F.Sionil Jose’s “Why are Filipinos So Poor?” November 23, 2006
Posted by liberaleconomy in Liberal Leadership Seminar Report.trackback
Hi Libs!
I was just browsing through the internet when I stumbled on this one. It was “serendipitous” – as Atty Jen might want to call it. Have you ever experienced something like this – when one thing leads to another and the whole chain of events feels like it has been woven by some Divine hand? Anyway, this is an article posted at philpost.com tackling the issue of why Filipinos are “so poor.”
Its amazing how F. Sionil Jose interlocked the ideas and issues we have so touched during the seminar into one meaningful essay. One thing that struck me was his line on – we are poor because we are poor. Indeed, we need to get out of a “poverty” mindset lest we rot in the rut. It has a lot to do with attitude. Because even if we have means or access to capital or wealth if our attitude treats poverty as an excuse not to better our lives, we will remain where we are until kingdom come.
I just thought the essay might interest you, so I am sharing it with you. A word of caution though, its quite long, so read it if you truly have the time. There are lots of provocative insights that can be derived from it. One good thing about the essay is that it is still infected with one distinctly Filipino trait: the Big O. As in Optimism. Hope springs eternal – if we only have the “courage to change ourselves.”
Happy Reading!
-Dash
Why are Filipinos so Poor?
In the ’50s and ’60s, the Philippines was the most envied country in Southeast Asia. What happened?
By F. Sionil Jose
What did South Korea look like after the Korean War in 1953? Battered, poor – but look at Korea now. In the Fifties, the traffic in Taipei was composed of bicycles and army trucks, the streets flanked by tile-roofed low buildings. Jakarta was a giant village and Kuala Lumpur a small village surrounded by jungle and rubber plantations. Bangkok was criss-crossed with canals, the tallest structure was the Wat Arun, the Temple of the Sun, and it dominated the city’s skyline. Ricefields all the way from Don Muang airport — then a huddle of galvanized iron-roofed bodegas, to the Victory monument.Visit these cities today and weep — for they are more beautiful, cleaner and prosperous than Manila. In the Fifties and Sixties we were the most envied country in Southeast Asia. Remember further that when Indonesia got its independence in 1949, it had only 114 university graduates compared with the hundreds of Ph.D.’s that were already in our universities. Why then were we left behind? The economic explanation is simple. We did not produce cheaper and better products.
The basic question really is why we did not modernize fast enough and thereby doomed our people to poverty. This is the harsh truth about us today. Just consider these: some 15 years ago a survey showed that half of all grade school pupils dropped out after grade 5 because they had no money to continue schooling.Thousands of young adults today are therefore unable to find jobs. Our natural resources have been ravaged and they are not renewable. Our tremendous population increase eats up all of our economic gains. There is hunger in this country now; our poorest eat only once a day.But this physical poverty is really not as serious as the greater poverty that afflicts us and this is the poverty of the spirit.
Why then are we poor? More than ten years ago, James Fallows, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, came to the Philippines and wrote about our damaged culture which, he asserted, impeded our development. Many disagreed with him but I do find a great deal of truth in his analysis.This is not to say that I blame our social and moral malaise on colonialism alone. But we did inherit from Spain a social system and an elite that, on purpose, exploited the masses. Then, too, in the Iberian peninsula, to work with one’s hands is frowned upon and we inherited that vice as well. Colonialism by foreigners may no longer be what it was, but we are now a colony of our own elite.
We are poor because we are poor — this is not a tautology. The culture of poverty is self-perpetuating. We are poor because our people are lazy. I pass by a slum area every morning – dozens of adults do nothing but idle, gossip and drink. We do not save. Look at the Japanese and how they save in spite of the fact that the interest given them by their banks is so little. They work very hard too.
We are great show-offs. Look at our women, how overdressed, over-coiffed they are, and Imelda epitomizes that extravagance. Look at our men, their manicured nails, their personal jewelry, their diamond rings. Yabang – that is what we are, and all that money expended on status symbols, on yabang. How much better if it were channeled into production.
We are poor because our nationalism is inward looking. Under its guise we protect inefficient industries and monopolies. We did not pursue agrarian reform like Japan and Taiwan. It is not so much the development of the rural sector, making it productive and a good market as well. Agrarian reform releases the energies of the landlords who, before the reform, merely waited for the harvest. They become entrepreneurs, the harbingers of change.
Our nationalist icons like Claro M. Recto and Lorenzo Tanada opposed agrarian reform, the single most important factor that would have altered the rural areas and lifted the peasant from poverty. Both of them were merely anti-American.
And finally, we are poor because we have lost our ethical moorings. We condone cronyism and corruption and we don’t ostracize or punish the crooks in our midst. Both cronyism and corruption are wasteful but we allow their practice because our loyalty is to family or friend, not to the larger good.
We can tackle our poverty in two very distinct ways. The first choice: a nationalist revolution, a continuation of the revolution in 1896. But even before we can use violence to change inequities in our society, we must first have a profound change in our way of thinking, in our culture. My regret about EDSA is that change would have been possible then with a minimum of bloodshed. In fact, a revolution may not be bloody at all if something like EDSA would present itself again. Or a dictator unlike Marcos.
