How Filipinos botch competency
Analysis and Opinion
By Joe America
As the father of a teenage son, I have to find ways to explain the fundamentals of life to him in ways that are short and memorable. Lately I’ve been explaining the basics of competency to him because he often displays the opposite, lol.
A whole lot of Filipinos have the same issues.
There are three elements of competency:
- Commitment
- Attention to detail
- Accountability
Commitment is the desire to achieve. It could also be called discipline or inspiration or initiative. If we want to succeed, we must put ourselves into it, not leave it to others. We can “use” others to teach us or work on our behalf but we cannot be lazy and expect them to take care of us like mama’s boys and girls.
Attention to detail means we must be aware and have as much knowledge as we can get about things that determine our success. Winging it is not a good way to get somewhere unless risk, excitement, and fun are the goals. The more we see, the better we do.
Accountability means we expect a lot of ourselves and we know it is weakness and counter-productive to make excuses or blame others. My son has the most trouble with this element of competence. So do Filipinos. Even (or especially) senators and government agency heads. You can’t be competent yet assign accountability to others. That is weakness or cheating or failure.
As you go through the day, or read about events, see if you can spot those being incompetent in real time. You’ll be amazed, and possibly dismayed.
Be not like them.
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Cover photograph from Climb Istria article “GABRIELE GOROBEY CLIMBS XAXID HOSTEL (9A) AT MIŠJA PEČ“.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
Perfectly said, since I have recently replaced the too often used word here in the Philippines “resiliency” with “damn fools”.
That is an excellent redefinition. Resiliency is when both commitment and accountability go missing for lack of attention to detail.
Good morning Joe. Back from a week out of town with some degree of socmed abstinence, though nowadays even without apps one can access most stuff via browser on one’s phone, so I have of course seen the recent very interesting discussions.
Lack of attention to detail, winging it, can be a talent when one lacks the resources such as access to information and time to get to all the details, but in these times were most of the Philippines is online and with electricity – except in calamities – that is pretty much obsolete.
LGUs rejecting Mahar Lagmay’s hazard maps, courtesy of Project NOAH, are plain stupid, there is no reason to act as if the Philippines was still back in the 1970s or 1950s, especially now that storms are far harsher and people rely more on modern amenities.
What is interesting is that Filipinos are known to work competently abroad, though I wonder how many go back to the old way of just winging it once they set foot again on Filipino soil, or are they are seen as annoying if they have internalized attention to detail?
Some Filipinos even glorify improvisation as being similar to how many Pinoys play instruments by ear and not by note, though pro musicians who do that pay attention to detail in their own way, even if they lack the privilege of having had formal training.
Winging it is the default condition for those oppressed or lazy, the latter bringing a shrug, the former a determination to agitate to try to cure the oppression.
The Philippines is an oppressed society for many so I’d expect OFWs to bend like bamboo.
And then there is the fear of being pilloried for being wrong, probably because he who has that fear previously partook in pillorying others. This behavior promotes the reinforcing of rigid positions from either willful obstinance or simple overconfidence. Too often even gossip is spoken with the airs of authoritative conviction; with entire stories weaved around crumbs of truth. It is quite hard to move forward when there is self-imposed mental rigidity.
Reminds me of an observation by Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason):
“I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it.”
Competency requires an open mind to be able to adopt better ways of doing things. The shortcut to self-revelation is having others serve as examples of success to be the mirror that reflect better practices and beliefs. Other East Asian cultures have this concept of those who have more authority need to act as role models. Chinese-Filipinos certainly have this concept within their own communities. Non-Chinese-Singaporeans have adopted the concept when LKY’s PAP integrated the idea into the Singaporean national consciousness. I often find that most Filipinos aspire to the wrong types of role models who had attained their positions via luck, connections, or pure ruthless disregard of their fellow Filipino.
Somehow I think I am more confident that change will really come this time behavioral and cultural quirks included.
The degree of conviction with which someone states an opinion, and the tenaciousness in defending it, is seen as a sign of firmness and sound judgement in a lot of Filipino circles, while changing one’s mind is seen as being weak of judgement and will. Some especially older Filipinos say “when you know you know” and “once you decide you decide”, probably a valid way of dealing with stuff in the barangays of old were stuff was immediate and what you saw was what you got.
