|
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Chua: Fighting incredulity
By Emily Zen Chua
Zensibilities
A SURVEY conducted by Abenson Appliance revealed that in three years time, one out of every five Filipino households will own a plasma or LCD tv set. More surprisingly, 84 percent of these Filipinos claim that their reason for buying said expensive tv is to be more updated in news.
I grimaced at the irony of middle class kaartehan... Totoo ba to? They are willing to spend P90,000 on a tv just to watch the news? Why? To count how many more wrinkles have sprouted on Mel Tiangco's face?
The same feeling of incredulity overwhelmed me when the government recently announced that Philippines has been doing quite good -- economically. Our exports grew 17.3% for May alone. This was mainly due to the 10.8% expansion in exports of semi-conductors. There was an 18.8% increase in shipments of semi-conductors that amounted to $9 billion.
The numbers speak for themselves. But then again I cannot help but ask, totoo ba talaga 'to? There must have been some typographical error. Maybe, the word "export" is supposed to be "import."
Or take the latest SWS survey stating that incidence of bribery actually declined. Believe it or not, the agencies with improved ratings were Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Land Transportation Office, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and Bureau of Customs! I was about to conclude that the survey was rigged when I saw the next paragraph. It explained that these agencies, though they had better ratings, were still in the "poor" or "very poor" categories.
But then again, the idea remains that Filipinos believe that these agencies are less corrupt this year compared to last year. Is this true?
Personally, I find it hard to believe that our country is getting better. But who knows? I might just be too pessimistic. Maybe the improvement of one's own country is just like gaining weight. You do not notice that you are getting fat, until the day you already gained 40 lbs.
Our country is actually improving. We just fail to notice her gradual advancement. Foreigners, on the other hand, are first to detect them. Few local examples are China's $1 billion investment in Compostela Valley and Japan's P1 billion investment on Mindanao's banana industry.
What is more interesting is the reason for the decline in corruption. The SWS survey stated that corruption declined because of efforts of business managers to employ honest business practices. What we thought are little insignificant deeds are actually the ones making these changes possible.
Little things do count. Totoo ba 'to? I tell you, it is true.
Take for example the study conducted by Asian Development Bank. It concluded that remittances averaging $100 to $500 a month per guest worker could be leveraged as a financial tool if funds were channeled through formal banking system. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas estimates that $2.8 billion OFW remittances will pass through informal channel this year. Picture that great financial tool wasted just because an OFW refuses to remit through formal channels.
Little things do count. As Goethe says, "Let everyone sweep in front of his own door and the whole world will be clean."
Send your comments to ezchua@gmail.com
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (July 15, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