The second is through education, perhaps a longer and more complex process. The only problem is that it may take so long and by the time conditions have changed, we may be back where we were, caught up with this tremendous population explosion which the Catholic Church exacerbates in its conformity with doctrinal purity.We are faced with a growing compulsion to violence, but even if the communists won, they will rule as badly because they will be hostage to the same obstructions in our culture, the barkada, the vaulting egos that sundered the revolution in 1896, the Huk revolt in 1949-53.
To repeat, neither education nor revolution can succeed if we do not internalize new attitudes, new ways of thinking. Let us go back to basics and remember those American slogans: A Ford in every garage. A chicken in every pot. Money is like fertilizer: to do any good it must be spread around.Some Filipinos, taunted wherever they are, are shamed to admit they are Filipinos. I have, myself, been embarrassed to explain, for instance, why Imelda, her children and the Marcos cronies are back, and in positions of power. Are there redeeming features in our country that we can be proud of? Of course, lots of them. When people say, for instance, that our corruption will never be banished, just remember that Arsenio Lacson as mayor of Manila and Ramon Magsaysay as president brought a clean government.We do not have the classical arts that brought Hinduism and Buddhism to continental and archipelagic Southeast Asia, but our artists have now ranged the world, showing what we have done with Western art forms, enriched with our own ethnic traditions. Our professionals, not just our domestics, are all over, showing how accomplished a people we are!
Look at our history. We are the first in Asia to rise against Western colonialism, the first to establish a republic. Recall the Battle of Tirad Pass and glory in the heroism of Gregorio del Pilar and the 48 Filipinos who died but stopped the Texas Rangers from capturing the president of that First Republic. Its equivalent in ancient history is the Battle of Thermopylae where the Spartans and their king Leonidas, died to a man, defending the pass against the invading Persians. Rizal — what nation on earth has produced a man like him? At 35, he was a novelist, a poet, an anthropologist, a sculptor, a medical doctor, a teacher and martyr.We are now 80 million and in another two decades we will pass the 100 million mark.
Eighty million — that is a mass market in any language, a mass market that should absorb our increased production in goods and services – a mass market which any entrepreneur can hope to exploit, like the proverbial oil for the lamps of China.
Japan was only 70 million when it had confidence enough and the wherewithal to challenge the United States and almost won. It is the same confidence that enabled Japan to flourish from the rubble of defeat in World War II.
I am not looking for a foreign power for us to challenge. But we have a real and insidious enemy that we must vanquish, and this enemy is worse than the intransigence of any foreign power. We are our own enemy. And we must have the courage, the will, to change ourselves.
F. Sionil Jose, whose works have been published in 24 languages, is also a bookseller, editor, publisher and founding president of the the PhilippinesÕ PEN Center. The foregoing is an excerpt from a speech delivered by Mr. Jose in Manila, Philippines.
HI THE PHILIPPINES SHOULD BE LIKE JAPAN.SEND ECONOMISTS THERE TO STUDY HOW JAPAN BECAME RICH.The education system should be modeled on Japan and the industries should be created the same way the Japanese industries started by government subsidizing.The Philippines needs to look at Japan as model as Japan did to ancient China.
“Look at our history. We are the first in Asia to rise against Western colonialism, the first to establish a republic. Recall the Battle of Tirad Pass and glory in the heroism of Gregorio del Pilar and the 48 Filipinos who died but stopped the Texas Rangers from capturing the president of that First Republic.”
——————-
So many writers keep on recycling this thought thinking we are better off 50 or 100 years before than the rest of Asia. On the contrary, we are actually lagging behind since time past. The achievements of the past did nothing to improve the collective social intelligence of Filipinos.
In fact Marcos was not only a person. He was also an idea: a culmination of monstrosity that seeks its abode until it finds somebody to dwell.
Today, we are far better than yesterday. Maybe not economically but by virtue of collective social intelligence. Yes, we are still poor and seems hopeless but nowhere in our history there was such a collective possibility of rising from the quagmire our country has gotten into since time past.
We started getting so poor since the 70s when the skilled Filipinos discovered dollars, dinars, won and other currencies. Now that the Philippine peso is gaining power, these same Filipinos shout foul! A lot of those OFWs are ashamed of us who stick it out here. They blame us for allowing the Marcoses to return to power and regain celebrity status, for looking away when the government corrupts the economy and steal our money. The middle income literates blame the squatters for contributing nothing but problems and domestic crimes. They blame the NPAs and the Moros of Mindanaos for kidnapping civilians. Why can’t we blame for one second the Ayalas, the Sys, the Madrigals, and those shameless individuals featured in PDIs who’s who section? We always ask the poor to work and stretch their bones and make some decent living so this country will be “great again.” Do you think they will not grab the chance, if there are jobs available, jobs that pay enough to afford decent living? We ask so much from those who have so little. Why can’t we ask the rich to contribute more, much much more since they are the ones who have so much? Asking the poor to work when there are no available work is insane. Asking the rank and file to save is stupid when they only receive the minimum wage. The poor work to eat. They even work to eat garbage. Ask the rich men to invest more for the Filipinos and not stash away their riches to Swiss banks. Ask them to pay their employees with just compensation and give the good once tenure. And enough of this middle-class, almighty mentality!
Totoo naman yung sinasabi ni Sionil Jose eh. We are our own enemies. How many Filipinos prioritize cellphones rather than basic necessities? many of them. Many students would prefer loading credits to their phone rather than buying school requirements.