The rational, logical and considered way of dealing with things is more appropriate to the complex world of today where things have an effect at a longer term and over a larger radius, and where things are no longer immediate, obvious and easily predictable.
As for role models of Filipinos today, yes there are even scammers and fugitives from justice living abroad like Xian Gaza who have their admirers. Well, I have compared the Philippines to Tortuga in Pirates of the Carribean, with its ethics often being Jack Sparrow’s “take what you can, give nothing back”. Who would my role model be if I were born and raised in Tortuga, probably Captain Barbosa, a type of person I would avoid in real life of course.
Ha! Pirates of the Pacific! Oh rise ye land of scurvy pirates, go out and earn something!
Less educated, or perhaps less sophisticated people, tend to have a decision-making process that is emotionally driven. This happens even in the US or Europe among similar populations, so it is not something unique to the vast number of less informed Filipinos. Personally I think the educated citizen’s penchant towards treating everyone else as intellectually formed and thus amenable to the style of persuasion that works with the educated not only belies the degree of social segregation but more critically is a fundamental misunderstanding of how human thought works.
The American Founders being children of the Enlightenment understood that Reason is not a natural state of Man and is something learned. One of the main objectives of the Revolutionary Second Continental Congress was to increase access to information first through the US Post Office Department, later expanding to universal education. Somewhere along the way in our modern technocratic societies’ leaders in multiple Western/Western-adjacent democracies have forgotten what prior generations knew to be true, or worse actively work to undermine Reason taking the majority of the people back to the base instincts of emotionality.
So too do a number of the well-educated middle class who adopt the aspirations of Universality without exerting effort to propagate that belief, believing it to be an innate thing when it is not. This also feeds into further segregation as social classes no longer have common beliefs that binds the whole together.
In the US the class breakdown by percentage across upper/middle/lower classes is roughly 19%/53%/28% (Pew 2022), in which economic pressure is causing the still-large American middle class to dwindle. In the Philippines the ABC/DE class breakdown is 5.8%/94.2% (SWS 2024), where the DE classes in aggregate seems to have grown since the last SWS poll in 2022 (from roughly 93%).
The reason why I often make the off-color remark of the Philippines being much like the old cargo cults of late colonial period Melanesia is that from the exterior to a Filipino in the ABC classes, and certainly a foreigner who does not have time to deep dive the Philippines, the Philippines looks like a wholly modern country. Yet the Philippines is more like an example of a fledgling country run by an oligarchic class with a small percentage of urbanized bourgeoisie, while the rest of the country seems to be an afterthought with its masses of poor and desperately poor Filipinos. Unless those poor Filipinos’ anger rises to a certain level, of course.
The early US was quite similar in class structure to the Philippines before, and the Philippines now, with most American founders and early statemen hailing from the small oligarchic class. The difference, it seems, is the early American oligarchs believed they could eventually teach Reason to the indentured servant or even the slave so that society can transform into something better someday. Aside from the Commonwealth and the Third Republic, or the brief “Aquino restoration,” my overview of history fails me in identifying when the equivalent of the oligarchic class of the Philippines held the same ideals of spreading Reason and the Filipino equivalent of a civic religion. Much like many homes in the province or outskirts of the city centers, there is more effort into making things look pretty on the outside than to ensure that the structural elements are strong enough to last through multiple exterior remodels.
This is a problem that only the upper classes have power to change if that change is to be done willingly; otherwise, the Philippines would endure another period of chaos time and time again, only to be forced to rebuild from scratch with newly emerged elites.
interesting that the number of ABCs is hardly 10 million, but that somehow corresponds to a number thrown out by the two Midwestern PPop producers in the Youtube podcast below who mention that the Philippines has a one-digit saturation % for streaming music ACROSS ALL GENRES while Sokor has a high two-digit saturation % – the obvious reason to me seems to be that there isn’t that much people with money. What these two men didn’t say is that they probably are going straight for foreign markets (trying to be a bit like 88rising actually with their Filipina GG that IS doing well, but of course is very dependent on the present exposure of PPop for getting new audiences) because the Filipino market isn’t going to get bigger that easily. It was interesting that they said KPop went international AFTER saturating the local market, hmm a bit like Japan went export with a strong local demand to support its products. The Philippines is indeed not a stable base, if one looks at the three times the Philippine Arena was filled by local acts this year – one evening with BINI and two with SB19, and one further BINI concert coming on Nov. 29th, that is 4 x 50K all in all, 200K people, a pretty good percentage of those who can afford such concerts AT ALL and live near enough. What is also interesting in that podcast is how much wilder than the Wild West business is in the Philippines, based on their experiences, but I digress..
