The AIDS Epidemic in the Typical Filipino Workplace, Thanks to the Filipino First Policy

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As Christmas is almost near (and I hate the Christmas season in the Philippines but not Christmas itself), I think of why working on papers and shopping from September up to December is a hassle. I hear the song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" at all. However, it's ironic that Christmas starts early but Christmas shopping is delayed until the last minute (read here). One of the biggest problems that cause shopping (or any transaction for that matter) to become a hassle is AIDS. No, I'm not talking about the AIDS virus but an Internet slang called As If Doing Something. I learned the term during my MBA days. Part of me is wondering, "Was it worth it to get an MBA in the Philippines?" It's because I never learned how to invest in an index fund in school but through reading Warren Edward Buffett!

I remember some of the worst things in my college days. Some people say, "I'm busy!" in the Cebuano dialect. I update on something and the person says he or she is busy. At first, I just respect the statement. However, what becomes the problem when one's "busy busy" is a lie. It's like there's this typical problem between Filipinos. One Filipino says, "I'm on the way." in their local dialect. However, the person was still at home doing something else! The same goes for people in the office.

Yes, they're busy but they're busy doing something else. What are they "busy" on? There's a woman who's still combing her hair and applying makeup--while there's a long line right in front of her! There's someone who's using Facebook or playing games during working hours, not during the lunch break. There's someone who's making nonsense texts or nonsense phone calls, during office hours. If the person was really busy dealing with repairs or customers, I can understand. However, if they're "busy" with applying makeup (which should've been done before work), playing games, using Facebook, etc. during inappropriate times then that's something else.

I blame the Filipino First Policy for this AIDS epidemic in the workplace. If businesses hardly have any competition then why bother working hard? Why bother teaching the staff to be professional to their customers. After all, there's very little competition meaning businesses don't have to worry about losing customers. Why would I worry about working professionally or teaching employees to do so, when I'm the sole person doing the business?

However, removing unnecessary FDI restrictions (such as equity restrictions) will force Filipino businesses to evolve and compete. It's because Filipino businesses will be forced to be on their toes. Whether we want to admit it or not--we all need some form of healthy competition to keep us running. Jollibee endured competition and it's now in the world market. Filipinos who are saying, "But FDIs will destroy our businesses!" are those who refuse to evolve.

#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...

"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...

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 $...

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...

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...

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