Proud to be Poor Under the Filipino First Policy

Here's an AI art I found on Facebook. The illustration above shows some entrepreneurs eating. Meanwhile, there's a poor family that's proudly dressed in rags. There are proud people and humble people in all types of social classes. If you can have an ugly vain person, then you can have a proud poor person. The poor family displays their arrogance by holding their heads up high, in pride, in a place they couldn't afford. In fact, you may even discover some people are poor, not because they're poor, but because of their pride. Some people either become poor or stay poor in spending stuff that they don't really need, to impress people they don't even like! 

The picture that I showed above the first paragraph may represent the Philippines (but also Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea) vs. the developed countries. The poor family members have no regard that they're bringing in their dirt into a fancy restaurant. The restaurant doesn't need to be first class. The restaurant may belong to the middle-income diners (which I enjoy eating at). The poor family may even be too proud to accept work that the restaurant owner may give them. 

Three years ago, I wrote a post on the socio-economic cost of Pinoy Pride economics. Some people are always insisting on the "benefits" of the Filipino First Policy. One of the many lies that's often told is, "The first world countries first enriched their nation through national industrialization, all before opening up to foreigners." This reminds me of the arguments made by a certain Porky Madugo and Mukhang Adik (both nicknames I made up to protect their privacy) regarding FDI. They have what I call the Filipino vs. Foreigner false dichotomy (read here). Their mindset is set on the Philippines vs. the world. Two, they even have the tendency to act like open FDI equals China (read here).

Unfortunately, the Philippines may have the mentality of romanticizing poverty

How often do we hear, "Blessed are the poor, cursed are the rich!" In fact, it seems that a lot of stuff some Filipinos are protesting against on social media (such as Facebook) is rooted in the "Blessed are the poor, cursed are the rich!" mentality. They have the mentality that profits are unpaid wages. However, if we look into basic accounting, profit is what's left after all expenses, including taxes, are paid! What do you expect from a group of people who confuse revenues with profits (read here)? 

This may have helped foster the anti-FDI mindset. The excuse that people like Atty. Neri Colmenares, who says something like, "The moment you allow entry of foreign products in the Philippines, they will beat down the local businesses and industry," would further help feed the "Blessed are the poor! Cursed are the rich!" mentality. In the minds of anti-FDI people, one may look at the FDIs as "gigantic evil companies" (never mind that they may be typing that nonsense on an iPhone or MacBook Pro, of all things) that are out there to destroy the livelihood of the poor. They may already be whining about the oligarchy without realizing what the word means. Someone even wrote, "The oligarchy will increase with FDI." Wrong, the oligarchy exists because of a lack of competition.

In short, they start to view the MNCs as huge evil corporations that are out there to exploit the people. Worse, when I talk about Singapore, here comes the Flor Contemplacion crybabies. I wrote an article where I talked about Flor crybabies, spreading fake news for 30 years. Some even called the late Lee Kuan Yew a "dictator" and Singapore a "dictatorship". I don't have proof, but it seems these people are also blaming richer countries for the Philippines' poverty. This reminds me that I wrote an article saying the Philippines will never get richer, by blaming its richer Asian neighbors. If these people are demanding that these richer countries should "share their wealth", they should allow the richer countries to invest in the Philippines or learn from their economic policies. 

Instead, they kept up with their Pinoy Pride. They already feel that "blessed' because of the Victim Card mentality. It's like the feminist bitch who'd rather play the victim when a man hits her (even if it was out of self-defense) than stand up and be a stronger woman. It's like the feminist bitch who'd rather continue playing the victim than take self-defense lessons. They probably feel proud of whatever state they're in, because being poor somehow "keeps them entitled". 

Should I also blame the boomer "Damasos" of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines?

That's why I even mockingly ask if their source also comes from the mouth of its former president, Archbishop Socrates Villegas. The CBCP often speaks of poverty but rejects charter change--something that could provide more jobs for Filipinos. That's why I hammer Villegas' nonsense whenever he speaks about economics. Come on, he's supposedly part of a multinational organization. In fact, this was something from Rappler written last 2015:

In his pastoral statement, Villegas also pointed out that the framers of the 1987 Constitution limited foreigner ownership of land and businesses to promote social justice. They meant to preserve “the wealth and resources of the country for our countrymen.”