I think the old ways of seeing the world were not wrong if one was for example a European peasant in the Middle Ages and all one had to know was when it was too cold to plant seeds, or when one had to bring the cows up the mountains or down from the mountains in Alpine regions, festivities that have survived to this day. One doesn’t even have to consider the earth’s curvature until one starts building bridges longer than 5 km, so I guess even the highly knowledgeable Greek architects who built the Hagia Sophia (modern measurements have made clear how much these men already knew) did not have to know the Earth is a sphere even if they most probably did. It did get weird for me when I heard about religious parents imposing creationism as alternative curriculum in Philippine SCIENCE High School, and when our yahoo mail group for my Pisay batch started having people seriously discussing creationism as a real possibility. Even those who should be enlightened in the Philippine often aren’t. UP and similar Far Leftists over there often parrot standard stuff with zero analysis, much like dogma, modern leftists like Walden Bello who do some own analysis are rare. Many Filipino “liberals” also repeat stock phrases (and otherwise seem to know their gated community and their malls, and maybe their prayer groups or if they are younger their woke slogans, yes mainly slogans, best), which is why DDS can often defeat them with simple trolling, and why the likes of Heydarian are able to well.. pose as extremely wise men when all they do is read a little more. The Katipunan BTW had a library and Bonifacio had read Jefferson, but their foot soldiers often wore anting anting against bullets. Mabini was pretty much a man of Reason and the “consigliere” of Aguinaldo for a while, but sidelined as soon as Aguinaldo thought he no longer needed him. One reason I write articles rarely now is that even among the ABC classes, there are very few who care about the stuff we are discussing here, and I suspect that among those who read here 90% only care which political players Joe might be seen as supporting, not the ideas behind what they do. The Philippines might find beginnings of its own Enlightenment in what is happening now, or it might just become another witch hunt with each faction differing on “which is witch” or “who is to blame for corruption”.
Echo chambers run deep which is why interests center on people who are black and white in or out of the bubble, rather than ideas that pound at the bubble. By observing Marcos as President rather than condemning him, I lost a huge following of Yellows. He was outside their bubble. He’s in mine which can be characterized as defined by the limits of curiosity.
I like to use the analogy that many Filipinos are on own islands when it comes to seeing their world. Of course you are on Biliran but know the world is more than what you see from your vantage point. Figuratively speaking it seems a lot of Filipinos are not able to see other vantage points as possible.
Another fact about K-pop that many Filipinos do not know: The first generation (1992-2002) sang in mostly Japanese for a Japanese audience, then the second generation (2003-2011) went back to South Korea with the skills learned in the Japanese entertainment industry to address the domestic audience. It wasn’t until the third generation (2012-2018) that K-pop and K-drama became globalized after the South Korean entertainment companies started hiring American R&B and hip-hop producers and dance choreographers to broaden the appeal. All along since the first generation, the South Korean government was heavily involved in nurturing the South Korean music and entertainment industry as a cultural and soft power export. We are now in the fifth generation of the South Korean cultural industry where K-pop songs in Konglish are regularly played on American airwaves.
Whereas in the Philippines as usual, there is a feeling that Filipinos are so great they deserve to jump to the top, immediately, with no experience, capital, or coordinated hard work. Stuff happens ad-hoc there.
Another point about why it might be hard for Filipino artists to become financially viable at home, even if they had a breakthrough, is that most Filipinos simply don’t like paying for stuff. Nearly every Filipino I know, even if they are solidly middle class, pirate everything if they can. Hacked Netflix accounts are shared, modified Android APKs for Spotify are commonplace, even if those Filipinos can afford a subscription or to buy a CD/DVD. Similar to how WiFi passwords are cracked or shared in the neighborhood for a fee, it’s not uncommon for Netflix and Spotify accounts to be sub-rented out. The fans that do show up for concerts are probably the most hardcore superfans, which in American parlance might be called groupies.
