Does the Philippines have a future in a technology-driven world and will Filipinos survive in it?

Dear Filipino,

As someone who has worked in Silicon Valley and who researches on and lectures about IT issues, I sometimes wonder what the future holds for the Philippines. It seems like we are only supplying resources (e.g., IT skilled labor) but not really in the forefront and "making things happen," so to speak.

So my question is: Do you think Filipinos will survive in an increasingly high-tech and competitive world?

Nagmamahal,
The Filipina

P.S. By the way, I like love your new logo, too. But how come MuQ is in the logo while I’m not? Sob-sob-sob. :-(

To My Funny Brown Pinay,

First, I’m glad you like the new logo/banner.

Secondly, I’m really sorry that you’re not in the picture, but don’t you think it would look kinda silly if I were riding you instead of MuQ?

Thirdly, I feel bad not answering a lot of pending questions from readers, but I’m really super glad that you asked your question because it's of the kind I really want to write about.  Because if there’s one thing I am absolutely sure, it’s that Filipinos WILL survive. In fact, not only will Filipinos survive, we are on track to conquer the world!  Hah!

Yup, you heard that right! But don’t take my word for it – take instead the word of the former Secretary of Finance, Roberto de Ocampo, who, thanks to a reader who alerted me about it, has recently written about how Filipinos are really “The Chosen People.”

Consider that, according to some researchers, “in order for a culture to maintain itself for more than 25 years, there must be a fertility rate of 2.11 children per family. With anything less, the culture will decline. Historically, no culture has ever reversed a 1.9 fertility rate.”

The 2011 fertility rate estimate for Spain is 1.47, Italy 1.39, UK 1.91, France 1.96 and Germany 1.41, to name a select few. The average fertility rate of all Western Europe is about 1.5. In short, these nations are either on are perilously close to what population experts call an irreversible demographic decline. To put it more starkly, for example, by 2020 (or just nine years from now) more than half of all births in a country like, say, the Netherlands (1.66 fertility rate) will be of non-European Dutch origin. Furthermore, with the birth rate dropping below replacement, the population of such countries ages and the problems facing an aging population are numerous and startling enough to deserve a separate treatise.

Western Europe is not the only one experiencing this phenomenon. The US fertility rate is, at 2.0, just below replacement and Japan is at a worrisome level of 1.2. For Japan, this means a population decline of about 60 million in the next 30 years and an aging population that will have one out of every five Japanese at least 70 years old by 2020.

However, with the exception of Japan, the overall populations of the above-mentioned countries are not declining. The overwhelming reason for that is immigration (to which Japan is by comparison with others, still somewhat resistant). Guess who comprise one of the larger immigrant populations. Yes, dear—Filipinos!

De Ocampo concludes:

Now we have begun to creep into the world’s bloodlines. The 2010 World Series winning pitcher Tim Lincecum, 2011 best supporting actress Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld, head coach Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat, and R&B star Bruno Mars are all Fil-Ams. It may only be a matter of time before nearly every race on earth has some Filipino blood.

In other words, if you think all these advanced countries are going to go high-tech, Filipinos will at least be tagging along for the ride!

But actually, the truth is, if we play our cards right, we’re not just going to tag along – we can make things happen too, and to a certain extent, we have. In fact, we are really in the position to design our own “ride” – literally!

Now, what do I mean by that?

Well, what I mean is that we have the right ingredients already in place. We have, as you mentioned, the skilled laborers; we have creativity; and, believe it or not, we have years of experience in the transportation field too.

Let’s talk about these ingredients one by one.

First, the skilled laborers.

Many people think of the Philippines as this low-tech country exporting nothing but tropical fruits and basic natural commodities. But in fact, electronics exports accounted for a whopping 61% of the country’s merchandise exports in 2010 which totaled $31 billion. Of that figure, semiconductors comprised 71%!

And Filipinos are not just at the bottom of the high-tech totem pole either, for Silicon Valley has several Filipinos who have achieved substantial success in the field. Dado Banatao, of course, is just one of the more well-known figures, having co-founded Mostron, Chips & Technologies (acquired later by Intel), and S3 Graphics.

All these means, of course, that we have the knowledge capital.  And I strongly believe we also have the creative capital, which, as mentioned earlier, is the second ingredient. 

Kenneth Cobonpue's Phoenix
(Source: TopGear Blog)

In fact, just a few days ago, I read the Inquirer article about Kenneth Cobonpue, a well-known Filipino furniture designer. Apparently, he just outdid himself and designed “Phoenix” – a concept car made out of bamboo, rattan, steel and carbon fiber -- which has drawn raves in a Milan exhibit entitled “Imagination and Innovation.” I saw the picture and it looks awesome – indeed, “a bird posed to take flight.”

What I didn’t like about the Inquirer article is the lead sentence which says in part that “Cobonpue has designed what must be the first and only bamboo and rattan car in the world.”

