Do Filipino Businesses Do Worse Whenever Foreign Investments Do Well in the Philippines?

It's still Buwan Ng Wika or Month of the Language. Even if it's not Buwan Ng Produkto or Month of the Product--I still feel the need to write this. It's because schools tend to focus more on Filipino heritage than the Tagalog language. The meme above with Atty. Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna (last 2016) has an absurd statement. Where do you think the microphone and other stuff that Atty. Colmenare is using, came from? Atty. Colmenares' statement in complete English is, "The moment you allow entry of foreign products in the Philippines, they will beat down the local businesses and industry." The claim to that claim is baloney. What's Atty. Colmenares going to encourage? Would Atty. Colmenares encourage Filipinos to blame the richer Asian neighbors (read here)?

Last August 10, I wrote about asking if the Philippines is poorer because Singapore is richer. I find the statement as stupid as saying the Philippine peso is weaker because the U.S. dollar is stronger, courtesy of Rep. Ferdinand Alexander "Sandro" Araneta Marcos. I laughed at the statement because, like Jose Enrique "Sonny" Africa, both are graduates of the London School of Economics. Going back, I can't resist raising up Atty. Colmenares and some of his fellows at Bayan Muna, such as Atty. Teodoro "Teddy" A. Casiño. It's because of what Atty. Casiño wrote at Rappler last 2018--the same year when Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. also said such nonsense about FDIs. Part of what Atty. Casiño said in Part 2 of the said article is this:

Without definite limits on foreign ownership and with no preference for Filipino citizens and corporations, the Constitutional provisions on the national economy and patrimony would become a tabula rasa. It would now be up to the Federal Assembly to determine policies on foreign equity sharing and just about anything there is about the economy and our natural resources. This, of course, creates an entirely new window for corporate lobbying, putting small, underfunded Filipino citizens and corporations at a great disadvantage.

This is what the late Lee Kuan Yew would call a third-world mentality. If Kishore Mahbubani of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) were here to debate with Atty. Davide, chances are Mahbubani will call Atty. Davide as a third-world thinker. Apparently, the likes of Atty. Casiño and his fellow Bayan Muna colleague Atty. Colmenares wants Filipinos to think, "The reason why Filipino businesses are doing bad, is because of MNCs." However, these guys may have just bought a brand-new iPhone and went to American-based Starbucks after saying such nonsense. Chances are that like some members of the IBON Foundation--they used MacPROs to type their nonsense!

Why Filipino businesses can't blame FDIs for doing worse

I wrote an article on Filipino businesses that says only FDIs will get rich--translating into a sore loser mentality. This reminds me if some Filipino business owners decide to blame FDIs for their bad performance--it's a sore loser mentality. It's always easier to blame someone successful for your failure, isn't it? After all, businesses run on innovation and proper implementation. There are many factors why businesses fail or succeed. Knowing the target market is one. In businesses, we have the PESTLE analysis. PESTLE examines the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, and Economic factors.

I would like to raise an example of when a Zamboanga-ran halal restaurant crashed downtown. I can't be sure why they closed. It might have to do something with their poor sanitation and the City Health sacking them. It caused me to write about why Filipino halal restaurant owners can't blame the Arabs for their losses. I remember showing the photos of the kitchen set-up to the employees working with for Arabs. The employees working for the Arabs said that if their boss ran the place--such filthy practices wouldn't be tolerated! Can the Zamboanganeous who ran the halal restaurant that closed, blame the likes of Persian Palate, Hussam Middle Eastern Cuisine, and Shawarma Gourmet for why their business didn't do well? Why would diners, Muslim or not, want to eat in a place with bad maintenance. Filipino halal restaurant owners should take care to give quality care and innovate.

For those who claim that Jollibee did well because of protectionism--the Philippines still has some foreign investment. Jollibee had to face off against McDonald's. Now, Jollibee is the second-fastest growing brand (read here). Jollibee had to face off against the giant McDonald's. In an experience, the late John Gokongwei Jr. even stated a proverb from his maternal grandfather. This proverb was what's a giant, started small. The same can be said for Jollibee's humble beginnings, before it became an MNC, on its own. Right now, I'm not surprised that some sore-loser Filipinos, are calling Filipino billionaires, menaces to society. They still believe in obsolete ideals like saying that the workers should own the means of production. Never mind that the profits belong to the owner, the salary paid belongs to the employees. It's probably because they think profits are the sales for the day. However, accounting dictates that profits are what's left after all expenses are deducted from the sales.