What remains true is that it is much easier just to talk about aspirational things, rather than dipping toes into actually doing it. It’s much safer to just assume a morally superior position by just using words, because doing the actual work might get dirty and hard. I recall JFK’s speech challenging a nation that had become complacent in the US’ superior position immediately following WWII, a complacency that was shocked by the USSR’s early spaceflight successes, in which he extolled that hard things should be done “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” The same JFK once observed that “success has many fathers; failure is an orphan” with regard to a deepening complacency and apathy that paradoxically existed with the feeling of wanting to feel like one is still great. Well, leaders might yet emerge that can remind all that individual courage is needed in order to have collective courage in order to do right things.
I didn’t know about that first-gen KPop either, as for me Wonder Girls was First Gen, but they only were a blip in the horizon because of my early FB account and first PH FB friends, late noughties. Years later and Gangnam Style became known even over here in Europe. Makes sense that KPop hired R&B folks etc. as Wonder Girls had little or no chance of going against Beyonce and similar who still very much dominated in the late noughties.
“Whereas in the Philippines as usual, there is a feeling that Filipinos are so great they deserve to jump to the top, immediately, with no experience, capital, or coordinated hard work. Stuff happens ad-hoc there.” I recall my ONE attempt to work with the Philippine software industry via a high school batchmate who was an exec of a major international software firm but had moved to London. I noticed that neither him nor his contacts were too willing to put in the effort to understand the architecture or concept of what I was proposing, unlike mid-level consulting and sales people I had become used to dealing with over here in Germany.
When I noticed that they basically wanted me to do their homework for them without putting in even their own sweat equity, I kind of ghosted them with an excuse that I was busy with work in my Romanian projects, good to have excuses with a grain of truth. Looking at how these two American producers were screwed a number of times by many Philippine business partners, one even stealing their “homework” as in the concept for an MV they were planning to do together (told in another podcast) I am glad I did that then. My instincts about the way Filipinos do things so very often had not failed me, I had the feeling I would be the abroad who does everything and ends up with little or nothing.
“Similar to how WiFi passwords are cracked or shared in the neighborhood for a fee, it’s not uncommon for Netflix and Spotify accounts to be sub-rented out.” reminds me of how it was pretty much an open secret in the 1990s that nearly ANY software quickly had a cracked version in Virra Mall, Greenhills. In my research about the Philippine music industry, I found out that Sony left the Philippines for a while due to copyright issues over there and came back only when that had been clarified. Still, we have the two US producers saying one reason they moved their main base of operations back to Kenosha was because Filscap, the PH equivalent of ASCAP, works very slowly in registering song copyrights. They said that in the US they could get better and safer copyright protections than over there.
Gigi de Lana was mocked by some Filipino lawyers for feeling like a victim when her original youtube channel was taken down for covering some songs without permission. Seems US rights owners did not bother but she stepped on the toes of I think Viva Music. Well, the lack of any sense of wrongdoing (I refused anything to do with IP violations after starting my career as that kind of stuff would have ended it, including German prosecutors extensive rights to seize anything for evidence, no TRO possible once they start) even by those who should know better (Gigi’s fiancee is her producer so she should know stuff) is like the sense of entitlement those who counterflow on roads have over there, or like those who utilize the EDSA bus lane act as if MMDA has wronged them if they get caught.
“The fans that do show up for concerts are probably the most hardcore superfans” my first encounter with FIlipino KPop fandoms was during the Pink campaign leading up to 2022. Rich kids proud of being able to copy to global KPop culture, with international KPop fans wondering why lightsticks of otherwise warring fandoms all united for “Leni something” – they used some kind of KPop honorific for her I don’t recall now. Well, as someone who grew up in the 1970s, I know there was also a crowd rich and connected enough to have what was cool then, 8-track tape recorders like what was the thing in NYC, or the latest vinyl records of disco acts, procured via connections to stewardesses and pilots to the USA.
