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.

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...

It's A Myth: First World Countries Self-Industrialized and Only Opened to FDI, After They Succeeded

The Straits Times As the battle for economic charter change goes on, another lie often spread: "First world countries, first industrialized by themselves, before they opened their economy to FDI." I'm seeing it ironically on Facebook. I tell them, "If you hate foreigners so much, why don't you get out of the Internet?" Some of them give replies like, "We're not hypocrites for badmouthing FDI on Facebook. We're simply forced to use imported equipment because foreigners unfairly own the means of production (read rebuttal here )." When I ask for their sources, they give sources like people from Bayan Muna (Nation First), the League of Filipino Students, the IBON Foundation, Kabataan Partylist (Youth Partylist), the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), and maybe even the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Most of these sources (not all) are the favorite sources of those going against badly needed economic cha-cha. I...

Why FDIs are Choosing COMMUNIST Vietnam Over DEMOCRATIC Philippines

China Daily HK Tomorrow is Ho Chi Minh's birthday. I would like to raise another FDI issue between democratic Philippines and Communist Vietnam. I remember with a certain woman I'll call Miss Clueless, to respect her privacy. Miss Clueless probably never saw a map, called FDI as Favored Duterte-China Investments, and I told her the bigger problem with the constitutional restrictions. Miss Clueless kept talking about that the late Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino III made us a tiger economy, regardless. However, I wrote that relying too much on Noynoy's economic legacy, is pretty much landing into the same fatal mistake that Nokia did . Relying on past successes is a surefire recipe for failure. As Miss Clueless blamed former president Rodrigo R. Duterte, the person still believes that people must change first before systems. I asked her, "Why are people choosing Communist Vietnam over the Philippines." The reason I heard from Miss Clueless was something...

Is Jollibee "Invading" South Korea Now as It's About to Acquire 70% of Shabu All Day?

I must confess that I find this new rather hilarious . It's because the word shabu is often associated with drugs. All the while, shabu shabu is a Korean delicacy! Well, I'm going to say that Jollibee Foods Corporation has now become a multinational buyer . Jollibee acquired 70% of Compost Coffee back in 2024 . This year, Jollibee as a multinational corporation is now acquiring Shabu All Day for PHP 5.1 billion pesos. Is Jollibee checkmating South Korea or is the Philippines conquering South Korea not just by OFWs but als through Jollibee? The answer is still no. From GMA News , we can read this article by Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas: Under the deal, Shabu All Day will be consolidated into Jollibee Foods Corp.’s (JFC) financial statements immediately upon completion of the acquisition for a total consideration equivalent to KRW127 billion. Completion of the transaction is subject to closing and financing conditions. The acquisition is expected to lead to a 2% jump in revenues, incre...

Why I Believe Economic Cha-Cha is Needed to Curb Exodus of Filipino Nurses

I was looking at the Facebook feeds and I found an interesting feed. It's from the Inquirer's Facebook page and I'm finding some interesting comments here . I'm really thinking about the economic ignorance of some of the comments. I won't be naming them out specifically. If I did, I'd probably have too much to mention. The level of ignorance can go with subsidies, wage increases, and better healthcare systems, but for some, when I mention open economies-- it seems that somet of them are more than willing to say, "But foreign investors will invade us!" type of talk. I'm getting fed up with such kind of talk. I would like to explain how economic charter change is badly needed if we expect more Filipino workers to stay in the country. One article I wrote some time ago was the myth of invading other countries through labor export and foreign investment . The proof that it's a myth is that the Philippines has been sending nurses abroad. If my estim...

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