“Rightly, we have always steered away from the prospect of foreigners enriching themselves by the country’s resources and our labor force, transferring their earnings overseas, and leaving us none the better because of their presence and their exploitation of our resources, both natural and human! This should remain a paramount principle,” Villegas wrote. 

Still, he noted that, according to observers, “limiting foreign control of some corporations,” such as banks and media, “has been counterproductive.”

That, of course, makes me always ask people opposing removing excessive foreign ownership restrictions, "Is your best source from the mouth of Archbishop Villegas?" Come on, the Roman Catholic Church is a multinational organization. It's one thing to limit land ownership to foreigners, due to the size of the country vs. bigger ones like Malaysia. However, limiting foreign ownership of shares, and need I repeat, shares, is really stupid (read here). I often bring up Villegas is because the Philippines is predominantly Roman Catholic. It seems that the older generation of Filipino Catholics is prone to thinking, "As long as it's the Catholic priest who talks, it must be right!" It just happens that almost everyone in the CBCP is a boomer. 

In turn, the CBCP may have also fed their pride by telling them, "Blessed are the poor! Cursed are the rich!" Is that probably why the CBCP is still against charter change and supports the Filipino First Policy? Never mind that they welcome the Pope (and until now, there hasn't been a Filipino Pope) who is a foreigner. Speaking of which, I also wrote a post where I addressed, "Yes to Filipino women marrying foreigners but not 100% FDI shares ownership." 

In turn, the Philippines might also be proud to become a laughingstock in the international community

This is a meme I found on Facebook years ago. I'd like to further share the problem that the person marching on, while barely wearing anything, is laughed at. Sure, there are times that one should learn to ignore ridicule. However, some ridicule might be well-deserved, like the person who wear Pinoy Pride as a crown. The person is ignoring poverty, corruption, incompetence, and is walking with a thumb tacks on his foot sole, never mind the pain it causes. The cartoon may represent the idea of, "Never mind what the international community thinks. I only care about what I think whether I'm right or wrong." Not accepting feedback is just as bad as accepting all feedback! A balance still needs to be maintained!

Hasn't the Philippines actually learned from the problem of pride? Two years ago, I wrote an intensive post discussing Venezuela's pride and protectionism. One may keep blaming the USA for Venezuela's poverty. However, newsflash, poor economic policies by the late Hugo Chavez and the current Venezuelan government, has contributed to it. This reminds me that maybe even if the Philippines will one day, God forbid, become like Venezuela, some people will still continue to glorify poverty, or even be proud of it. If material poverty was so good then why not try telling that to the Venezuelans, who left Venezuela? If only these people realize Venezuela's pride couldn't even provide edible meals for its own citizens! I'm not going to wait until Pinoy Pride economics takes the Philippines, to that direction.

If one read LKY's book From Third World to First, he even hired foreign economists to help him develop Singapore. The late Albert Winsemius, a Dutch economist, helped develop Singapore. Vietnam's the late Nguyen Duy Cung (Do Muoi) asked LKY's help in developing the Communist state. The late Deng Xiaoping also asked for LKY's help. LKY knew that for Singapore needed outside help. Today, Singapore is a shining example, despite its flaws. 

Sure, the Philippines can be proud of the EDSA Revolution of 1986. One could still sing "Magkaisa" (Let's Unite). However, the problem came in not considering how to fix the damage left by the regime that was overthrown. Not to mention, the EDSA Revolution of 1986 isn't the first peaceful revolution. Have we forgotten Mohandas Karamchand "Mahatma" Gandhi also had a peaceful revolution against British occupation? The late Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" A. Aquino Jr. even mentioned Gandhi as an inspiration. The Philippines should learn from EDSA 1986, not get stuck in it. They should know that the economic collapse wasn't just caused by plunder, but also by rampant protectionism. 

That's why I abhor the Filipino First Policy. It has only made the nation proud to be poor. It has made the Philippines a nation of crybabies. It's a systemic mistake, to begin with. That's why I'm in for constitutional reform.