsistencies. When asked about their inconsistencies, one must ask, "Why the double standard?" It would also be best to ask, "Why did they react that way when their inconsistency and double standard got exposed?"

Get Stuck with EDSA, End Up Like Nokia

Yes, we should never forget what history teaches us. A classmate of mine, back in high school, wrote a simple and blunt essay called "History: A Teacher". I doubt he still has a soft copy, given it was already more than 20 years ago. I'd like to quote Duterte critic Andrew James Masigan wrote this in Philippine Star --something that should remain relevant: I would never undervalue the 1987 Constitution. It dismantled the legal framework of a repressive regime and established the democratic institutions we enjoy today. For this, I am grateful. The 1987 Constitution was crafted with the best of intentions. It sought to put the Filipino first in all aspects of governance and to level the playing field amongst sectors and peoples. But it is far from perfect. It failed to consider the importance of foreign capital and technologies and the stiff competition we would have to face to obtain them. In short, its economic provisions were short-sighted . So despite the Constitut...

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics' Bad Accounting

I would like to apologize in advance to my readers. The picture I'm presenting is in Tagalog, and not all my readers speak Tagalog. I would translate the picture's text into English for convenience. It says: "Ano ang bumubuo sa mga presyo?" means "What comprises the price?" "Gastos ng materyales" means materials expense "Gastos sa kasangkapan" means depreciation expense ""Gaston sa pasahod" means salary expense "Kapitalista" means capitalist Renta is well, rent "Kayang pababain ang presyo" means "Prices can be lowered". It says that capitalists (industrialists, landlords, bankers) and elitist governments are part in the gross profit. Get rid of excise taxes (either permanently or temporarily) for the prices of goods and services. In the times of crisis, in the burden of sacrifices, we need to be watchful for capacity. Whatever savings for times of difficulty by the workers and countrymen, the...

Past Chinese School Education in the Philippines was Based on "Sǐ Jì Yìng Bèi"

Chinoys of my age (and older) may remember these textbooks. I called them as the "symbol of trauma". It was memorizing something without understanding it . One would just memorize (without understanding it) because it was typical. Not being able to memorize what was assigned? Get a bad grade? One can expect physical punishment like hitting the hand with a ruler or chili in the mouth. Chinese language teachers are stereotypically strict . The language textbooks (above) are what were used during the 1990s to the early 2000s. As I wrote it, the Sinjiang textbooks aren't effective in teaching Mandarin , in a world where Mandarin has over a billion speakers! There's a Chinese proverb that says, "死記硬背 sǐ jì yìng bèi" or "Memorize to the point of death". That's exactly what those textbooks are. Memorize to the point of death! Okay, it may sound exaggerated. However, that's how Chinese language teachers in the Philippines were made to teach the ...

Migrante International's Really Bad Economic Literacy

March 17 (which is tomorrow) seems to be an unofficial holiday for some people, right? I'm sickened that the late Flor Contemplacion has been treated like she's some national heroine (and thankfully, tomorrow isn't a holiday) even after Singapore had proven her guilt. A movie was made by Joel Lamangan called The Flor Contemplacion Story . The call for Migrante (Migrant) International has been to remember Flor even after several years. What's not too surprising was to learn that Flor's sons were all arrested for drug-related charges. Even her eldest son died while in prison. You have Migrante International wanting to end the labor export policy. However, a post by Migrante really shows how this group fails basic economics. I will not post the whole press statement but one part that made my eyes roll. >> Further opening the country’s economy to foreign ownership and control will worsen the exploitation of our people and the environment without creating a susta...

"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...