To Sabina: Why blame the rich for being rich? You must, at least, know that most of them have their own humble beginnings. These people become rich because they strive hard. You must blame the poor for being poor. Why blame the Sys, the Ayalas, or the Madrigals — while they are the ones giving jobs to our fellow countrymen? If you gonna take away these people, then who’s gonna provide jobs for the poor? Do you think the poor can provide jobs to his own class?
What if you become rich? Is it your fault because you strive so hard? Are you going to blame yourself then for becoming rich?
It’s our government and our own culture that you should blame – for all our woes. We corrupt our own selves…
tang-ina bobo ng pinoy
hey! kng cno k mang “secreto” k, bka nakakalimutan m pilipino k rin. PINOY k rin. so t means bobo k rin. nsa sau n kng pno m tatanggalin s isip ng ibang tao n taung mga pilipino ay bobo. well…isa k rin nman pilipino…hmp!
I’M PROUD TO BE PINOY!!!!
aminin na kc nating totoo naman talaga yung sinabi ng writer. Pilipino naman kc,ako man ay pilipino rin isang istudyante sa kolehiyo. Hindi ako bulag sa nang yayari saatin dito sa pilipinas. kaylangan talaga natin ng pagbabago hindi lng pagbabago kundi malaking pagbabago hindi man tayo lumagay sa lugar ng japan o kung sino mang mga bansang mauunlad as long as makaalis lng tayo sa malaking kahirapang nararanasan natin ngayon. hindi ko ikinahihiyang Pilipino ako sapagkat mahal ko kung ano ako…sana lng gaya ko mahalin nyo rin ang bansang pilipinas.
Everything is cliche! Lazy shortcuts and a lack for better terms.. Can we start by eliminating this newfound text language? “Pinoy time” and a “Bahala na” attitude.. Stereotypes.. Seeds planted to maintain keeping a colonial mentality..Tolerance for corruption and bad memory..an easily forgotten past where all are forgiven.. This could’nt have been the master plan our forefathers planned out for us! Kayang kaya naman mga pinoy ah! Wag mo sayangin ang kaluluwa at diwa.. Mga Kababayan ko! Kailan matutuklasan ang iyong galing?
I think the ‘why blame the rich’ post is a gross oversimplification of the situation. If you don’t ask how certain families became rich and how they stay rich then you are not really contributing anything to the debate. I’m just learning about the philippines myself. But I DO know that in any country with many poor, the wealthy must assume greater social responsibility and leadership and eventually agree to bring up the standard of those poor people around them. If they are as innovative and hard working as the poster suggests, then they would have no problem maintaining their wealth AND fulfilling their social responsibility.
want the truth.
read richard lynn
1. IQ and Wealth of Nations.
2. IQ and global inequality.
japan, korea, IQ @105
philiippines IQ at 85.
A gap of 20 (twenty points) between north -south.
All True. All due to IQ .
one main answer to this argument is the word MENTALITY. the mentality of the rich and the poor are very different. Their views on assets,income,liabilities,and expenses are very different. Go ask the rich people how they define those words.Many of our teachers in universities doesn’t even know the real meaning of this because they only learn from books and they are not rich themselves.This country is good.We are happy people.But we are scared of change because change is sometimes uncomfortable.But rich people became rich after overcomming their limitations.Poor people stays in their comfort zone.What am I pointing out here?The secrets of the rich and the poor are enclosed in these words. 1) MENTALITY 2)EDUCATION (many of our teachers are just teachers from books.Most of our finance,marketing and business proffesors doesn’t even know how to leverage properly.3)MEDIA (media shows that poor people are always the happy people.BUt don’t you know that many rich people are happy people too? 4)RELIGION (we are one christian nation.Many of us loves God. I love God too. But the difference comes when we get the message that we can sacrifice and endure the pain till the end because life after death is unbelievably good.Trivia lang ha;ginawa ng mga spanish yang message na yan originaly para hindi na mag aklas ang mga pilipino laban sa kanila.Inexagerate nila ang paghihirap ni Jesus at pinatungan ng enterpretasyon na pabor sa mga prayle.Lastly-GOvernment ; Nasakanila ang batas.But a lot of them are tied to wealthy people who can provide jobs. So no matter how idealistic they are, it all goes back to being rich and having a lot money.One reason why there are so many corrupt officials.GOvernment officials are still employees.Nobody gets rich in employment.YOu have to be the one holding that power and buying your asset.That’s why we must know at least the basics. Teach our kids financial literacy. It is not taught in school (to inform you). It is taught by real wealthy and succesful people. YOu think they are greedy?think again. Teach your kids the basic financial literacy. We have internet now. Easy access to the basics.If we will not do it now, our country will sink and eventully, our children will suffer more than you do. DO you want that?
one main answer to this argument is the word MENTALITY.
the mentality of the rich and the poor are very different. Their views on assets,income,liabilities,and expenses are very different. Go ask the rich people how they define those words.Many of our teachers in universities doesn’t even know the real meaning of this because they only learn from books and they are not rich themselves.
This country is good.We are happy people.But we are scared of change because change is sometimes uncomfortable.But rich people became rich after overcomming their limitations.Poor people stays in their comfort zone.What am I pointing out here?The secrets of the rich and the poor are enclosed in these words.
1) MENTALITY 2)EDUCATION (many of our teachers are just teachers from books.Most of our finance,marketing and business proffesors doesn’t even know how to leverage properly.