Why?

Because it’s not true! And this brings me to the last ingredient I earlier mentioned: years of experience.

Actually, the honor of “first and only” bamboo ride rightly belongs to the – note the following adjective closely – out-of-school youth and the former mayor of the remote municipality of Tabontabon, Leyte who actually manufactured public taxis made out of bamboo!

Want a ride aboard the bamboo taxi of Tabontabon, Leyte?

And if you think it’s just superficially bamboo, you’re wrong: It’s 90% bamboo!

But wait, there’s more: According to John Voelker, Senior Editor of GreenCarReports.com:

The ECO taxis built by Tabontabon Organic Transport Industry [TOTI] come in two sizes: ECO1 seats 20, whereas ECO2 carries eight passengers. Each is said to run for eight hours on a gallon of biodiesel, which in this case is derived from coconut oil.

Did you read that? The thing actually runs on biodiesel! How about that, my dear Pinay?
Honestly, I was floored when I first read about it on Fast Company. I couldn’t believe it because Tabontabon, Leyte does not exactly exude high-tech. In fact, it’s a poor farming town and is considered a fifth-class municipality by Philippine standards!

I said though that the third ingredient is years of experience. Well, these ECO taxis were built in 2009, so a couple of years do not exactly years of experience make.

But by years of experience, I am referring also to our decades of churning out our very colorful jeepneys (a portmanteau of "jeep" and "jitney") which started when the American forces left us with hundreds of surplus jeeps used during the Second World War. We stripped them, elongated them, re-roofed them and made them culturally our own.  That should count for something, right?


FAAIE's enviable jeepney: The Ambassador

As you probably know also, the jeepney used to be notorious as a smoke-belcher, but it has since evolved over the years. Nowadays, there’s even a lot of interest in making them more environmentally friendly and high-tech by making them electric-powered. You better believe it -- e-jeepney is on the way!

In sum, I want to emphasize that we do have the ingredients to not just survive but to thrive in an increasingly high-tech world. All we need now is a cook, a really good chef.  And I hope purpose-driven businessmen will step forward to play that role. Additionally, I hope the government will also step up and at least play the role of sous-chef.  We really need them to up their game big time.

Because believe me, I strongly think that demand for Philippine-made rides will increase, especially from Pinoys abroad because, at least Stateside, I am really sensing a growing pride about their ethnic background among Filipino-Americans. For instance, the Filipino-American Association of the Inland Northwest, which is involved in various humanitarian and socio-cultural activities, has bought a club jeepney. So as a group, they now roll and roar aboard the machine they proudly call The Ambassador.

Good for them! And honestly, I envy them because I too want to roll with one -- and because MuQ has been wanting a break from carrying my heavy bum bum.  What do you think I should call it? (I meant the jeepney, not my bum bum.)

Got a question for The Filipino?  Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.

What is the recipe for the traditional Filipino street barbeque on a stick?

Dear Filipino,

I was in the Philippines in about 1976. Everywhere in the streets, there were people selling the most delicious beef or chicken barbeque on a stick. I want the recipe please. I've tried the recipes on the Internet and it just wasn't the same. I even asked  Filipinas going home to visit family to try to get the recipe but no success. As you can see, it's been 35 years and it's still on my mind. You are my last hope. I promise if you do, I'll tell everybody, "The Pinoy is JEFROXS."  LOL!

Rob Bob, AZ

Dear Rob,

You mean "Jeproks" as coined by Mike Hanopol? You mean "cool and smart"? Hey, actually I wouldn't mind being called Jeproks -- just don't call me "laki sa layaw"!  ;-)

Unfortunately, I don't have the recipe myself -- I was just a toddler in 1976. But I don't give up that easily if the label "Jeproks" is on the line.  So I reached out to The Man -- Ray Gingco of WokwithRay.net -- for help.  He's a great cook and 1976 is one of his favorite years because it's "the year of platform shoes and ultra wide bell bottoms."

Ray published a recipe last year for traditional street Pork BBQ on skewers, but he said the recipe can also be used for chicken and beef.  He suggests top sirloin for beef and chicken thighs for chicken.  I'm reproducing his recipe below for your benefit, but you may want to visit his website to really learn from The Master himself if you have other questions. 

Pork BBQ with Banana Ketchup Glazing
by Ray

This dish is very easy to prepare and best eaten with a concoction of vinegar and garlic dipping sauce. Some folks like to eat this delicious barbecue with pickled shredded papaya (AKA achara) on the side. During my high school days in the 70′s, I can still remember this dish being cooked and sold by street vendors right outside the gate of our school. Pork BBQ is always the best seller along with deep fried vegetable lumpia (eggrolls), and ukoy (shrimp fritters).