Remembering the Late Jesse Robredo's Quote on Systems That Force People to be Good

It's been some time since Jesse M. Robredo died too soon. Hopefully, his wife Atty. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo is true to her word, in her willingness to amend the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, for the sake of foreign investments. It's a shame I never wrote about the late great man. The CoRRECT Movement on Facebook gave this important note on Robredo's life. Robredo said, "It's not enough for an official to be good. There has to be a system that forces them to be good." Whether or not Robredo was for charter change or a few constitutional amendments, I can't tell. For some racists, let me remind them that Robredo's real surname is Lim and his paternal grandfather is the late Lim Pay Co. In terms of Robredo's credentials (and I tend to sometimes brag about the credentials of those I quote), here's what the City Government of Naga website says: He is an Edward Mason Fellow and a graduate of Masters in Public Administration at the John...

Filipino First Education Created the Fixed Mindset Over Growth Mindset Mentality

Tomorrow is Bonifacio Day. It's effortless to say that Filipino First Policy works. I wouldn't be surprised if Andres Bonifacio gets used as a poster boy. However, Bonifacio worked for British and German investors . I'd like to talk about how decades of Filipino First Policy compromised our education system. Some idiot on Facebook said which I'll paraphrase to avoid getting personal. The idiot said, "If you let foreigners invest here, can Filipinos afford it?" The same idiot also scorns the law of supply and demand (read my post discussing why that's plain silly here ). People who believe in #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba must first prove it works by opening such stores nationwide, to show that the Philippines doesn't need FDI to succeed (read here ). Of course, I can expect them to say "It's the government's responsibility to raise salaries without raising the prices of goods." That's just plain bad accounting and finance too! Andrew Ja...

Refuse to Do Business with a Person Who Looks Down on Menial Work

If there's any reason why some people are angry with the rich--it's because of rich people who look down on the poor. Some people are born rich without knowing the struggles of the one who originally acquired the wealth. Some rich parents make the fatal mistake of making their children feel entitled. Meanwhile, some rich parents make their children do the right thing by not waiting until things get too far. Some rich parents end up making their children attend middle-class schools, do summer jobs, work as employees in their own businesses, and teach them the value of wealth, especially by narrating the struggles before they got wealthy. In looking for a business partner, I feel it's very important to look at the attitude of these people. How do they treat people who do menial work? I could imagine looking forward to a business contract. However, it turns out that the potential business partner is a spoiled brat . Maybe, it's already a red alarm if I'm invited to an ...

Dayang Daya: The Case of Five-Six Lending Services Roaming to Collect Christmas/New Year Debts by January

I remember during the late 1990s when the song "Dayang Dayang" (Princess of the First Degree) was played on the radio. The origins are often debated whether or not it was from Muslim Mindanao or from the other neighboring countries. The Philippines has had settlers also from Malaysia and Indonesia. A parody cover by the late Yoyoy Villame was called Dayang Daya or Cheating Cheating. It was probably making fun of the Indian five-six lending business. Indians tend to be called Bombay because of the location known as Mumbai. I even made the mistake of referring to Indians as "Bombays" more than once. The song "Dayang Daya" does talk about the five-six lending services. It does target a lot of gullible people. I even became nearly distrustful of Indians in college for quite some time. I wrote how a Merry Christmas may lead to an Unhappy New Year due to debt burden (read here ). I tend to say to myself, "Somebody hasn't paid their debt!" every ti...

Will Opening the Philippines to 100% FDI Lead to Foreign Monopoly?

Monopoly - Hasbro I was looking at the CoRRECT Movement Moderated Public Forum on Facebook. I found more illogical arguments by a certain troll in the forum named Juan Dalisay Jr.--the writer of the Superphysics One website. However, this isn't the first argument I ran into as I've seen arguments from Kabataan Partylist and the League of Filipino Students on Facebook. They have claimed that foreign direct investments (FDIs) will lead to exploitation, only they will get rich, that they will rape resources, and an even funnier claim is that they will lead to monopolies . Some people, even fools, should be allowed to defend themselves at CoRRECT Moderated Public Forum than just live in their echo chamber of Facebook pages. However, Kishore Mahbubani and the late Lee Kuan Yew had long disproven that . The testimony is in the book From Third World to First by Lee himself. Mahbubani said foreign investors create jobs, bring capital, and teach new skills. I wonder if protectionist adv...

Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

Search This Blog