3)MEDIA (media shows that poor people are always the happy people.BUt don’t you know that many rich people are happy people too?
4)RELIGION (we are one christian nation.Many of us loves God. I love God too. But the difference comes when we get the message that we can sacrifice and endure the pain till the end because life after death is unbelievably good.Trivia lang ha;ginawa ng mga spanish yang message na yan originaly para hindi na mag aklas ang mga pilipino laban sa kanila.Inexagerate nila ang paghihirap ni Jesus at pinatungan ng enterpretasyon na pabor sa mga prayle.)
Lastly-GOvernment ; Nasakanila ang batas.But a lot of them are tied to wealthy people who can provide jobs. So no matter how idealistic they are, it all goes back to being rich and having a lot money.One reason why there are so many corrupt officials.GOvernment officials are still employees.Nobody gets rich in employment.YOu have to be the one holding that power and buying your asset.That’s why we must know at least the basics. Teach our kids financial literacy. It is not taught in school (to inform you). It is taught by real wealthy and succesful people. YOu think they are greedy?think again. Teach your kids the basic financial literacy.
We have internet now. Easy access to the basics.If we will not do it now, our country will sink and eventully, our children will suffer more. DO you want that?
[...] growing up, it is another being in the First World yourself. Explanations by the likes of F. Sionil Jose – which basically say we are poor because of our culture – is simply unsatisfactory. Read [...]
I admire Sionil for his literary prowess. But I was struck by one thing in his article posted here: we are poor because our people are lazy. And why are we, then, lazy? There’s the rub.
[...] F.Sionil Jose’s “Why are Filipinos So Poor?” « Liberal Economy [...]
[...] F.Sionil Jose’s “Why are Filipinos So Poor?” « Liberal Economy [...]
[...] F.Sionil Jose’s “Why are Filipinos So Poor?” « Liberal Economy [...]
I am multilingual college student born in manila, and so are my parents who earned their degree in the Stanford, CA and Ateneo de Manila and are both doctors in one of the most prestigious institutions in the country.
All I can say is that DO NOT GENERALIZE.
Not all Filipinos are lazy.
Not all Filipinos are dumb.
And I’m sure as hell
Not all Filipinos are poor.
In fact, we represent one of the RICHEST men in Asia. When I mean rich, they are exaggeratedly RICH. (Some even have 800M DOLLARS, just check the Forbes list)
Well, it just happens that—
Filipinos are OVERPOPULATED. And majority of these people are POOR. That is why most people generalize that “FILIPINO=POOR”.
There is an outrageous imbalance. And this imbalance gets bigger and bigger.
The poor don’t just become poorer, but they MULTIPLY.
The rich become sort of extinct since they tend to have less children.
They usually have a “unico hijo/ unica hija” (one child).
SO THE QUESTION IS…
1. Don’t you think the rich could be lazy too, and the poor could be hardworking? In fact, most rich people indolently wait for money to come to their business from the hardworking class poor.
–So why say that the poor are poor because they are lazy??
2. Don’t you think that there are dumb rich people too??
Some of them may have just inherited their fortune from their parents; AKA “manna”. Hence, not all of them could have obtained PhDs in order to be rich. There could be poor scholars who undergo the hole of a needle in order to succeed in life (i.e., UP students, etc.).
–So why say that the poor are poor because they are dumb??
THOSE PEOPLE WHO GENERALIZE SUCH PREPOSTEROUS IDEAS are NARROW MINDED IDIOTS.
Masyado lang maraming pinoy na mahirap. At madalas, ibinibintang natin na ang mga mahihirap ay tanga at tamad. Marahil ay totoo ngang karamihan ay hindi nakatapos sa pagaaral, bagamat hindi ito basihan ng lawak ng kaalaman o basihan ng pagtagumpay sa buhay.
Ang kailangan lang ng mahihirap ay PAGKAKATAON…sa sariling bansa!
At sa buhay ngayon, marami ang nagiimbang bansa dahil dun nila nakikita ang PAGKAKATAON na ito na pinagmumulan ng pagasa.
-spread the word-
I am a multilingual college student born in manila, and so are my parents who earned their degree in the Stanford, CA and Ateneo de Manila and are both doctors in one of the most prestigious institutions in the country.
All I can say is that DO NOT GENERALIZE.
Not all Filipinos are lazy.
Not all Filipinos are dumb.
And I’m sure as hell
Not all Filipinos are poor.
In fact, we represent one of the RICHEST men in Asia. When I mean rich, they are exaggeratedly RICH. (Some even have 800M DOLLARS, just check the Forbes list)
Well, it just happens that—
Filipinos are OVERPOPULATED. And majority of these people are POOR. That is why most people generalize that “FILIPINO=POOR”.
There is an outrageous imbalance. And this imbalance gets bigger and bigger.
The poor don’t just become poorer, but they MULTIPLY.
The rich become sort of extinct since they tend to have less children.
They usually have a “unico hijo/ unica hija” (one child).
SO THE QUESTION IS…
1. Don’t you think the rich could be lazy too, and the poor could be hardworking? In fact, most rich people indolently wait for money to come to their business from the hardworking class poor.
–So why say that the poor are poor because they are lazy??
