- Having been living in the Philippines for the last couple
of years some may be interested in my reflections in living in a third
world country.
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- The majority of the population in the country struggles
to survive, with little hope of escaping living in their poverty trap. Most
Filipinos main goal in life other than daily survival is how to escape
their own country living anywhere in the world is perceived better
than in the Philippines under the corruption and incompetency of the current
and previous administrations. Even as Filipinos flee their country
as economic refugees, the Philippine's Government propaganda has exploited
the situation by encouraging workers to work abroad to enable the country's
crumbling economy to remain afloat. The revenue from the OFWs (Overseas
Foreign Workers) sent back as remittances to support their families living
in poverty back home has become the main source of overseas exchange for
the country. The Government propaganda proclaims these OFWs
as national heroes, yet refuses to accept responsibility that it is a direct
result of their economic mismanagement that the economy has failed to generate
jobs for their own citizens. Never mind the broken homes and
personal sacrifices made by OFWs to enable their families in the Philippine's
economy to survive; the Government has turned this human trafficking to
its economic advantage, relying on the overseas remittances to provide
the revenue to prop up a disintegrating society.
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- Since the recent global economic crisis the government
has borrowed heavily from overseas to prop up a crumbling domestic economy,
with little thought how this debt is to be repaid in the future. Sadly
much of this borrowed money has ended up further enriching the ruling elite
rather than be invested in expanding the productive sector of the country. To
maintain political stability and to pay for imported food and to keep the
economy afloat, the government is now begging and borrowing from Japan
and elsewhere ever increasing amounts while revenue to service this debt
declines. Continued government borrowings to prop the crumbling
economy is seeing debt levels spiral out of control, with the Government
spending a third more than it receives in revenue. The cost
of servicing this debt is rapidly becoming unsustainable, and if international
interest rates increase as expected next year, paying the interest on the
national debt could well push the country into bankruptcy. With this the
Philippines is not unique many other countries have adopted similar
policies following the recent global economic crisis borrowing to
support government services as taxation revenue falls.
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- Philippine's President Arroyo's frequent and expensive
trips abroad in an attempt to encourage overseas investment into the Philippines
has achieved little tangible results, other than deals done to personally
benefit those in power. Some overseas interests have been able to gain
long-term leases to exploit agriculture land to produce crops for export
back to their home countries land that should have been used to develop
local agriculture to help feed the Filipino people. The Philippines
is now the largest importer of rice in the world it was once the
rice bowl of Asia.
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- Many overseas companies have become reluctant to invest
in the Philippines with its dysfunctional and corrupt government, poor
infrastructure, high crime rate and uncompetitive labour compliance costs. Most
international businesses are no longer interested in investing in the Philippines
because of the low returns, high risk and restrictive foreign ownership
rules. Philippines attract less overseas investment than almost
any other country in Asia. The country should be one of the richest in
Asia with an abundance of natural resources and talented people if the
economy was managed effectively. A high level of distrust and
dishonesty means business is burdened with excessive overhead and compliance
costs, even though real incomes received wage earners is low. Government
bureaucracy has stifled initiative and failed to provide worthwhile incentives
to establish new business ventures in the country. The Philippines
has become a lawless land, where the economy and society is breaking down
at all levels. Crime has become out of control.
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- What can the Philippines do to save itself from self-destruction?
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- The recently published book titled "Blighted"
by former Philippine's Solicitor-General Frank Chavez portrays the Philippines
as a nation in the depths of moral decay, corruption, lack of leadership
and greed that exists today. (Reviewed onhttp://blindpass.blogspot.com/2009/11/public-service-blighted-reviewed-by.html). To
many Filipinos the nation has sunk to a condition of hopelessness and despair
for the majority struggling to survive in a failed dysfunctional society
where the ruling elite argue amongst themselves on who can gain control
of the country in the upcoming election to further enrich themselves. The
book highlights some of the corruption scandals that have been exposed
in recent years in the Philippines without prosecutions ever being made.
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- Frank Chavez quotes God's promise to Israel in 2 Chronicles
7:14. "If My people who are called by My name will humble
themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their
land". It is only by the return to God and His Laws that
is the only hope for the Philippines; otherwise the country will slide
into total collapse and be taken over by a foreign power.
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- The Philippines prides itself in being the only Christian
country in Asia. The reality is that is Christian in name only,
maintaining a façade while continuing to follow many pagan rituals
that have been adopted as Christianity, rather than practicing the teachings
of Jesus. There are hundreds of different religions found in
the country, though the majority are Catholic. The Philippines claims to
be a Christian nation but keeps almost none of God's Laws. It
is a morally decadent nation - to claim it is a Christian nation is a sham.
