What Do You Want To See in the Philippines in 5 Years Time?

The major problem there is that jury trials would lead to more miscarriages of justice than the present system - jury-knobbling would be a constant problem. Also, trials are conducted in English and in spite of what you may think, an awful lot of Filipinos are not as well-versed in the language as would be necessary for them to serve as jurors.

That will never happen due to the influence and political control by a very few extremely rich and powerful families.

Again, although highly desirable, this will never happen and for the reason above.

Most unlikely and not at all under the present administration. Foreign investors will only be truly attracted if the laws on business and land ownership are repealed - see above!

Agree absolutely but it will never happen for the very simple reason that a generation of well-educated (by western standards) could well seek changes in the whole Philippine system. And the ruling class won't want that!

That may actually be achievable and has already been mooted by Noynoy. But the big stumbling block will be the rich and very influential Catholic church who will oppose it just as they're opposing the implementation of the family-planning law.

Well ... yes, absolutely!

That would require considerably more people actually paying taxes and having smaller families.

That won't stop corruption!

Can you say "Fraport"?!!!

There is far too much investment being made in once small area of the country to the almost exclusion of other, far more deserving areas. I refer, of course, to the metro Manila - Subic - Clark - Olongapo region.

Mark is, of course, absolutely right. None of the things on my wish list (none of which would require more money than the Philippines state has available) are going to happen, because they would cut into the wealth and power of the elite, who will not implement them willingly, and the exploited masses have no appetite for revolution.

This being the case, the medium term outlook for the Philippines is "yet more of the same" and the long term outlook is that the Philippines will become a colony of China, since the country will never be able to defend itself and no other nation will want to bother.

My little dig at the airport arrangements (won't happen because Clark is in Pampanga, the power base of the Macapagal Arroy dynasty, and the Cojuanco Aquinos are in power) illustrates Mark's point - investment is concentrated in this area because it it the power base of both the leading dynasties.

I doubt the NHS will be sustainable in the near future in the UK without some kind of serious reform the way things are going these days over there..
Such a system wouldn't last 5 minutes in the R.P IMO..
For a developing country,they are lucky they have Phil health!!
Things are pretty bad for health care in regards to poor people here but they could be a lot worse too.
Give a slow developing nation time.. Rome was not built in a day..Neither was Britain.. nor its downfall.
IMO lang.

I tend to agree. America will be publicly outraged, of course, and may even offer to send a warship or two but will celebrate privately at not having to finance this country any longer. The EU's reaction is likely to be a bemused "where?" although Germans may cry into their steins as their chances of being paid for NAIA's Terminal 3 sink into oblivion. Other ASEAN countries will take fright and wonder which one of them China will choose next. Apart from that, night will follow day, the earth will continue to rotate once every 24 hours and life goes on much as before.

Except in the Philippines. With the communist NPA forming the backbone of a remodelled Police Force and the forced "repatriation" of Sino-Philippine wealth, this country will be poorer but possibly a bit fairer too as far as ordinary citizens are concerned.

But that will never happen. China is only interested in two things: fossil fuels and the mineral deposits in Mindanao. China has more than enough of its own poor, it doesn't need or want to assume responsibility for another 101 million or so. It will simply extract and export back to China both the oil and gas and the Mindanaoan minerals. Job done.

There is in fact a rival plan for a new airport in the Metro Manila area and that is favoured by the Cojuanco Aquinos. It would be developed by San Miguel but exclusively for PAL international and domestic flights and would have a high-speed rail link to the new casino complex to be built on reclaimed land in Manila Bay (the current Boardwalk will disappear) via Makati and NAIA. Once this opens, PAL will vacate Terminal 2 which will then become the new international terminal. That would leave some very valuable real estate - Terminal 1 - which can then be redeveloped to become a mall and hotel, office and condominium complex. As you may have read, the San Miguel Corporation is now the major stakeholder in PAL.

Yes, I've seen the "alternative Airport plan"; it makes no sense at all from a national point of view but from a Cojuanco-Aquino point of view it makes perfect sense!

I would like to see the entire Philippines archipelago towed to calmer latitudes.

Well as you know, Andrew, western logic and common sense have absolutely no currency in the Philippines!

However the San Mig plan has one major advantage over the Orroyo one: it can be achieved entirely "in-house" and wouldn't require loans - I mean gifts - from outside the country. The Americans aren't interested in financing any capital projects here and now nor is the EU. Had the last administration not welshed on the Terminal 3 project, things might be a bit different.

Yes. Exactly. And back here in the UK you cant find anyone on the shop floor. What a contrast.

Supply and demand. The one thing that the Philippines has in abundance is young people, so the wages are very low. Filipino shop assistants are cheap. And employers can be as sexist as they like,advertising for young women under 25 with "pleasing personality"!

That's right, Rob but they still make you wait an inordinate amount of time to pay and get out
I've never seen another country put up with this frustrating practice. Get the bar codes on the goods and let people scan their own goods.

As you know, nobody trusts anyone in this country and it's for that reason that there are often three assistants serving one customer at the check-outs in department stores and other non-food retailers. At least one of those girls will hold a college degree - usually the one who is checking - and she's responsible for ensuring that the till is not short at the end of the shift - it can be over (ie more money than there should be) however. The few hundred sales floor assistants have two functions - to follow browsing customers and try to persuade them to buy and to escort the customer to the cash register - their pay depends on them collecting a copy of the item's bar code.

Big retailers like SM do not offer their staff employment contracts lasting more than about six months or so; that's to circumvent the employment laws whereby they must provide PhilHealth, holiday pay and 13th month pay. At the end of their contract, staff can apply to be re-hired but unless they're young - sub-25 - and attractive, their chances are slim.

A bit more on the makers of the video.

http://www.catalyst.com.ph/




http://www.catalyst.com.ph/mechanics/