The jazz fusion crowd in Metro Manila that showed up for acts like Bob James in the early 1980s were also clearly newly rich, with a lot of tickets sold via scalpers last minute at concert grounds. Probably a lot like the Beatles Fans in late 1960s Manila that MLQ3 described as being less rebels like those they were fans of than rich kids making a fashion statement. Well, I did find the UP Fair performance of Mike Hanopol, one of the early giants of Pinoy rock, more cozy as UP Fair was indeed for free then and I still lived on campus. But all this Filipino music stuff is as the young would say a “side quest”, not the main thing.
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“success has many fathers; failure is an orphan” – now that phrase even has become quite common in Germany, probably due to the extreme popularity of Kennedy over here then. My mother as a Berlin native (who experienced the Berlin blockade and lived in Wannsee with the Soviets just across the lake, sniping West Berlin sailboats that got too close) of course has shown me the balcony from which he said his famous “ich bin ein Berliner”.
My frustration with the Philippine liberal crowd was pretty high by May 2022 as I had seen pretty clearly how little most so-called volunteers wanted to help in the campaign, even just by sharing memes that we shared on pages. Only very few actually went house to house.
KB did BTW, found that out only later, a respectable thing and as she said a hard slog.
Wonder Girls are second generation K-pop, when K-pop “went back home” to South Korea, but before K-pop further professionalized during the third generation with American producers and choreographers. First generation would be acts like BoA, S.E.S., Baby V.O.X. Shinhwa, TVXQ and so on who sang almost exclusively in Japanese. These Japanese-language songs were only later translated and re-released in Korean. Japan was where the K-pop industry got its start, as the J-pop industry itself was a force back in the 1990s and 2000s. By the way, every other SEA pop music industry (minus P-pop) has taken the route of “training” in or alongside the K-pop industry, just like K-pop “trained” by way of the J-pop and American music industry previously. Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian pop artists have deep collaborations with the K-pop industry; some were trainees or members of K-pop groups. The most famous example are Blackpink’s Lisa, New Jean’s Hanni, Got7’s Jackson who have broken out in their own right. I’ve also been noticing quite a bit of collaboration between K-pop and V-pop, with Korean artists singing in Vietnamese or Vietnamese artists singing in Korean. I enjoy Jin Ju’s covers of V-pop ballads (her Vietnamese is really good). Compare all the quiet, deliberate effort the Korean music industry went through, to the YOLO attitude of stuff in the Philippines and it’s clear why Filipino groups fail to break through. A bit sad because there are Filipino indie artists who are really good (but not P-pop heh!).
One way I think about how young Filipinos who do choose to buy records or attend concerts are akin to groupies. The more obscure the artistic act the better, because if ever the group gets big, one can say they were one of the original supporters. There is also an extreme amount of e-hambog in the performative fandom. Sometimes I think younger American fandoms are quite rabid, even approaching toxic levels, but Filipino fandoms take things to the extreme.
Here in the US there is an issue with a digitized generation of “online activism.” A similar behavior exists in the Philippines. People who are comfortable, I daresay even decadent, do feel-good things to self-validate. Posting kakampink memes and “acknowledgement” statements is a lot safer and low effort than actually getting out there and doing the hard work of activism or organizing. We need to recognize that the online world is heavily shaped by algorithms, and whatever new feel-good thing or outrage on Twitter or TikTok hardly exists in real life. I saw something hilarious the other day on Reddit, where a Siargao had banners of “X No Israel X.” I mean, the lack of self-awareness is next level. How many Israeli’s visit the Philippines, specifically in Siargao and furthermore even if one sympathized with Hamas don’t Filipinos have their own problems to deal with at home that requires the effort dedicated to doing something performative?
“the YOLO attitude” yes, there seems to be a trend in PPop now similar to what allegedly happened to kebab joints in the 1990s and samgyupsal later in the Philippines. After some pioneers succeeded, everyone imitated in lower quality. None of the new groups from 2024 onwards (except PROBABLY the group founded by the two Americans who are more of an act geared for the Western market, even when it comes to their songs) seems to be properly casted and trained. The two PPop groups that had World Tours this year might have reached the minimum level to be present abroad (similar to Wonder Girls in their time, maybe) and BINI actually managed to get invited to Coachella for 2026 while Sony backed SB19’s World Tour, but Filipinos often assume they are established way too early.