Here in the States, I always buy the meat from Asian Supermarkets because I can always ask the nice guy behind the meat counter to slice the pork to the right thickness. So, when I get home, all I have to do is cut the meat to correct width for threading. Of course I can slice the meat myself but if someone else can do it for me and it’s part of the price of the meat. . . why not? Always use pork butts because it’s more tender and it has the right amount of fats, which gives the BBQ the best flavor. By the way, in case you are wondering. . . Pork Butts is not actually the ass of the pig. Okay, I shouldn’t be saying ass here, oops my bad, I said it again. They call it butts because it is the butt end of the shoulder.

Ingredients:

2 lbs Pork Butts
10-15 Bamboo Skewers
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
6 cloves Garlic – finely minced
3 tablespoon Lemon Juice
3/4 cup 7-Up or Sprite Soda
2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
3 tablespoon Sugar
2 teaspoon Rice Wine or Dry Sherry
2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 cup Banana Ketchup for Glazing
2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Cooking Directions:

If you bought a whole pork butts, slice it by 1/4 inch thick then cut each slice about 1 inch wide strips.

In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice, soda, Worcestershire, sugar, wine, and black pepper then mix them with a whisk.

Add the meat and mix thoroughly until well coated.

(Source: WokwithRay.net)

Transfer meat and the marinade in a Ziploc bag then refrigerate for about 4 hours.

Soak skewers in water for about 1 hour before using.

Thread meat on a skewers

Prepare basting sauce by combining Ketchup and oil then mix well with a whisk.

Set the barbecue grill to medium.

Grill the meat turning every minute so it won’t burn.

When meat is half-way cooked, start brushing the meat with ketchup mix on every turn.

Serve hot with rice or with BEER! (hehehe).

Serves 4 to 6.  Preparation time including marination: About 4 hours & 30 minutes.

Hope this works for you!

Got a question for The Filipino?  Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.

Why are Filipino nicknames repetitive and do Filipinos name private parts in a similar manner?

Dear Filipino,

Why do Pinoys love giving nicknames to their kids that repeat the same name/syllable (e.g., Dodo, Toto, Leklek, etc.).  Is it true that most of their private parts are named in a similar manner?  That is, in the examples given, you just change the vowels? LOL!

Boy B.

Dear Boy,

It’s true: Filipinos do love to give nicknames with syllables that repeat. I mean, who can deny it?  The sitting President himself sports one: Noynoy.  And the Vice President? Jojo.  And the Cabinet's Executive Secretary?  Also Jojo.

I personally grew up with neighborhood playmates, classmates and friends with nicknames like Penpen, Dandan, Denden, Dondon, Dindin, Lotlot, Lala, Nene, Bebe, Jonjon, Junjun, Tintin, Yanyan, Tingting, Toto, Katkat, Macmac, Maimai, Nognog, Ningning, Chichi, Baba, Bongbong, Bangbang, Bingbing, Bambam, Bimbim, Bumbum.

Then, there are those with Western-sounding double-initialed names: AA, BB, CC, DD, GG, JJ, MM, RR,TT.
 

(Source: SaintBarry.wordpress.com)

A little imperfectly repetitive, I know of Dodot, Dodong, Kakay, Kokoy, Dodoy, Totoy, Boboy, Nonoy, Popoy, Momoy.

Believe me, I can go on and on and on.

But what accounts for this, er, national tic? Are we suffering from some sort of collective palilalia, the pathological repetition or echoing of one's own spoken words?

The answer, actually, is found in linguistics.  And here below is my theory.

You see, almost all languages in the Philippines belong to the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages, which is itself a member of the Austronesian clan. As such, our languages are agglutinative – i.e., we extensively glue words together to form new words.

We do it by joining what are called morphemes in linguistics.  Think of morpheme like you think of an atom: It is the smallest, irreducible component of a word that has its own semantic meaning, and a combination of several of these make a word. Wikipedia has this English example: The word "unbreakable" has three morphemes: "un-", a bound morpheme because it cannot stand alone; "break", a free morpheme because it can; and "-able", another bound morpheme. The morphemes "un-" and "-able" are called affixes: the former is a prefix, the latter is a suffix.

Generally, new words are said to be created using three methods: by affixation (i.e., by attaching affixes onto a root word); by composition (i.e., by forming a compound word); or by reduplication (i.e., the repetition of words or portions of words).

Occasionally referred to as cloning or doubling and found in a wide range of languages, reduplication may be full or partial; if the latter, it may be initial (i.e., prefixal), final (i.e., suffixal), or internal (i.e., infixal). It has many uses, but it is used primarily to indicate a different tense of the root verb; pluralize a noun; adjectivize a noun; adverbialize an adjective, noun or verb; accentuate or intensify an emotion; adopt a more expressive tone; speak figuratively; or express conceptual similarity.