2. Don’t you think that there are dumb rich people too??
Some of them may have just inherited their fortune from their parents; AKA “manna”. Hence, not all of them could have obtained PhDs in order to be rich. There could be poor scholars who undergo the hole of a needle in order to succeed in life (i.e., UP students, etc.).
–So why say that the poor are poor because they are dumb??
THOSE PEOPLE WHO GENERALIZE SUCH PREPOSTEROUS IDEAS are NARROW MINDED IDIOTS.
Masyado lang maraming pinoy na mahirap. At madalas, ibinibintang natin na ang mga mahihirap ay tanga at tamad. Marahil ay totoo ngang karamihan ay hindi nakatapos sa pagaaral, bagamat hindi ito basihan ng lawak ng kaalaman o basihan ng pagtagumpay sa buhay.
Ang kailangan lang ng mahihirap ay PAGKAKATAON…sa sariling bansa!
At sa buhay ngayon, marami ang nagiimbang bansa dahil dun nila nakikita ang PAGKAKATAON na ito na pinagmumulan ng pagasa.
-spread the word-
I am multilingual college student born in manila, and so are my parents who earned their degree in the Stanford, CA and Ateneo de Manila and are both doctors in one of the most prestigious institutions in the country.
All I can say is that DO NOT GENERALIZE.
Not all Filipinos are lazy.
Not all Filipinos are dumb.
And I’m sure as hell
Not all Filipinos are poor.
In fact, we represent one of the RICHEST men in Asia. When I mean rich, they are exaggeratedly RICH. (Some even have 800M DOLLARS, just check the Forbes list)
Well, it just happens that—
Filipinos are OVERPOPULATED. And majority of these people are POOR. That is why most people generalize that “FILIPINO=POOR”.
There is an outrageous imbalance. And this imbalance gets bigger and bigger.
The poor don’t just become poorer, but they MULTIPLY.
The rich become sort of extinct since they tend to have less children.
They usually have a “unico hijo/ unica hija” (one child).
SO THE QUESTION IS…
1. Don’t you think the rich could be lazy too, and the poor could be hardworking? In fact, most rich people indolently wait for money to come to their business from the hardworking class poor.
–So why say that the poor are poor because they are lazy??
2. Don’t you think that there are dumb rich people too??
Some of them may have just inherited their fortune from their parents; AKA “manna”. Hence, not all of them could have obtained PhDs in order to be rich. There could be poor scholars who undergo the hole of a needle in order to succeed in life (i.e., UP students, etc.).
–So why say that the poor are poor because they are dumb??
THOSE PEOPLE WHO GENERALIZE SUCH PREPOSTEROUS IDEAS are NARROW MINDED IDIOTS.
Masyado lang maraming pinoy na mahirap. At madalas, ibinibintang natin na ang mga mahihirap ay tanga at tamad. Marahil ay totoo ngang karamihan ay hindi nakatapos sa pagaaral, bagamat hindi ito basihan ng lawak ng kaalaman o basihan ng pagtagumpay sa buhay.
Ang kailangan lang ng mahihirap ay PAGKAKATAON…sa sariling bansa!
At sa buhay ngayon, marami ang nagiimbang bansa dahil dun nila nakikita ang PAGKAKATAON na ito na pinagmumulan ng pagasa.
-spread the word-
-EMAIL ME AT six_t7@yahoo.com
nationalism. kulang na kulang tayo nito. pero HINDI BOBO ang mga pilipino!!! huwag naman sana tayong mag-generalize.
Hay, its obvious we Filipinos doesn’t have what we called NATIONALISM and We do have crab mentality because of these reasons we cannot uplift our economy. And Filipinos are “WHITE ELEPHANT” we buy and buy somethings that are not important just like the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant ,, its useless instead of buying other things to uplift our way of living their buy use less things. But I AM PROUD TO A FILIPINO,,,DEFINITELY…
1. to Sabina–I agree entirely with you. The lack of social responsibility and social conscience on the part of the Phil elite (not just the rich) is appalling, and is a major rason why we are what we are…Its not the only reason, but its one of the most important ones. Conspicuous consumption and a kind of Marie Antoinette mentality characterize the Phil rich.
2. to the people arguing about whether or not the Filipino is lazy–Please take the time to read Rizal’s “The Indolence of the Filipino”. The same arguments being rehashed today were tackled in the said article over a century ago.
3. An American colonist at the turn of the century described us as a naive, childlike people–thus, easy to manipulate and impress. I wouldn’t agree with something as sweeping and far too general, but in many cases, I have seen this to be true.
4. Finally, Lee Kuan Yew—who knows more about nation-building than anyone else—described Filipinos as “a soft, forgiving people”, and said this is one of the principal reasons why a people as talented as our’s, is where its at. I agree. And I’d add to this, an unequal enforcement of rules and laws; and an inequitable social system where the economic gap between the abundant poor and an indifferent and corrupt elite is a veritable chasm.
I’m a Filipino lawyer and history buff, who is earning a second law degree overseas. I love my country…but frankly, there are times when I think that its because I’m a patriot that I can’t stand many of the practices in my country.
To Redeemer—Philippine big business is just as bad as the government—and is as much to blame for the economic and social quagmire our country is in. Obviously, you’re not even aware of this.
