Why low oil prices could hurt the Philippines. Ten Million Reasons Why Cheap Oil Might Hurt The Philippines - Bloomberg Business
W whoever replaces Aquino is in for a tough time of it when the budget comes around! So are all the families depending on those remittances. Lots of belt tightening seen. But for expats living here our money should go a little further so long as we are able to keep it! Not a good outlook for the immediate future for many poor people here!
Hmmmm.... Opening up a higher percentage of foreign-owned business ventures might help the internal RP job infrasture by providing more work at home. Opening up home/property ownership (as opposed to ONLY the "new and improved" 40-year lease option) to foreigners and foreign businesses WILL help spur the internally generated RP GDP, too. If the RP would just take a look at how other nation's around the world are growing their INTERNAL GDP, the RP could rapidly mitigate the possible roller-coaster foreign oil/remittance issue. Mexico, Nicaragua, and other former Colonial nations in Central America are, and have been, positioning their internal GDP growth by relaxing many of their "Old School/Old World" laws, which when enacted back in the old days, served their nations well as a protective barrier to outside economic and political influences. But this is now 2016, and the world is much more intenational in scope of trade, manufacturing, and everything else. Instead of RP citizens feeling "forced" to become overseas workers and the RP depending upon THEIR overseas remittences to bolster/support the national GDP (which can only help to further destabilize RP family units and decrease internal GDP at home), perhaps the RP can adapt (hopefully in time) to meet the needs of it's citizenry and national GDP by building up it's GDP infrastructure at home. Changing some of the RP's outdated, anacronistic laws like other former Colonial areas around the world have done - and ARE doing - will allow the RP to enter the 21st century, stabilize family units, and provide the RP the same international level playing fields in ways these other similarly former Colonial areas/now nations are currently doing to adapt to the modern, global economy. The RP does not have to invent this wheel. But the RP does have to look around and see how their former Colonial Brothers and Sisters have and are successfully doing this. I know. Easier said than done. But at least their Brothers and Sisters around the world ARE DOING this. And those nations aren't falling off the earth or losing their national identities - they're actually positioning themselves for even greater internal GDP prosperity - to the benefit of BOTH their national citizenry and to their national securities. As long as the RP keeps thinking with a fear-based "win-lose" outlook, or continues thinking they can "farm out" their people all over the globe with that old "economic servitude" mentality, the RP will not gain significant internal GDP growth, or become a truly national success story. The RP needs to start thinking with an internal "Win-Win" GDP strategy in mind in order to bring itself - and it's citizenry - into the 21st century. And ACT accordingly. The sooner the better. Remember: If "the herd" behaves as small-minded dinosaurs, "the herd" will surely expire as one. Just my two cents.... V/R, nwlivewire
It could be a very good thing for the Philippines if they instead worked on fixing many of there BS ways. Cheap labor in the Philippines with a favorable exchange rate for foreigners. Cheap oil as well. Its the perfect place considering location to open up manufacturing and major production with foreign companies. Bringing in foreign companies especially manufacturing could also help the infrastructure and help improve many suffering issues such as water / waterloss, expensive electricity / electricity loss, internet availability / internet speed, and so forth. That IS if the Philippines did away with many of its old arcane laws that really hurt foreign business's and force the majority to a Filipino interest. The Philippines is so backwards sending its hardest workers and brightest workers overseas instead of employing them in the Philippines and keeping what they earn and create fully inside the Philippines. Bringing in foreign business regulated but wholly owned by the foreign entity could open up so much potential. They could even open up many non compete clauses with a number of current major Philippine produced products (coconut oil, cane sugar, and similiar) and still do very well. But for those of us here with open eyes we know the truth. Its about sending out those more likely to demand change in the status quo in the government while keeping those easy to manipulate and use under their thumb of poverty. They don't want the Philippines own economy to grow and strengthen outside their direct control as with poverty lessened education is on the rise with a bigger class who may challenge how the country is ran.
I agree but the real 1% don't want it to happen and they control all areas of government and legal system. What they want they get. The only way things are going to change is by a real revolution where the poor rise up and if that happens I want to be on the first plane out of here ASAP after that begins. Life is cheap here and everyone who looks to have money will be targeted. IMO
Is that what you call the domestic helpers, laborers and HRM students which go abroad? The Philippines exports cheap labor, not brains. I would like to see some numbers on what sorts of jobs people are getting abroad. Bright workers can make decent money here if they go into the right areas and live in the right places.
*Bright worker* is a loose term. Compare it to their family members who work for 100p a day or simply don't work and drink tanduay all day long off of someone else's work. But look also at the nurses and engineers the Philippines sends abroad. Those aren't dumb people while their education may be really lacking at times. They are the cream of the crop often enough.... of course that doesn't speak to well of the crop but its still what it is.
I agree and many of the really well educated Filipino used to work for the U.S. Military when they were here. After Pinatubo the ones who really were the cream of the crop were offered special deals to come to the USA and continue working for the same U.S. Military and be fast tracked for citizenship. When that happened their was a serious brain drain started here and in the form of OFW/OCW that is still going on today. The truly effective ones very rarely return here until after retirement if at all because they know their families will be here waiting to drain them dry if they do. Hence a large number of Filipinos leave and never return. Taking the ones who have the ability to adapt and succeed with them. What we see here now for the most part is the dregs left over.
I agree with Dave here. While cheap labor may be what the Philippines exports, that labor is probably the more diligent and intelligent portion of the workforce. Much like here in the US the smartest hardest working people tend to flock to areas where they can use those talents to make the most money. A financial professional is more likely to make a move to New York City than they are to Des Moines. The number of Filipina nurses in the US is somewhat staggering. In this article FRONTLINE/WORLD . Rough Cut . Philippines: Have Degree, Will Travel | PBS it mentions that a large number of rural hospitals in the Philippines have closed due to this. While I realize that this article is about 9 years old I do not believe that much has changed. I work in a hospital so I see this on a daily basis. I have also seen that business process outsourcing is expected to overtake foreign remittances in dollar value soon philippine remittances 2013 . I have to wonder if the BPO industry would grow faster with the workers that have left the country. Edit - for some reason the article philippine remittances 2013 from philstar global is not pasting in to the article.
More recently I believe there are more nurses than there are positions in the Philippines. Then also some hospitals were CHARGING nurses to work in their hospital because they needed the hours for their certification. I believe there was a law sponsored against the practice but I don't know if it ever passed.