Going back to Filipino nicknames, many of them are actually terms of endearment commonly used by parents in addressing their children. Bicolanos, for instance, use the generic loving terms “nonoy” (if male) and “nene” (if female) to address their babies, toddlers and young kids. But for many of these children, these common nouns stick and as their nicknames, become proper nouns, because to the dismay of some, they never outgrow them.


(Source: IlovehateAmerica.com)

Now, many Philippine terms for private parts indeed use reduplication.  But what I really find interesting is that our languages really don’t seem to have more “clinical-sounding” terms for them. Instead, we have terms that regular people completely avoid mentioning in polite conversation because they sound lewd, rude or linguistically belonging to someone uncouth, uneducated, lascivious, given to prurient thoughts, or otherwise, well, horny. 

And when we do find ourselves absolutely needing to, we use English, or if it really has to be in a Philippine language, we use all sorts of euphemisms or less threatening language – i.e., we “speak figuratively” and/or “express conceptual similarity” – hence, our use of linguistic reduplication.  That's why the scrotum becomes bola-bola instead of the rougher-sounding bayag; the penis is infantilized and gets called pitotoy instead of the more potent uten; the breasts become baby-ish, life-nurturing dede instead of the babe-ish, lust-conjuring dyoga; and vagina is turned less veteran-ish and gets called pekpek instead of the more experienced-sounding puki. (Interestingly enough, the Tagalog version of "The Vagina Monologues" was called "Usaping Puki".)

Personally, though, I do not know of any parent who would or did name his/her child after private parts (I know a couple of people nicknamed Dong but their well-meaning parents were surely after the onomatopoeic ring to it!).  But to get some inputs, I actually forwarded your question to my friend, EZ, who is also a lawyer (so I have no reason to doubt his truthfulness!) and who shared with me a funny story which he claims actually happened during a Little Miss Philippines contest on Eat Bulaga! in the late 1980s.

According to him, there was a contestant nicknamed Kengkeng. When one of the hosts, Vic Sotto, asked her why she was nicknamed Kengkeng, her answer on live TV was: "Kasi po, noong ipinanganak ako, ang taba-taba daw po ng aking pukengkeng!" 

[SHORT BREAK BECAUSE BLOGGER IS STILL R.O.F.L.!]

Okay, here’s the deal: If you didn’t understand the joke because it’s in Tagalog, I’m so sorry but this is one occasion which I will not translate in English.  So this is a good reason for you to ask your Tagalog-speaking friend for a translation, or get to know one who is.  But make sure you show this blogpost first because if you ask it verbally without properly contextualizing the line, I can’t guarantee that you won’t get slapped in the face!

Got a question for The Filipino?  Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.

Who is Dr. Gerard Francisco and why does he deserve a PhilStar "News Feature"?

Dear Filipino,

O Master, dost thou rememberst Teri Hatcher's unfortunate remark in Desperate Housewives against Philippine-trained doctors?  Dost thou knowest that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords now hath a Philippine-trained rehab physician, a UP alum just like thy kumander, The Filipina? 

Thy humble servant,
MuQ

Dear MuQ,

Ah, it's you again!  But what's up with this Old English crap?  Will you please knock it off?  It doesn't quite ring well coming from you, you know? 

But thank you for coming up with your questions for me!  Perfect timing as usual!  (Makes me wonder how I would have written this blogpost if I hadn't invented you.)

Of course, I remember that offensive line from Teri Hatcher's character in that Desperate Housewives episode which ran September 30, 2007.  In it, she was about to see a doctor and then she remarked:

"Okay, before we go any further, can I check those diplomas? ‘Cause I would just like to make sure they are not from some med. school in the Philippines.”

Naturally, it stung and offended doctors who went to Philippine medical schools.  But not only doctors, MuQ -- also other Filipinos like me who got their degrees from the Philippines (my bachelor's degree was from there).  We felt the slur was really another swipe to lessen our accomplishments, our value.  Even though it was just a joke, we thought there was going to be something sinister afoot if it were not corrected -- a subliminal message which would feed more distrust and bigotry and condesc-- 

MuQ: Yeah, but weren't you and the doctors being too oversensitive?

Will you please not interrupt me, MuQ? 

As I was saying, it was very condescending and insulting.  And the incident hit me personally because I was reminded of my study groupmate and good friend in law school -- a white dude -- who was so surprised when he found out that I topped our midterm exam in Contract Law. 

"Of all people," he honestly told me, "you were the last person I would have predicted to do it." 

I asked, "Why?" 

"Please don't get upset, but it's because your first language is not English and, well, you graduated from the Philippines," he said.

That's why I got involved, MuQ, in protesting against the Teri Hatcher remark, even though I stayed in the background. I helped organize a demonstration in front of the Disney Store in San Francisco and I also helped research the law and other issues surrounding the incident to make sure the more prominent individuals who were leading the charge against the network which ran the show, ABC, were armed with data and information for better argumentation.  In the end, I'm thankful ABC backed down, apologized and cut out the offensive line.  Now --

MuQ: Wait a minute -- I think the title of your blogpost is a bit off.