“Filipino fandoms take things to the extreme” the two American producers described the fan wars of PPop as similar to KPop but with PPop far from being at the level KPop is in terms of numbers. The two major barangays of PPop (A’tin and Blooms aka SB19 and BINI fans) make a noise akin to the fanwar between established Army and Blinks of KPop. The two Americans are trying to tell Pinoys to knock it off as it could turn off foreign fans, and it might already be doing that.
Back to politics: the Siargao stuff is mad, also the performative “boycott” of the Frankfurt Book Fair by many Filipino authors – because Germany supports Israel. The Philippines is the GUEST COUNTRY of the Frankfurt Book fair which starts tomorrow or shortly after. But then again, there are no Filipino authors whose work could be classified as “world literature” yet, nobody in the league of Turkish Orhan Pamuk or Indonesian Pramoedya Ananta Tur.
One of the issues of Philippine literature (and most cinema, even the best with some exceptions) is the Pinoy sense of “feeling main character”, which leads to an inability to tell stories that are both locally rooted and interesting for a global audience.
But then again, we all know how it is. I have nearly zero contact with Filipino communities here in Germany/Europe as being too close to them causes tunnel vision, because they act like barangays who think the world revolves around them. I even look way less into Pinoy Facebook or Pinoy Twitter these days, as most stuff is full of Pinoy main character syndrome, not truly aware of the broader global context of things that happen today.
P.S. just chanced upon this video in X of Sen Kiko Pangilinan vibing with Cup of Joe.. https://x.com/kikopangilinan/status/1977284469032993078
P.P.S. and COJ called out Sen Kiko Pangilinan at their recent Araneta Coliseum concert.. https://x.com/cvmalaya/status/1977332421520740790 (also, there were calls in that concert to put the corrupt in jail, so being counted as a politician they respect was significant)
“Samgyupsal” joints owned by Koreans in the Philippines are actually quite good. Not to mention samgyupsal refers to only the pork belly, not the entire Korean barbeque genre which is called “gogigui.” The copycats owned by Filipinos are pretty terrible quality — there is a subconscious thinking that cheap quantity trumps appreciation of quality.
Well the thing about stuff that had already been invented before, and where the knowledge still exists (and not being in a “Dark Ages” type situation), the logical approach is to learn, copy, then once experience is gained, to improve on that thing. I example I always use is the invention of the wheel, which evolved from rolled stones, to rolled logs, to an observation that bent wood can be shaped into a wheel-shape, to reinforced wooden wheels, until the modern steel/aluminum wheel with interchangeable rubber tires in order to preserve the actual wheel. I’ll never understand the Kidlat Tahimik way of thinking that seeks to re-invent what has already been invented, just to claim a Filipino invented something. Or the SALt lamp “invention” we had previously discussed, which is definitely not a Filipino invention as galvanic batteries as invented back in the 1700s by Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta work by using a mineral salt bridge between the anode and cathode (such as common alkaline batteries). Indeed one of Galvani’s earliest batteries used actual salt water as the bridging medium. Reinventing stuff requires more effort, results in a less efficient outcome (both in application and energy expended to reinvent), when a fraction of that energy could’ve just been used to improve existing methods. That is why I doubt P-pop will ever go global or have lasting mainstream success, despite a few isolated groups of “groupie” type fandoms searching for obscure groups to support in order to build their own in-group “cred.”
On the Israel boycotts thing, obsessing over a subject that does not affect oneself or those others in one’s immediate surroundings is a definite sign of being an elite that just doesn’t need to be bothered with actual crap that happens to one’s own community where their activism can make an impact. I am wary of these people as they obviously don’t give a damn about the social suffering and injustice that happens just a few steps away outside of their community “gates,” yet invest inordinate energy into conflicts happening half a world away. Interestingly, normies in the US, Europe and the Philippines tend to be more supportive of Ukraine in that conflict, while those pro-Hamas kids tend to be pro-Russia and pro-PRC. Many of them consume PRC propaganda on TikTok and RedNote.
