Saturday, December 06, 2008 Ledesma: We have to love this country By Jun Ledesma Sunbursts
WITH India in a state of shock and Thailand in a crumble, the Philippines should actually benefit from their misfortune. For as long as our militant bishops do not go the way of extremist Islamists and the Makati business enclave do not create a bogeyman out of our government, we have a good chance of reaping the fruit from the crisis after crisis that bedevils India and Thailand.
We may not have a popular president, lily white corporate and political institutions but we cannot quarrel with the fact that even the bitterest of our critics are saying we will weather through the economic crisis.
The only sectors that are carping so far are the political opposition to include those whose business allies and immediate members of their families failed to grab multi-million dollar contracts, if you get my drift. They have endlessly wailed along with messianic religious radicals and commie red fronts. What about the Makati Business Club? I have it from good sources that not a few of their members invested billions of dollars in those failed investment houses at Wall Street, which have gone belly up.
The Cebuanos and Ilonggos call that "gaba".
If you think these "patriotic" businessmen are any better than the immoderately greedy characters in government, better think again. The money that they made from the Philippines is siphoned abroad and invested in those failed investment houses at Wall Street rather than re-investing these in the country. They are those who enjoy the economic bonanza in the country but turned their backs against it.
Had they invested those billions of dollars here we could have really been better off. They could have employed more Filipinos who need not have gone abroad looking for jobs. But then they have paid dearly for their greed. When they speak bleakly about the Philippines, they actually are speaking about themselves and their misfortunes. So don't be surprised why their opinions on the Philippine economy are quite oblique from those of World Bank and ADB.
I sympathize with the Thais and the Indians but by natural course of events, the Philippines can indeed be a beneficiary.
Tourists go to Thailand because of their temples. But after seeing one, you actually have seen the rest. The next thing that the tour operators will offer you is an elephant ride and elephant massage and monkey tricks.
Philippines has variety. We have fine beaches, incomparable marine resources, mountain resorts, diverse cultural shows, and colorful and exquisite festivals that happen all year round. Our menu is excellent and wide range. You can have your choice from Oriental to Western and if you are looking for exotic food you will find it here. Our food tastes better and the servings are far more generous than what you get from Thailand or Beijing. And they are priced cheaper. Once, in Hong Kong, in a crowded jewelry complex I heard a receptionist telling an American couple in whisper: "You see that group over there? You can be sure they are Filipinos. They speak English, they haggle for lower price, they have captivating smiles and they smell good."
Yes, we are a smiling people and we smell good. But we too are a nation that has the capacity to overcome whatever are the odds. If we just remain focused and not be distracted by feuding politicians, negativism of our bishops and MBC, the rest of the problems we can tackle. If we have more to offer in terms of culinary quality, sites and sounds, and hospitable people, we too have an edge over the Indians in the area of business process outsourcing. We speak English that is more understandable than they do. We are not short of technical people when it comes to information technology. The fact is we produced one of the dreaded hackers in the world. Not too good a credential to talk about, but it only proves our techies know their craft. (That boy has to be employed later by the US agency that tracked him and turned him into an invaluable asset.)
Look around you. I have never seen so many shoppers in so many malls today than before. I left Davao City the other day and passed by SM Mall to pick up some munchies to keep me going on the long drive to Cagayan de Oro City. I am writing this column in Mallberry Suite, which is just adjacent to Limketkai Supermart. I just had my late lunch in one of the restos there.
Like Davao SM, Limketkai is swarming with shoppers. This is a good sign because people are spending. When they do they fuel the engines of growth and keep our economy on a steady course. Aren't we proud of the Philippines? Better be for this is the only thing we have and in Davao City, where I stay, it is the most livable place to be.