I'm getting there, MuQ, but STOP interrupting!

Okay, here's why I really wanted to write this blogpost: The Philippine media loves a sensational story, a feel-good story, a story which their constituencies -- i.e., their readers/viewers -- would find some affinity with.  And that's all perfectly understandable.  What I lament though is the fact that in the pursuit of these types of stories, they sometimes do away with journalism standards that can get in the way.

The story of Ricardo Reyes is a good example of this.  Recently, the Philippine Star, along with other media outlets, featured the busboy who beat NBA stars in "Jimmy Kimmel Live!'s Pop-a-Shot Challenge."  In and of itself, Ricardo's story is great.

But Philippine media had to find a "hook" for Filipinos, and when they saw that (a) Ricardo had a Filipino name and (b) Ricardo had a Filipino look -- boom! -- they declared him to be Filipino without checking his background.

In fact, for Philippine Star, the story of Ricardo merited not just an ordinary news article but a "News Feature" [EDIT 1/27/2011: I originally thought the "Breaking News" heading applied to the article as well, but upon closer inspection, I now think the heading actually refers to the ticker of fresh news pieces]:

I saw the YouTube clips and I thought Ricardo's English accent was not really Filipino-sounding, so I dug deeper, and because there's not a lot of information online about him, I even contacted his manager.  In the course of my research, I found out that the guy actually immigrated from Mexico City!

I then left a comment in the comments section of this specific PhilStar article to inform the newspaper management and its readers of this mistake, but someone deleted my comment.  This left me wondering: Is there someone suppressing the truth about a story as petty as this?  For what reason?

Now, if PhilStar and Philippine media in general really want to do a good job for its readers and/or viewers, they could have applied the standard they applied to Ricardo Reyes -- Filipino name? Check; Filipino look? Check -- and they would have had a nice story on their hands about US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' new doctor, Dr. Gerard Francisco, MD, who is leading the team of doctors who are helping her during her rehabilitation from the effects of the horrific shooting which shocked America.  And with minimal research, they could have had a feature article that looks something like this:

Granted, Dr. Francisco's story is not as juicy as Ricardo's story, and Congresswoman Giffords is not a pop culture star like Kobe Bryant, but I think there's a lot of different angles that could have been and can still be pursued in Dr. Francisco's story.

But because I have not seen ONE feature article from any Philippine news media about Dr. Francisco, let me suggest just a few of the angles they can explore:

(1) How about the Teri Hatcher angle?  Because Dr. Francisco is not just Filipino but actually received his medical degree from the University of the Philippines, the fact that he's the Chief Medical Officer of TIRR Memorial Hermann rehab facility at Houston's Texas Medical Center and also the Department Chair of The University of Texas Medical School at Houston's Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation is worth writing about, I think. 

(2) How about the scholarship angle?  According to his 39-page CV, Dr. Francisco has received awards for Teaching Excellence, has been adjudged one of Castle Connelly's Best Doctors in America for several years, and has published tons of articles in his field of expertise -- these are also worth writing about, if only to impress upon the doubters and haters out there the quality of Filipino scholarship.

(3) How about the angle exploring Filipinos' outsized representation in the US medical field?  According to a study published by the American Medical Association, there are 20,861 practicing physicians in the US who obtained their medical degree from the Philippines, translating to 8.7% of all US doctors.  This is remarkable considering Filipinos just comprise about 1.5% of total US population. (Makes you wonder what the numbers are if you include Philippine-trained nurses, physical therapists and medical technicians, right?)  A journalist writing about Dr. Francisco using this cangle can even explore the related "brain drain" effect caused by these medical-trained Filipinos who studied in public schools in the Philippines but decided to move to the US for one reason or another, and maybe look at ways to incentivize them to be dual nationals not only on paper but also in terms of active Philippine societal engagement.

(4) Lastly, how about the Manny Pacquiao angle?  The Philippine media, the government, businesses, and everyone it seems, put out all the stops to share in the glory of Pacquiao, leading to exponential growth in interest in the sport of boxing among the impoverished young.  But as a nation, is the Philippines best served encouraging these impressionable kids to take up gloves as their way to wealth and greatness?  Why can't the country, its government and the establishment, even for just a tenth of how Pacquiao was glorified, honor people like Dr. Francisco, or my friend, who I will not name here because I do not have his permission, who got his Ph.D. in Bio-Informatics in the US and yet went back to the Philippines to follow through on his promise to go back and teach in his province? 