I have been seeing some disturbing trends on pinoy socmed that you and others here may have not seen, and that is the re-ignition of Mindanao separatist propaganda that coincided with the Duterte children using Digong’s ICC case and the anti-corruption fury as pretext to garner support. I am closest to all Visayan peoples (including Cebuanos), but the DDS argument that Mindanao is “Bisaya” is ludicrous. That argument discounts the other Visayan settlers (namely Ilonggo), erases the indigenous Mindanaons, and alienates the Muslim Filipinos. Man, sometimes “Bisaya supremacist” types really remind me of our Southern hicks here in the US clinging to their Confederate flags and their Lost Cause. A Mindanaoan friend who is anti-DDS showed me a few chats with a supposed “native Mindanaoan” he was arguing with, initially in Cebuano, then when the person on the other side got angry they started writing in simplified Chinese. Take that what we will.
“Reinventing stuff requires more effort, results in a less efficient outcome (both in application and energy expended to reinvent), when a fraction of that energy could’ve just been used to improve existing methods.” Exactly. ABS-CBN already did the right thing (and made a huge deal of it) by hiring Korean trainers for I think three months or was it just three weeks to help select and train their boy group (BGYO) and girl group (BINI).
What I didn’t know until now is the extent of how TPop has learned from KPop, but that is I guess (I have researched the Filipino music industry for around 2 1/2 years now just to get an idea of how they get stuff done or not, as I mentioned a side quest) the reason why in TPop (for example 4Eve) compared to even ABS-CBN Star Music (the most modern and efficient Filipino label by far) the level AND THE PACE of production and release is close to KPop levels.
Possibly Thai dramas have also learned their lessons from K-dramas, because they already occupy a minor niche on Netflix and those that come out ARE pretty good, while even if ABS-CBN teleseryes have improved in terms of production quality, their scripts continue to suck, I tried watching Incognito for around two weeks and was shocked at gaping and downright silly plot holes in the “special ops” they did which even Oktoberfest bouncers would notice.
The actors for Incognito did go through actual physical training and some coaching in handling weapons, so the fighting sequences at least looked real, Daniel Padilla didn’t look as silly as Robin Padilla (though he is similarly mayabang) did in his action movies, and his Cordilleran character sounded and acted credibly “Baguio”. The surname BTW is not a coincidence, the Padillas in showbiz including director-actress Bela Padilla are mostly Bikolanos and related.
“That is why I doubt P-pop will ever go global or have lasting mainstream success” even the Koreans (MLD) that tried to recruit the so-called “9 dreamers” in the Philippine recently turned out to be bankrupt, just like the company SBTown that founded SB19 (who later left) and KAIA was founded by “Tatang Robin”, a 1990s Korean comedian. The US producers I at times quote are at best third-rate but are Captain Obvious in pointing out the weaknesses of the PH music biz.
“obscure groups to support” Spotify monthly listeners speak for themselves. Cup of Joe has 11.2M monthly listeners on Spotify for good reason, Dionela has 6.4M ML while TJ Monterde has 4.8M ML. Even TJ who isn’t that “sikat” today ALMOST has more ML than ALL PPop groups together: SB19 2M ML, BINI 1.8M ML, with Alamat around 400K ML, GAT around 400K ML and BGYO around 200K ML and the rest around 100K ML. Even almost written off Morissette has 1.3M ML nowadays.
The two biggest groups are doing well this year due to world tours, but yes, my observation of the fandoms is that they tend to get crazier with time. And ABS made the mistake of just hiring international songwriters for the BINI, BGYO and Maymay Entrata albums from early this year but barely marketing the songs well – most criminally neglected was Maymay whose single Paradise was a hidden gem. The major overseas clientele of PPop are still migrants and OFWs as of now.
“there is a subconscious thinking that cheap quantity trumps appreciation of quality.” well, there is that in politics as well, being too excellent is seen as mayabang and is torn down (think how Pnoy and his technocrats were treated by the public) while being mediocre is seen as relatable, see Digong and especially his Popeye’s school of Hard Knocks pandemic handling. That comic BTW is exactly how Filipinos often try to upgrade stuff, which is sad.