Filipino businesses have two paths that they can take. Either they can take advantage of FDIs or refuse to evolve. Some of these businesses might belong to those who let their past success blind them (read here). Can Nokia blame Samsung, Apple, and Sony when it lost its shares? It was because Nokia refused to innovate for a long time. Now, Nokia may have to come up with something bigger to regain its market shares like in the past. Tealive in Malaysia faced off against a lot of competitors. Did that stop Tealive from growing in Southeast Asia? Bo's Coffee Club faces off against a lot of coffee shops daily. However, I still see Bo's Coffee Club growing strong Filipino businesses that could start to think of FDIs more as opportunities than threats. Just think that they could've used Foodpanda and Grab services to help do their deliveries. They could use other foreign services to improve their quality. They could use FDIs as their next possible customers. Instead, some Filipinos are still stuck with the myth that only FDIs will get rich (read here). Once again, the best thing to ask them is, "How do you definie profit?"

Instead of playing the zero-sum game--one should think of the win-sum game. Who says that FDIs will automatically kill Filipino businesses is dreaming. That person should go renowned schools in ASEAN such as the National University of Singapore (NUS) or the University of Economics-Ho Chi Minh City (UEH).

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 ""Gastos 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...

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...

My First Taste of Sichuan at Yang Hero IT Park

I was doing some random historical study. One of the many things I recalled from Asian history class was the Chinese Communist Party in Sichuan. It's an interesting piece of historical detail that Mao Zedong (and other Chinese communists) were avid lovers of spicy food . Yang Hero had its first branch in Gaisano Tabunok. It opened a branch in IT Park last May 25, 2023 . The menus had Chinese translations. The establishment has made me realize the importance of learning Mandarin . True, I could order their food without speaking Mandarin. However, I still feel that the increasing number of Chinese businesses left and right would mean, "You may need to learn some Mandarin now to connect with more people in the world." For a bit of background, here's what I gathered from Sun Star Cebu: Evanmarie Mendoza, social media specialist at Yang Hero, said: “The Chinese barbecue is also a must-try for foodies as it differs from the regular ones that we typically have here in the P...

Tealive's Aren Caramel (Kaong Sugar Caramel) Series

I usually tend to associate sugar with cane sugar. In this case, Tealive (read my review here ) uses a sugar known as gula aren. I did some research and found out that Gula Aren is made from the sap of the sugar palm tree. The fruit is also known as kaong in the Filipino language. Granted, the Filipino language also derives from the Malaysian and Indonesian languages--it may be derived from the Indonesian word kolang kaling . The Philippines may also be producing its own gula aren or palm sugar. Sugar palm or kaong is pretty much grown as a staple in Filipino cooking too. Here's a video from an Indonesian woman. Watching this, it's safe to assume that kaong farmers in the Philippines follow more or less the same routine. Maybe, some people may call it latik though latik is made from coconut milk and not coconut sap. Though, some Filipinos may still call palm sugar as latik. The video above also shows an Indonesian binignit with some kaong. I was shocked to learn kaong is also u...

Getting Stingy at the Cost of Fire Safety?

March is fire prevention month, right? If there are people who are too extravagant then I'd like to talk again about stingy people (read the article here ). I've tried growing up with the stingy vs. extravagant extremes. Some people become stingy even with the necessities. It's one thing to deny a child a children's party since it's a want . It's another thing to deny a child stuff they need all in the name of saving money . Even worse, some people may be more than stingy enough to ignore fire safety. A stingy person just wants to save. It's almost like the story of the Miser and His Gold or The Rich Miser . I really find these stories entertaining at the same time, irritating. The first story has the miser who hid his gold under the ground. Some people today are too distrustful of banks and investments. The second story has a rich man who even dresses in rags, denies his son's shoes, had his wife cook some cake only for him, and was so greedy he had it ...

Started to Invest in the ATRAM Global Equity Opportunity Feeder Fund

It's time to begin a new road into investing. I went from a moderate risk taker to a moderately aggressive risk taker. Of course, I need to be careful with how much money I invest or I don't invest the money that I need. I believe that one could start by investing 15% to 20% of one's income. Basically, it's money that's not needed now. Fortune Recommends gives this ideal sweet spot: Many of the experts we spoke with suggested, as a general rule, to invest a set percentage of your after-tax income. Although that percentage can vary depending on your income, savings, and debts. “ Ideally, you’ll invest somewhere around 15%–25% of your post-tax income, ” says Mark Henry, founder and CEO at Alloy Wealth Management. “If you need to start smaller and work your way up to that goal, that’s fine. The important part is that you actually start.” Some budgeting strategies account for this, such as the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy, which breaks your monthly budget into three ca...

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