If someone from the Philippine media will just exert some effort to write about Dr. Francisco, I'm sure many Filipinos will find that Dr. Francisco's story is truly inspirational. And if the country is to succeed, I think the media really has to do a better job at finding stories that inspire -- with vetted facts to support them, if I may add.

Got a question for The Filipino?  Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.

PNoy and the Porsche: What's the going rate for The Filipino's "investment"?

Dear Filipino,

I'm sure you've heard about the Philippine president buying a Porsche supposedly so he can use it to unwind.  What's your take on it?

Ingat,
Poorish Pinoy

Dear Poorish,

I supported PNoy's candidacy so I was really upset about this news.  By support, I mean I invested time (by attending US-based campaign events in support of his candidacy -- no matter how inconsequential my presence at these events may have been in the grand scheme of things); treasure (by spending and/or contributing a little bit at these campaign events -- no matter how miniscule the amount I could afford); and talent (by sharing some of my ideas with the folks who were more prominently campaigning for him -- no matter how superfluous, naive and/or worthless these ideas may have been).

More than the 3 T's, I also invested in PNoy my personal emotions and my hopes for the country.  And as you will probably agree, emotions and hopes are always arguably the most costly aspect of any form of investment whenever an investment ends up not panning out. 

Please don't get me wrong: I'm not writing off my "investment" yet.  But if I have to render a graphical representation, it would look something like this:

The data points in the x-axis (which represents the timeline) correspond to the following events:

1 = Senator Noynoy's conduct at ex-President Cory Aquino's wake;
2 = Senator Noynoy's decision to run and conduct during the campaign;
3 = Senator Noynoy's winning the election;
4 = PNoy's inauguration;
5 = PNoy's handling of the kidnapping incident at Luneta;
6 = PNoy's visit to the US when he met with Fil-Ams (I attended two events);
7 = PNoy's decision to keep DILG Undersecretary Puno;
8 = PNoy's dissing of DILG Secretary Robredo (the best member of his Cabinet);
9 = PNoy's snub of the Nobel Peace Prize awarding ceremonies in Norway in order not to anger China;
10 = PNoy's purchase of the Porsche car.

As you can see, I'm at 60, down 40% from the starting price of 100.  But it's not at zero yet, so there's still hope for a rebound.

Additionally, the Porsche purchase indicates one thing to me: Now, I know for sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that he's not getting good advice from the folks around him who should be giving him solid advice.  And I think that's the problem when you have friends (his closest advisers are supposedly his friends) who are scared to give you the right advice because they don't want to offend you and would rather ingratiate themselves to you to keep their positions.

But my take on this Porsche matter was actually captured perfectly in an Inquirer column written by someone I respect a lot, Attorney Ted Laguatan.  I think it's impossible for me to improve on what he wrote so I am just going to reproduce it here for your convenience, as follows:

PNoy's Porsche: The good, the bad, and the ugly

To the shock of many, staid, non-flashy supposedly simple living PNoy recently purchased a Porsche.

Malacanang-sourced reports state that it is not a new car. Even if the model is not specified, based on the indicated P4.5-million (about $92,000) price, I would guess that it's one of those powerful iconic 911 supercar models in the Carerra series.

A seller of such a car would advertise it as: "Pre-owned like new. Only 62,000 miles. Rich leather interiors. Iconic model. Absolutely stunning!" Whereas a PR man trying to downplay the purchase would describe the car as: "A highly depreciated used third-hand entry level model with already 10,000 plus kilometers. Nothing extraordinary."

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda did in fact used some of these PR speak. To further downplay the purchase, PNoy announced that he paid for the Porsche by selling his old BMW and taking a bank loan. He also claimed that he needed the car to relax so that he can make better decisions.

Let's take a good look at the situation.

The Good

Purchasing the Porsche with his own money shows a lack of guile and honesty. PNoy could easily have asked a millionaire supporter to buy him a new Porsche. He did not. If he were corrupt, he also could easily have a fleet of even more expensive cars by simply favoring certain government contractors who would overprice their bids and gladly give these to him as kickback.

It also shows that unlike the children of other presidents, he did not enjoy the luxury of having this kind of expensive cars when his mother was president—which speaks well of him and his mother.

Bongbong, Jinggoy, or Mikey are probably cracking up with the news of fifty-year-old PNoy still getting excited with a used Porsche. They already had their taste of all kinds of new luxury cars when they were barely out of their teens. They are now into helicopters, private jet planes, and yachts.

If he were dishonest, PNoy could already have bought this kind of car when he was a congressman or senator by simply using his pork barrel funds and utilizing all kinds of shadow transactions to acquire it—a common enough practice. Or better yet, he could easily have used a crony to buy the car for him so nobody knows.

Like a little boy wanting an expensive toy, when he became president and could afford to, he impulsively buys this pre-owned Porsche. He believed there was nothing wrong with his purchase as he was paying for it with money honestly earned.