Tama We Should Be Proud even if we are Poor,
Me too Proud to be Filipino
kasi gusto ng iba lahat ng gusto masusunod..hindi naman pupwede yan..pag nagkamali ng isa (1) ang pangulo ibinabale wala na ang isang daan (100) na tama..kaya hindi tayo maka usog sa kahirapan kasi hindi tayo nagkaka.isa…dapat natin erespeto ang ating pangulo kung hindi natin gagawin yan ipinapakita lang natin na hindi tayo proud maging isang filipino.wala akung kinkampihan nais ko lang magaka.isa tayong mga pinoy..wag natin tingnan lahat ang negativeness ng isang tao..bigyan din natin ng halaga ang kanyang possitiveness..walang taong perpekto..
by:TRUE PINOY
tama ka edgar,
wag tayong mapag husga,
tayoy mga pinoy,
dapat magka isa para sa atin din yan,
proud akong maging isang pinoy kahit na ako’y isang mahirap lamang.
isang halimbawa na diyan ay si SECRETO tingnan nyo naman ang kanyang pag-uugali.hindi sya proud maging isang pinoy.may mga kakilala din akung nagpupumilit maging isang marikano ngunit ang kinalalabasan ay isang kasuka sukang bagay.O.A.ang pangit tingnan kung ang isang pinoy ay nagpupumilit maging isang bayaga masaho pa sa mabaho at malansang isda..
ako si edgar proud maging isang true pinoy.
isang halimbawa na diyan ay si SECRETO tingnan nyo naman ang kanyang pag-uugali.hindi sya proud maging isang pinoy.may mga kakilala din akung nagpupumilit maging isang amerikano ngunit ang kinalalabasan ay isang kasuka sukang bagay.O.A.ang pangit tingnan kung ang isang pinoy ay nagpupumilit maging isang banyaga masahol pa ito sa mabaho at malansang isda..
ako si edgar proud maging isang true pinoy.
we are not poor…we have the resources with us…it’s just the issue of mismanagement…
Filipinos problem is the word blame. I blame Filipinos for blaming everything that they think makes their lives miserable. Everything is the culprit – the rich, the poor, the lazy, the americans, the colonialist, the history. sinabi ni Rizal na lumingon ka sa pinanggalingan pero hindi niya sinabi bumalik ka don.
We need to move on and start working.
Stop corruption and change the system and change all even the barangay tanod,the volunteer “kuno” traffic aides.Make a daily inspection for the law enforcer and to stop making projects(kuno) for the politicians and stop the pork barrel.
FOR THE BETTER PHILIPPINES
Put GOD in everything we do and be true to our self .
Miss filipina77. you say that the rich are lazy? the question is how did they become rich? it is all because of their hard work. They can now relax and rest because they have business that they made with their blood and sweat. They wait for money because they do deserve it.
Mula brgy. officials hanggang sa matataas na may katungkulan ang kurakutan sa ating bansa!!!
kung naiibigay lang sana ang lahat at wasto ang mga proyektong pinapatupad ng ating pangulo hindi sana nagkakaganito ang mga pilipino,dami pa kasing kamay ang napag daraanan….Subalit hindi ito ang dahilan para hindi tayo umurong sa kahirapan….let’s MOVE ON and FIGHT for it…
This message is to all filipino’s by EDGAR…
Sa bawat pagsikat ng araw.
Ito ang natatanging tulay ng ating KINABUKASAN.
Mahugasan na sana ang ating mga KASALANAN.
Khairapang napagdaraanan wag sanang gawing dahilan para hindi makamit ang kasaganaang INA.ASAM-ASAM.
Gawin sanang inspirasyon ang ating mga kababayan nag.Alay ng kanilang buhay para sa atin BAYAN.
Hahayaan mo na lang bang ika’y nakahalik sa LUPA.
Sunod-sunuran na parang isang TUTA.
MANGARAP,Humarap sa mga problema wag TALIKURAN.
Sapagkat marami tayo ditong MATUTUNAN.
KUNG KAYA NILA,E DI KAYA DIN NATIN.
TAO LANG SILA TAO DIN TAYO.
Kaibigan ito ang dapat mon MATUTUNAN.
Wag mag alinlangan dahil lang sa KAHIRAPAN.
Bumangon ka at PANGARAP mo’y IPAGLABAN.
Wag kang susuko MATIRA, MATIBAY.
PINOY MABUHAY KA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tama naman ung writer nito kai hindi tio umaangat dahil sa atin din kasi tayo ay TAMAD kia walang asenso tio sa buhay tapos tio pa ang mag rereklamo na ung mga mayayaman ay lalo pang yunayaman pero wag dapat nating sisihin ang mga mayaman dahil sila ay masipag at lakas ng loob na subukan ang buhay rin nating mahirap.
baki ba kasi tio TAMAD at WALANG PERA dahil rin ito sa ating gobyerno na nagpapatakbo dito sa ating bansa lalo na ang pangulo dapat gawin niya ang ginagawa ng singapore na umuunlad na dahil rin sa pamumuno ng kanilang opisyal sa bansa nila…..
at dapat WAG TAYONG MAWALAN ng TIWALA sa SARILI na hindi tio uunlad mula sa ating pag katumba sa lupa at dapat tio ay bumangon wag nating hayaan na gagapang nalang tio sa lupa na parang mga uuod na umaasa nalang sa mga kung ano-ano diyan sa paligid….
kahit isa lamang akong 1st year college BSPSLS1 sa SMU alam ko na ang ating kalagayan dito sa ating bansa. kahit tanungin niyo pa ang mga paslit na bata kung bakit tio mahirap alam nila ang sagot dahil nakikita naman nila ito!!!!!
un lang po!!!!!