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- If the Philippines were to change the way their Government
is administrated and based its laws on the Law of God, the nation would
prosper. This would require a total change at all levels of
Filipino society, rejecting the pagan mythology that is often practiced
as religion today. Unlike the thousands of laws that now exist
in the Philippines (most of which are ignored by the Filipino people),
the Law of God is uncomplicated, not subject to change, and if followed
would restore social justice, prosperity and peace to the nation. The
Ten Commandments is the foundation law for the Christian faith, but few
Christians in the Philippines understand or observe today these laws, let
alone non-Christians. God has given us His Laws on how we are
to be govern - laws which instruct us on managing agriculture, health laws,
caring for the needy, economic management, marriage and child-rearing,
business management, and social responsibility.
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- The current democratic system of government in the Philippines
appears to be incapable of making the changes necessary for the country
to survive because of the competing political interests. The
whole bureaucratic government structure needs to be destroyed and replaced
by a new efficient simplified administration if the country is to be turned
around. A group of respected leaders not tainted by the existing
political establishment is needed to be appointed to oversee the administration
of the country. They would select a new chief executive to run the
country preferably some-one who has no political or commercial interests
in the Philippines. This person would be recruited from the
international marketplace by an executive search recruitment company much
in the same way as a multi-national company appoints a new chief executive
who is answerable to a Board of Directors. CEOs would also be
selected for each area of government responsibility, such as health, education,
finance, etc. Many existing government departments need to be
abolished as they do little to serve the people other than enrich those
running them. CEOs would have the authority to recruit and appoint
new staff for running government offices using modern technology
most of the work done could be automated eliminating most staff, and the
temptation to corruption. Existing staff would need to reapply
for positions, but any involved in any form of previous corruption would
not be eligible.
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- Sadly misplaced nationalism along with undisciplined
emotional immaturity has hurt the Philippines. National pride
and incompetent leadership has allowed the country to slide down the road
towards anarchy. As with many Latin American and African countries,
the people have suffered because of corrupt leaders more interested in
enriching themselves than caring the people they rule.
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- Police and military organisations have become infected
with corruption, more interested in protecting their commercial and political
interests than serving under a leadership of experienced competent administrators. The
law needs be enforced rather than ignored as today. The death
penalty bought back again for capital crimes and the legal service retrained
to work with a retrained clergy in ensuring that the Law of God is upheld. The
clergy would need to be purged and replaced with a ministry that is prepared
to uphold the Law of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
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- Unless the Philippines makes changes soon, the country
will self-destruct, sliding into anarchy, erupting into civil
war, famine, starvation, disease epidemics, widespread unemployment,
economic and social collapse. This will only worsen the plight
of the people already trapped in poverty, and probably result in China
or Japan taking over administrating the country.
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- The Philippines is not unique many nations around
the world are heading down the same road towards insolvency as government
spending spirals out of control, but falling taxation revenue creating
unsustainable deficit. The outcome will result in a chain reaction
of governments defaulting on their debts. We had the banking crisis of
2008/09 next financial crisis will be created by governments defaulting
on their debts.
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- The world is entering into a dangerous age, where rising
populations compete for diminishing resources. The threat to
the Philippines and to the planet as a whole from global warming will hasten
bringing on disease and famine. History tells us the outcome will result
in war the condition the world is in now the stage is set for a precursor
leading to another major conflict. If it was not for the fear
of another nuclear weapons then conflict would have erupted already.
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- The Philippines is far from unique with the problems
of mis-government that its people have suffered because of poor government. Most
of the people living in the third world suffer under the same curse. Their
sufferings and struggle for survival will not be resolved until Jesus Christ
returns to establish His Government on earth. Only then will
the world know peace, prosperity and justice for all. This day
will not be far away.
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- Recently this has led to discussions among European leaders
on an alternative economic model replacing market capitalism with
state-controlled capitalism or National Socialism as it is sometimes known. These
same leaders are also promoting the need for a single world governing authority
to regulate protection of the global environment and the world's financial
system. The recent talks in Copenhagen failed because the USA
and China did not wish to be subjected to such an authority or support
its introduction. A new economic crisis will create the environment
when people would support the introduction of the new world order to replace
the failed institutions that currently exist.
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- For more information on how this Government will be administered
go to http://www.cgiphils.org/literature/kingdom.htm
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- Bruce Porteous
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- bruceport@xtra.co.nz
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