As president, he has access to other types of vehicles which he could easily convert to become his private toys: airplanes, helicopters, tanks, boats, etc. He does not want to do that. Instead, he uses his own money to buy a car that he would enjoy and relax with. Purchasing the car, by itself, is really not a bad thing.

All these indicate a naïveté of sort—maybe even a showing of admirable honesty if interpreted along honesty criteria.

The Bad

However, even if there was no corruption involved in this car purchase and given that he could afford it— even his mother and father would most likely tell him that it was an improper thing to do and that he was acting like an impulsive kid. Aside from honesty, affordability, and his personal enjoyment, there are other issues.

As president, he needs to show a polite sensitivity to the plight and feelings of millions of desperately poor Filipinos. Nearly one-third of our countrymen live in quiet desperation barely surviving in slum communities and go to bed hungry at night. Mothers and fathers helplessly see their children every day deprived of proper food, shelter, health care and education—condemned to a life without a decent future. Some quietly shed tears at night knowing their sick children will die because they cannot afford to buy medicines or medical services.

The president of a country where this kind of mass poverty and misery thrives appears to show an utter lack of sensitivity to the plight and feelings of the desperately poor in buying a P4.5-million Porsche. Who doesn't want to drive a fine car? However, proper discretion dictates that even if in fact he can afford to honestly buy the Porsche or that he thinks driving it relaxes him, it doesn't necessarily mean he should have one.

It shows not only insensitivity but also immaturity and poor leadership. There are better ways to relax, less expensive, and far less dangerous than to drive a super power car in the Philippines' dangerous highways. PNoy ought to be aware that he owes it to the people who elected him to show sensitivity, take care of his safety, and be a true leader. The image he also presents to the world brings respect or disrespect to the country and its people

Being president is a great responsibility. He is either a servant to the people or a curse to them. If the president is to be a servant and a great president, he must be willing to sacrifice his own personal needs and idiosyncrasies for his people.

The Ugly

We have just seen the end of the presidency of one of the most unpopular presidents in the country's history, marked by persuasive evidence of mass corruption. A corrupt leader brings massive suffering to the people. PNoy inherited a bankrupt government where the culture of corruption is the norm rather than the exception. From the ruins of the past government, the new administration is struggling to build an honest efficient government responsive to the needs of the people, a very difficult task in which everyone of good faith should help.

PNoy was elected by an overwhelming majority, a landslide victory. All of us who supported him and even PNoy himself would be fooling ourselves if we believe in any way that he won because of charisma. He also did not even have any notable legislative record to speak of.

What catapulted him to the presidency was the people's hope: that he could bring real change to their lives. At least with him, there was this chance that their impossible dream of having a better, less corrupt, less poor Philippines might become a reality. He had a father who sacrificed his life for his people. He had a mother who sincerely and honestly tried under very difficult circumstances to be a good president. With these genes and legacy, millions placed their hopes on him rather than on the other candidates.

If he fails because he does not understand the real sacrifices demanded of him, he only has himself to blame. So many millions are behind him to help him succeed in this great endeavor. If when his term ends and the country is worse off than when he took over, it will be ugly for him and for all of us.

**

With all due respect, Mr. President, allow me this personal note. Get rid of that Porsche. Please. That's not too much of a sacrifice for you. It gives you a bad image: an insensitive wild playboy which you are not. I also doubt that driving a super fast sport car on bumpy trafficky, mostly narrow Philippine roads and highways is going to relax you and help you make better decisions. It is dangerous—which might even make you more tense. Instead, utilize proven ways to relax and to get rid of tensions: solitude, meditation, prayer, regular gym workouts. A healthy diet and breaking the chain smoking habit will also help.

So much of where the country goes depends on you. Your enemies would like to see you fail. They'll pick on every single issue they can use against you. You need to maintain the shine on your armor in the great sacred fight against corruption, poverty, and other national problems. While this Porsche issue is not going to bring you down as no corruption is involved, it weakens you as it touches on the issue of sensitivity and maybe even sincerity. It's like feasting on a thick Wagyu steak while everyone else around you eats galungong or tuyo. You cannot take this issue lightly.

We who support you because we want a better country want you to succeed. Success means repeatedly pulling one's self together, making sacrifices, getting up after every mistake or failure, being sensitive to people's feelings and having a clear vision of desired goals. Additionally for you, the chosen one, it’s being a true leader to your people—meaning truly loving them and being unconditionally committed to their welfare. Your father and mother expect that much from you. We, whom you claim to be your boss ("Kayo ang akin boss!"), expect the same.

Got a question for The Filipino?  Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.

Does the Philippines value its people?

Howdy Filipino!