As a young citizen of the Philippines, i already know that we are experiencing such appalling poverty. But why are we blaming our government when the truth is that our elders are the one who vote them in position. I think we should blame ourselves (even though I’m only fourteen years old) for we are the one who made the decisions during elections and other national events. If we have voted wisely and with our conscience in mind, maybe we will have the appropriate officials in the government. Yes, I know that voting wisely is difficult because I’ve heard it from the mouths of my voting family members but it is a must if we want our country to prosper.
It’s not too late for our country to change, but first, the change should be in ourselves and then everything will follow. I’m proud of being Filipino but we should strive hard and unite to attain our desires and become a more industrialized but nature friendly country. Mabuhay ka Pilipinas ngunit sana’y umunlad ka!!!
Although it is not politically correct to say so I find most Filipinos quite dumb. They are affable, kind, warm, affectionate people who I enjoy socialising with. However professionally I find them lazy, inefficient and not too smart. I know such a statement is racist because it generalises all Filipinos but so does any positive statement about Filipinos. I think it is silly to demonise all generalisations about a nationality of people. They use to be called traits. They can be either negative or positive. I think more important is the intent & accuracy of the statement.
philipinos dumb, low IQ, lazy. I do Not believe any of this.
we were the first republic in asia.
pinoy is Not lazy
pinoy is Not dumb.
pinoy does not have IQ of 85.
pinoy does have a 20-point gap in IQ with japan, korea.
Pinoy is only poor. pinoy needs to study taiwna, japan, korea, and now china and see how they moved from 3rd world to the 1st. world.
Read Lee Kuan Yew’s book: From Third world to the First.
PANGUNGUNAHAN KO NA PO: will somebody ask me baka naman kasi mahirap ako or baka naman mayaman ako?
…rich or poor, will it matter if we die?
…is being in the “state of richness” something we need to achieve inorder to get a better feeling?
…could it be just a mere “statistic” or more of a “state of mind”?
…i could say all the answers are just “within” ourselves at kung sino pa ang hindi masyadong masalita ay yun pa nakakaunawa.
…ok i won’t talk too much
…all the answers are just “within” ourselves. the more you look “outside”, the more you get “reactive” but the more we look “inside” the more we find our “worth” and eventually get the real picture of the whole thing.
this is dex, proud to be a filipino
would you be asking me pa rin kung isa akong pilipinong mayaman or pilipinong mahirap?
I don’t believe on the reasons why Filipinos are poor because of “yabang”, laziness, etc etc.
Yabang-how could a single poor family in smokey mountain maintain yabang (ego and pride)? They are deprived of good living condition.
Laziness-how could a single poor family in smokey mountain be lazy? Daily, they do find things to scavange.
NO opportunities laid down in front of the!; but garbage and dump of spoiled foods which are their prime sustenance to live and survive the harsh results of CORRUPTION.
Who are nowadays, mayabang (very proud and egotistic) and lazy? Those people who sit all day but still accumulate “treasure and money” in their accounts without doing anything but talk and politics. (Excluding deserving good exceptionally individuals)
This article is old yet, FINALLY, AN HONEST OPINION!. I’m an almost teenager and I’m from a not so rich and not so poor family. Everyday I come across some really “dumb” teen Filipinos, preferring to spend their money on load than their basic needs. And believe it or not the parents who should teach their children to spend their money wisely, are the one who practice the “dumb” way. And, most Filipinos are ridiculous because they dream of marrying a foreigner just to get money from him/her and give it to the family, not because of Love. And sorry for the guy “ben” here that posted he/she believes that Filipinos are not poor because of laziness and being vain. I believe they are, my neighbor sings in a karaoke so loud because she wanted her neighbors to hear her voice (she said it personally) and after awhile the electricity bill came and she hasn’t got enough money to pay it (though she knew HOW Expensive the electricity here in the Philippines). If you are not living in a subdivision, LOOK OUTSIDE AND WHAT DO YOU SEE? LET ME GUESS, “TAMBAY” PEOPLE? yeah, they have a body that can work but what the heck.. they don’t have a job??!! It’s so-so okay if jobs are hard this time… BUT SPENDING ALL YOUR MONEY IN ALCOHOL, CIGARETTES, LOAD, AND GAMBLING?? WHAT THE HECK IN THE WORLD?? And that stupid government… they implement first the Law that Load will be more affordable! WHAT THE HOLY COW IS THAT? AND THEY SAID WE ARE NOT AFFECTED OF THE GLOBAL CRISIS, BUT THEY LIED.. WE ARE! EVEN CNN, BBC, AND CNBC SAID WE ARE! WELL, SUCH A BIG FAT LIAR!
IQ IS NOT IMPORTANT.. if you believe we are much more in the higher rank then why are we here stuck in a not peaceful country? If we are smart then we should know to love each other and to play fair? (even a dumb person knows how to do it). And being rich is not important also but BEING HAPPY is important and that’s why we work for all of our lives! Because you’re not happy if you’re children can’t go to school or is not nourished and that’s why we work… and besides we enjoy work, don’t we?:) (alright some said “NO!) Yeah, I’m proud to be a Filipino..
it is actually true… We are Filipinos and i am not proud of it!!!!!!! I am hopeless… so hopeless… it’s like na wala na talagang hope ang country na ito..
