It's that stupid when I read the remarks of DTI secretary Cristina Roque made a really tactless remark. Sure, the remark had people angry because, in reality, the whole noche buena at PHP 500.00 for a family of four will not match, given these ingredients:
- ham, P170 to P945;
- fruit cocktail, P61.76 to P94.41;
- all-purpose cream, P36.00 to P72;
- “nata de coco,” P52.50 to P62.50;
- “kaong,” P76.50 to P84;
- “queso de bola,” P210 to P470;
- cheese, P16.50 to P310; and
- mayonnaise, P20.40 to P245.85. /dda
As I read through the list above, I'm reminded of how much I don't like December because it's the season of abounding toxic positivity. The song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is in full blast, even after Andy Williams died of old age in 2012. I tend to drive the road and when traffic hits, I always think about the problem of last-minute Christmas shopping, and scream it, "Isn't it any wonder why the Philippines doesn't improve?" It's effortless for me to keep forgetting that the bad attitude of Filipinos is but a symptom of a much larger systemic problem.
Trying to defy the law of economics?
It would be easy to say, "Well, the solution for this problem is once again, well, #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba." It doesn't take a degree in accountancy to figure out that any salary increase will add to the overall costs of production. Prices can only go lower in certain ways like under the principles of economies of scale, demand goes lower while supplies go higher, and when the technology to produce something gets cheaper. A desktop PC back in the 1990s was a luxury, unlike today, when a middle-class family can now afford one without worrying about the bills. In time, businesses may need to sell their newest products at lower prices because production costs are indeed lower than they were in the 1990s!
This should be funny because we have people who insist on #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba, who also believe that FDIs are invaders! The job market is still run by the principles of supply and demand. For people who insist that Filipinos should "strive on their own rather than accept FDI", then the question is, can Filipino businesses truly drive up the demand for labor, which in turn will drive up the demand? That's why I advocate that the Philippines become more FDI-friendly, because not all Filipinos are meant to be entrepreneurs! It's common sense that not every Filipino is born ot be an entrepreneur!
Why are the costs of noche buena supplies becoming expensive?
We need to look at the real issue of supply and demand. It's Christmas, and think about the population of the Philippines. Currently, the Philippines has 69.8 million adults. A bit of data will reveal that Roman Catholicism is still the major religion of the Philippines. Given that Roman Catholicism has Christmas in its Advent Calendar, this drives up the demand for Noche Buena goods! The Philippine Star gives this data on Filipinos and Roman Catholicism:
MANILA, Philippines — The number of Filipinos who identified as Roman Catholic in the latest census rose by around five million to over 85 million people, representing 78.8% of the over 108 million people who were counted in 2020.While more Filipinos reported themselves to be adherents of Roman Catholicism, they accounted for less of the population compared to the 2015 census when they represented 79.5% of the over 100 million people then.The 2020 census differed from 2015 as the latter included Catholic Charismatics in counting Roman Catholics, while the former excluded them.Across all regions, the proportion of Roman Catholics exceeded 50% except in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao where only 5.3% identified with Roman Catholicism.
It's not rocket science to figure out that, given the Philippines is a Roman Catholic nation, one should expect the demand for noche buena goods to rise during the Christmas season. One must even wonder why several Filipinos haven't learned to budget their money and time. Do I need to mention that it's really a whole year-round problem where several Filipinos don't learn to budget their money? As a Filipino myself, it's really annoying having to face the annoying Christmas traffic, which could've been avoided if people started their Christmas shopping early instead of the last-minute Christmas shopping! This may also drive up the prices of noche buena goods too!
What's the issue of supply chain management with noche buena items?
The prices of gasoline increase or decrease not by whoever is president but by the world market. Supply chain management is intrinsically linked with supply and demand. No one can defy supply and demand and not get horrible consequences. For example, current-day Venezuela or the Great Leap Forward disaster under Mao Zedong are examples that the laws of economics are immutable. All these factors also help drive up the costs of the noche buena items.
We need to think of the items typically used during a noche buena. Items such as the cured ham, queso de bola, fruit salad ingredients, lechon, spaghetti ingredients, puto bumbong, and soft drinks will naturally be in demand. The demand for these items will increase the prices when the supplies for these items are low. I would actually blame the problem again on the Filipino First Policy. By choosing to look at FDIs as invaders, the whole problem settles in with a lack of new skills, new technology, and new knowledge, all that the retired dean of the National University of Singapore, Kishore Mahbubani said about how FDI helped Singapore rise.
Basically, with FDI, even local businesses wouldn't just be forced to evolve; they would be forced to adapt. They could start having better, more effective, and efficient manufacturing and transportation methods. Instead, by rejecting FDI as a means to improve the Philippines, the supply chain management for a lot of items in the Philippines, not just noche buena items, suffers as a result. The cost of production can be overly expensive without better technology and better supplies.
We need to think of the items typically used during a noche buena. Items such as the cured ham, queso de bola, fruit salad ingredients, lechon, spaghetti ingredients, puto bumbong, and soft drinks will naturally be in demand. The demand for these items will increase the prices when the supplies for these items are low. I would actually blame the problem again on the Filipino First Policy. By choosing to look at FDIs as invaders, the whole problem settles in with a lack of new skills, new technology, and new knowledge, all that the retired dean of the National University of Singapore, Kishore Mahbubani said about how FDI helped Singapore rise.
Basically, with FDI, even local businesses wouldn't just be forced to evolve; they would be forced to adapt. They could start having better, more effective, and efficient manufacturing and transportation methods. Instead, by rejecting FDI as a means to improve the Philippines, the supply chain management for a lot of items in the Philippines, not just noche buena items, suffers as a result. The cost of production can be overly expensive without better technology and better supplies.
The solution isn't more protection or even the idiotic import substitution, but a pragmatic approach towards mixing local investment and FDI. Solving the supply chain management issue is all about:
- Getting a more reliable source of raw materials
- Getting better transportation sources
- Getting better production machines
That means it's no longer about whether something is made in the Philippines or not. It doesn't matter if something is made by Filipinos or by foreigners, as long as it helps Filipinos.