Hello! First off, let me say, I'm loving the blog. I'm a 1st generation Filipino who has lived in America for about...23 years (out of my 25 years). I wonder about the mother country sometimes. It seems that the Philippines is not fully utilizing a lot of the country's natural resources (though I could just be grossly misinformed). Also it seems that the country is not doing much to maintain it's most important natural resource - it's people. From what my relatives tell me, most people try to get out of the Philippines. My cousin in-law (who graduated at the top of his class in medical school) commented on how it's hard to intern (or do his residency) at a really good hospital because you have to pay the doctors there a lot of money - skills and ability are secondary. He's now doing his residency here in America.  He commented that the good thing about America is that they pay you for your abilities. I realize that a lot of this is based on familial anecdotes, but is there a degree of truth in any of the scenarios listed above?

Fil-I-Am

Dear Fil-I-Am,

I don't know where to even begin, so let me start with your question outright: "Is there a degree of truth in any of the scenarios listed above?"

The short answer is: Yes, of course.  But let's parse it a bit more...

I'm imagining your relatives who share these familial anecdotes are not doing so to spread lies about the country, because I don't know of a lot of Filipinos, even if they've gone AWOL in the Philippines, who hate the country per se.  I'm sure they've experienced similar situations related to these anecdotes, personally or vicariously through their friends, classmates, acquaintances, etc. 

For instance, let me share some stories myself: A person I know who was working as a consultant for a top American consulting firm was only making about $400 per month in Manila, but she was always being sent to the US to help out at the site of their American clients.  Her stateside peers were easily making salaries by a factor of 10.  Thus, being a US resident herself, she quit the Philippine office and then applied and was accepted for the same role, same position in the US for ten times the salary.

I also know of doctors, some of whom are friends of mine, who labored through their residency and early years as practicing doctors being paid about $300 per month.  Even with the lower lower cost of living in the Philippines, that's still NOTHING! 

What about nurses, some of whom make in excess of $100K in the U.S. working in two hospitals?  Well, in the Philippines, you're lucky to be making $400 per month if you're an experienced nurse.  If you're a new nurse, you basically pay a hospital to hire you as a "new trainee."  (I guess, in fairness, you can't really blame the hospitals too much -- most of these new nurses are just looking for experience to be able to go abroad and they have thousands to choose from.  In other words, it's a classic supply and demand question: who has more leverage if there more supply than demand?)

But as you probably already know, the underlying themes with these anecdotes are the seemingly intractable problems of poverty, lack of opportunity, government corruption and culture.  (Of these, I will discuss the last one (CULTURE) in more detail in a different post.)

As a result, a lot of Filipinos go abroad in search of better opportunities, better lives for themselves and their families.  It is estimated that at least 10% of Filipinos are now living all over the world.  You and I are among them.  Is it a waste of human resources?  In large measure, sure!  Because imagine the brain drain that this situtation causes:  For instance, it is estimated that there are about 20,000 Filipino doctors who are now living in the US alone, because as you said yourself, in America, "they are paid for their abilities."

Personally, the sad part for me about the whole thing, as someone who migrated myself to the US, is when other Filipinos begin to deride those who leave the country as "traitors," as people who "bailed out" on the country, without regard to the complexity and multi-facetedness of the issue of leaving the Philippines "for greener pastures."  Many people don't realize it's really a very personal and often difficult decision.  As Jose Ma. Montelibano, a well known columnist and an executive of Gawad Kalinga (an amazing nonprofit which is aiming to end poverty in the country) recently noted in his column, "greener pastures have more to do about opportunity, about choices, than just plain income."

He went on:

"Leaving the motherland is hardly because there is a diluted sense of patriotism, but because patriotism itself is denied development in a citizen's heart. To the life of a poor person or family, what then is country? What would make a poor person or family, landless and without the right to be in any square meter in their land of birth - and without the means to rent that right? What benefits are derived from a land of obvious plenty by a Filipino family who is only a step ahead of hunger while public officials of the land can spend millions for a dinner in New York? What can make a Filipino love the Philippines other than a birth in a motherland not yet of his or her choice?"

What to do?  Mr. Montelibano has this to say:

"The challenge now rests heavily on the shoulders of Filipinos who have reason to love our motherland. It may be that, like me, the circumstance of birth favored me economically, socially and politically. It may be like those who built on their boldness, on their education, on their perseverance, and, most likely, on their business sense, and can now help others. It may be that, like most Filipinos, a basic goodness, a sense of bayanihan and a commitment to walang iwanan, transcends personal interest in order to give succor to a fellow Filipino. When Filipinos go beyond the boundaries of family and clan to care for another as a brother or sister of the same motherland, then even the impoverished and marginalized are given good reasons to love country and race."

Thanks for your email (especially your "loving the blog") and I hope you will find a way to help the Philippines in your own way from time to time, not just "wonder" about it. 

P.S. I can tell you right now I'll have much more to say later about this issue of out-migration and the Philippine brain drain as the blog further develops.

Got a question for The Filipino?  Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.