Would You Rather Endure Faulty and/or ARROGANT Filipino Transportation Services Because of Filipino First?

Cabalen AETA Farmers & Partners

While looking for something new to write today, I found this meme on Facebook. I remember my college days when I would ride a taxi to go home. Sure, I rode a jeepney but there were limits to where the jeepneys were allowed to enter. I'd like to share my experience with snob taxi drivers. These people have had all their excuses. I'll translate some of the captions above for non-Tagalog speakers. "Traffic 'don!" means "It's traffic there!" "Malayo!" means "Far!" "Ban Uuber and Crab! Ito lang kabuhayan natin!" means "Ban Uuber and Crab! It's our only livelihood!" A lot of Filipinos may have faced these types of snob taxi drivers.

Some time ago, I wrote an article asking if one would be willing to eat rotten meat in an isolated-type Philippines. Another question is whether one would endure faulty and/or arrogant Filipino transportation services. That's endure such fools in the name of Filipino First. One might say, "Man! Think about the local taxi drivers driven by foreign services!" Never mind that when one gets a Grab or Uber driver in the Philippines, the driver isn't from Singapore or the USA. Instead, the drivers of Grab Philippines and Uber Philippines are Filipinos. Yes, I don't see Singaporeans or Americans driving these services. Their drivers are Filipinos because they're from the Philippine branch. So much for saying that FDIs won't provide jobs for Filipinos (read here)!

All the cries for "nationalism" are hypocritical. I wrote an article daring proponents of self-industrialization to find purely Filipino equipment. None of the taxis used by these drivers who may want to ban Grab and Uber are Filipino-made. There may be some car factories in the Philippines but the brands are imported. For example, Toyota (my favorite brand nonetheless) is from Japan. Before they cry for Filipino Pride, I dare these idiots to assemble their own cars first. Part of the challenge is that these parts must also be proudly Filipino-made. The harsh truth is that it's plain impossible!

Filipino First Policy lacks the pragmatism that Kishore Mahbubani of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) recommends. Just because Mahbubani said the statement above doesn't mean nothing is wrong with the current 1987 Consitution of the Philippines. If the 1987 Constitution was meant to be set in stone. Article XVII says that the Philippine constitution is open for revisions. Revisions like deleting the Negative List in the Philippines should've been done years ago. Instead, others treated the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines like it was some "divine revelation from Heaven". That was never the intent of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines! It was never meant to be unamended to fit in with the situation. Right now, even Atty. Antonio Carpio, a former member of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, now supports economic amendments!

Let's take for example two foreign companies that helped Filipino food businesses (read here). Any good Filipino business could care less if what can help their business prosper is Filipino or foreign (read here). One of the jokes I wrote was about using a pushcart to perform delivery services for Filipino products. The Filipino entrepreneur who takes the pragmatic approach will say, " I don't care if the service is Filipino or foreign. What matters to me is that it will help my business prosper." That's why I was able to enjoy a lot of Filipino-made foods before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and now. I could order food from Chika-An and Golden Cowrie, delivered by either Grab or Food Panda. the driver that dropped it wasn't Singaporean or German--it was my fellow Filipino.

Instead, Filipinos should learn to be flexible around local investments and FDIs. They would want to get local-based raw materials because of availability. However, only some things of high quality are available locally. Getting quality transportation service is also important. Instead, it takes on Deng Xiaoping's pragmatic approach, "It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white. What's important is that it catches mice!"

Open FDI Equals CHINA?!

This is an interesting drawing I found on Facebook. It's often used to portray people who look at the removal of the unnecessarily restrictive 60-40 shares ownership policy as, "The current president's gift to China." The same was done during former Philippine president Atty. Rodrigo R. Duterte. The same was also done with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. It makes me think of stupid comments written by idiots on Facebook. It would be ironic if a lot of anti-FDI and anti-American rants were made not only on Facebook but also were typed using Apple gadgets of all things! They may be quick to use whatever irrational reasons. Some reasons can range from foreigners "unfairly" owning the means to produce equipment (read here ) and that they're simply forced to participate in the capitalist economy model to survive (read here ). However, I must ask if these guys were forced to use the luxury brands they're using (read here ). As the map shows, s

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics Will Ultimately Hurt the WORKING CLASS

Cartoonist Zach Some people claim to fight for the working class--while refusing to work themselves. Some people claim to fight for the working class--while supporting policies that will prove detrimental to the working class. One of these policies is #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba--meaning to raise salaries and lower prices. I wrote some time ago about why #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba doesn't work . However, I'lm still attacked by Ad Homimens and Nom Sequiturs. How's that even possible anyway? Economics isn't magic! If President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr.'s promise of PHP 20.00 kilo rice is absurd--so is the promise of #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics! Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020 I don't need a PhD in economics to understand cost accounting. The income statement would include salaries as part of the cost. The cost of goods sold includes salaries. Marketing and promotions include salaries. General and administrative would include salaries. Pa

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

Millions of Studies from the Trust Me Bro School of Economics Show #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Business Model Works

Happy Labor Day anyone? It's this time of the year when labor groups like Kilusang Mayo Uno (literally the May One Movement) would protest. They would raise banners demanding #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba. For those who don't speak Tagalog, it means raising salaries and lowering the prices of goods. However, basic cost accounting will tell you that salaries are part of the cost of production . People ignore facts and choose their feelings a lot . I tell them that salaries are part of the cost of production (no need for a Ph. D for that, which I no longer aim to get) but they just sneer at it . They think the government has absolute control over the economy like magic . Members of Filipino labor groups may even say that wage hikes aren't inflationary even when evidence shows otherwise. The Economics Help website presents why doing so can actually worsen inflation: Wage Push Inflation. If labour is able to push for higher wages, despite lower growth, then we could get a combi

What's the Use of Complaining About Jollibee Acquiring Companies BUT Not Accepting Open FDI to Bring in COMPETITION to the Philippines?