Hey dude NICE ARTICLE… I’ve been looking for people who have these ideas about FIlipinos… The thing is Filipinos are not bad nor lazy. There are many hardworking filipinos abroad for the sake of their love ones. Unfortunately these hardworking filipinos are abused by their families. I believe that there are just TOO MANY FILIPINOS (90.5 million and rising) that the good and hardworking ones are OVERSHADOWED.
YES I BELIEVE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS PARTLY BLAMED
YES I BELIEVE THAT THE COLONIAL MENTALITY OF RULE OF ELITE IS TO BLAME
I BELIEVE THAT WE MUST LEARN FROM OTHER COUNTRIES US WELL INSTEAD OF BLAMING THEM FOR OUR POVERTY. It is true we are look down upon by many even of all our accomplishments but it is not a reason to blame them for our shortcomings. It should be a challenge for all of us.
blame the goverment not the filipino people!
articles like “why filipinos are so poor?” really serves an eye-opener to readers.but somehow, it’s also tiring especially that it’s becoming a common topic and we always end up to debates, not actual solution.
we need definite, tangible solutions. not the abstract ones. realization only happen to few chosen good people.
As a “Kano” who is married to a Filipina, I can tell you exactly why the Philippines is so poor: The Philippines is suffering from a brain hemorrhage! What I mean by this is that its brightest, smartest, and hardest working citizens are leaving faster than rats from a sinking ship. One can find Filipinos all over the world, from Barrow, Alaska, to Dubai, UAE. The ones I have met through my wife are truly remarkable people, but what these expatriates are doing is further leading to the demise of their mother land, and that is remitting collectively millions and millions of dollars a year back to their families in the Philippines! There are still many older folks in the Philippines (50+ years old) who are highly educated and perfectly able to hold a job, but they don’t because a) Philippine society says they’re too old to work, and b) they have children working abroad who support them financially, thus they don’t have to work (which is a status symbol among Filipinos, apparently.)
If those Filipinos who work abroad would instead invest their monies into remaking the Philippines, rather than perpetuating their parents’ “yabang,” I believe the country could rebound to its former glory in a generation!
thank you i enjored reading this. for 15 years ive asked myself whats the difference of having emilio aguinaldo or gloria arroyo as president when in fact i see now difference in the way i live.
Very interesting topic for a discussion.I am curently working here in Thailand and I can say that they are far more advanced,industrialized and stable than our beloved Philippines.I can see alot of differences in culture that struck me.First,they value their money and save it.Saving is not inculcated in our minds rather we have to spend it to the needs of our families or maybe buy a new TV or useless furnitures to show off to our neighbors.
Second,nationalism and love of country.We are confused of who we really are.We are stuck in between being the brown little brothers of the Americans or the conos or “hijas and “hijos”of the Spaniards.We don’t have a clear picture of what is the significance of our culture.
Thirdly, religion.Many people don’t know that the Spaniards ultimate reason was not to propagate Christianity but to acquire our wealth.The Church always contradicts the implemetation of population control.Now,our population has balloned and the Church said it’s a blessing to have kids.Well,of course they don’t feed them tha’t’s why it’s easy for them to say it.
I love my country.But I guess we, us Filipinos must have the courage to change our peasantry ways.We should be firm in ousting corrupt politicians and give way to aspiring ones with a good intention to save our country from banckruptcy.
Let’s be more practical and more vocal to tell our families to break their backs ,too instead of just receiving monthly allowances from other siblings.
Happiness is subjective but I don’t see any logic why more poor people are happier than the rich ones.Let’s not make it an excuse.It is far more rewarding to have money in our pockets than wearing a fake smile on our face with no money at all.
who’s blaming the other countries???
first, we cannot look up to other countries bec. we have diff. priorities, culture and beliefs. for them they are willing to eat grass just to rays and protect their country.
for their leaders they are willing to kill fellow citizen if they don’t follow rules….
to minimize the poverty you said “over populated” are you willing to have a one child policy in this country???
have you seen a documentary video about hacienda cojuangco?
and has anyone seen the pyramid of how goods are being distributed???
yes we have to look forward for the future… but are we all faithful of the little things that we all have right now?
if we are faithful with the little things that we have right now we will be entrusted with much….
but even i n our own selves we are practicing corruption… corrupting our own culture and try to adopt others, we try to become someone else very simple example…most in demand product in the Philippines skin whitening
we lost our identity, we are too much liberated that we all go on our own way…
YES WE ARE ALL PROUD TO BE PINOY….
BUT THE QUESTION IS
WHEN WILL WE EVER BE UNITED WITH ONE GOAL
when will our leaders be true to their duties…
and when will all Filipinos become true Filipinos….
i have been fighting for this in my own little way
but I could never do this alone…
we can never do this with this arguments…
maybe some of us here their words end up here…
it is really heartbreaking…
..kumusta naman yun di ba???
gOsh,,,,mas graveh kaya tayu ngayun,,,to the highest level pooorrr…
grrr.,..bkt di na lng natin icpin kung pano mkkbwi kesa sa pgtlunan p ng pagtlunan ang pinagmulan!!!!ahm,,,napadaan lng po pala akUh!!!