Anti-Snowflake Squad Facebook Page I was checking across Facebook and noticed some idiots complaining about Jollibee acquiring companies. The same idiots turned out to be anti-FDI--the same group that converses with Porky Madugo and Mukhang Adik. As usual, I will not directly link the idiots (or even reveal them directly, they will reveal themselves) to avoid giving them clout. Here's a statement by Porky that may make anyone wonder if (1) he knows he's lying (which I think he is for some self-serving reason ), or (2) he doesn't know what he's talking about: The monopolization of business ruins the business. It degrades the quality of the business of a product. If you think monopolization is good, that's stupidity. It kills the competition and it kills the business. Well, as old saying goes: "capitalists are the only one will destroy themselves." Since when did capitalism mean killing competition? Isn't Porky supposedly a die-hard Communist? In the

La Salsa: The Delicious Filipino-Mexican Cantina at Lahug, Cebu City

La Salsa Facebook Page I've eaten at La Salsa Twice. I've tried eating at El Taquito (which is probably no longer operational in Cebu) and El Loco (which closed down years ago). I've eaten the Mexican American style of Red Lizard (read here ). La Salsa Filipino-Mexican Cantina offers a delicious blend of Mexican food for the Filipino customer. It's another experience for delicious Mexican-style cooking. I've tried their beef fajita and enchilada. These are some of my favorite Mexican foods. For my first two dine-ins--I felt the cozy atmosphere of a home . I expected the enchiladas to be thinner but they are thicker. Perhaps, it's a different enchilada than the one I ate years ago. Both are delicious in their own way. I enjoyed the huger serving of enchilada. Right now, it's still the soft opening. Some items won't be available at the moment. Based on my own personal review, I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys fusion cooking. I love h

Forget About Open FDI, Let's Open #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Stores Instead

A really disastrous decision! Before the Buwan ng Wika ends, I want to write about those who have been demanding "Sahod itaas! Presyo ibaba!" (Raise salaries, lower prices). Back in 2022, I wrote an article discussing why the demands for higher salaries, lower prices of goods, and handouts for all are a recipe for disaster . I could laugh at people who believed in the promise of PHP 20.00 per kilo of rice promise of Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Before that, people had been demanding #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba during the reigns of the late former president Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III and former president Rodrigo R. Duterte. Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020 I did explain why the model doesn't work. In the cost of production, you need to account for everything that happens including salaries . Raising salaries during inflation can actually worsen the situation . It's because sticky inflation happens with cost-push factors (ex. cost of gasoline, co

A Fun Song to Start Learning the New Pinyin Sequence

I was looking for a song in relation to the BoPoMoFo. In my case, I'm prone to calling Pinyin "BoPoMoFo" until today (read here ). It's because Pinyin basically serves the same purpose as Zhuyin--teaching one how to read Chinese. I'd like to say that I got too comfortable with this old sequence: I may hate memorizing Zhuyin but I like treating Pinyin in the same sequence. The new table which uses the 23 initials-24 finals method (read here ) can be confusing. Some old-timers may have an easier time transliterating the Zhuyin into Pinyin. However, I still find the new sequence confusing. I may no longer remember Zhuyin (and I kept failing at it and kept memorizing sentences without understanding) but I can remember Pinyin. Except my memorization of the Pinyin was in the BoPoMoFo sequence. With more than a billion Chinese speakers worldwide--can we keep using the old books to teach Mandarin? That's why I wrote about why the old Chinese textbooks can't be us

"But the Philippines Isn't Taiwan!" is Just Another Lame Excuse to Justify Filipino First Policy

Atlas Institute for Internal Affairs Happy Double 10 to Taiwan! Chinese Filipino schools would take part in what's often called the Double 10 celebrations. October is the 10th month and it's the 10th day. I remember talking about how Taiwan succeeded by accepting FDIs and how the Filipino First Policy caused us to fail . The typical response I would get on American-made social media (of all places), such as Facebook, would be, "How many times do I need to stress that the Philippines isn't Taiwan. We are the Philippines! We are unique!" If those fools did a study, they may realize that there's a link between the Taiwanese aborigines and the Filipino aborigines (read here ). The Philippines should've learned from Taiwan during COVID-19 One of the best models for fighting COVID-19 was Taiwan. Sure, I'm more in favor of shifting to a parliamentary system and Taiwan is still a presidential country (with parliamentary features). Former Taiwanese president

The Pinaskohan Mentality is Keeping Poor Filipinos, POOR

Philippine Star Is it me or is the Christmas Season really that toxic in the Philippines? I wrote an article about the irony of early Christmas season with late Christmas shopping . I didn't think about writing this but is it me or do people like to ask for impunity during the Christmas season? Think about that toxic former friend or former romantic partner. You cut off that person because of the toxic behavior he or she shows. However, you meet at a public place during the -ber months. The person says, "Let's reconcile! It's Christmas!" I can be open to reconciliation with classmates with who I had a childish quarrel back in high school. So far, one of the people I had a childish grudge wasn't a toxic person. The reason why I feel I can reconcile with that person is because he's productive . The same can't be said for people who have a toxic attitude. What do several Filipinos look forward to during Christmas? Would it be just the spiritual signific

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