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Re “Bisaya supremacists” especially from Mindanao, I am not that surprised. Or Cebuano supremacists as you pointed out. I have seen discussions on reddit stating the even the Visayas would be far from solid DDS come 2028, as the Warays might side with Pink or Marcos and the Ilonggos (think Mar Roxas but also the entire former sugar planter clique that includes Lopez of ABS-CBN, the latter part of which stood for Canlaon Broadcasting Network once) of course solid Pink. There are some indications that Luzon is pretty much tired of the DDS, and on many popular pages on FB or YT one can see comments openly calling them 8080, which is the way to avoid getting filtered out for saying “bobo”. Actually I believe the fight is already on for 2028, and the sooner those who are in charge realize it the better, I think Bam Aquino (surprisingly), Kiko Pangilinan and Leila de Lima already get it, the others need to follow suit.
P.S. I would rather have tried to find out why the PH software industry failed to develop into a world-class software industry like in India or even Romania, but the answer is probably not blowing in the wind but right on the nose, including the insights I have gained looking at the PH music industry. Legal “badlands”, “YOLO mindset”, reinventing the wheel instead of learning from others. But maybe also simply the lack of attention to detail mentioned in Joe’s article. My experience with Filipino software teams at UN institutions from early in my career was that they somehow had disdain for the Indian competitors who huddled around and questioned all assumptions, I could see how they were probably thinking “ang bobo nila”, another Pinoy assumption being others don’t see through them. That and giving effort only when needed (which is why the early Pinoy samgyupsals might have been good, the early Pinoy kebabs as well) and relaxing too quickly. Assuming one is already world league when one has reached minimum requirements for playing on the global scene might also be an issue except for the few who manage to make gold medals in their respective sports. Inability to work together is also pretty common among Filipinos as egos tend to be too dominant..
The thing about the mainland SEA entertainment industry is that there was already regional collaboration long before sending artists and producers to get insight on going global from the South Korean entertainment industry. Mainland SEA entertainment is dominated by either Vietnamese or Thai music, television drama, and film. So Cambodians, Laotians and Burmese have always consumed the content from the other two countries.
Of course the Thai and Vietnamese diaspora seeming to able to more successfully bring back new ideas to the home country in various industries probably has something to do with things. Haven’t been to Vietnam personally for family political reasons, but many industries in Thailand have a lot of diaspora influence from what I’ve seen directly, and the same happens in Vietnam. There is little of the mentality of returning to become a mini-king, which is what a lot of Filipino diaspora returnees do, no matter how much anyone argues about it (it’s obvious).
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The tendency of fandoms to go toxic is an extreme expression of the emotion connection to whatever subject. On the extreme ends fans start to become detached from reality as they prefer to form parasocial relationships with unreality rather than consuming the content as entertainment. Diehards for Trump and Duterte operate in a quite similar way, where the MAGA or DDS “feels” they somehow know the object of fixation personally, even if they had never met. There might be a degree of mental illness going on here too… reminds me of John Hinckley whose parasocial “relationship” with Jodie Foster caused him to try to assassinate Reagan. Today a lot of too online GenZs are detached from reality and see other people in the world as NPCs (non-player characters) in sort of a scripted role-playing game that they can’t change anyway, so might as well not try. Algorithms certainly do not help the situation.
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I do think that DDS support is breaking somewhat, but that the Dutertes were able to even have the rebound they have had recently is concerning. The recent restart of the Mindanao separatist talk, along with possible PRC funded influence, and rumors of a *certain* religious sect trying to push for a coup in September is alarming. A lot of the pro-Mindanao aka pro-DDS propaganda saying something along the lines of “Imperial Manila is leeching off of Minandao’s natural resources and tax base,” which is patently false as aside from Cebu, and a much lesser Davao, NCR and Calabarzon carry the national GDP and thus tax base that flows to other regions. Well, if Mindanao ever separates, it probably would collapse soon after and be taken over by the PRC. The Philippines is not at all aware about how imperialist Han thinking totally believes that the whole of Vietnam, the Koreas, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines are in their mind rightful provinces of historical China.
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Not sure how much exposure you have to Indian IT firms. I’m younger than you but I was around during the transition from cowboy independent consultants who did damn fine jobs, to a SLA-based model dominated by the Indians. In fact I entered the industry about the time the change happened, so I’m one of the younger cowboys who somehow survived. A door-to-door internet salesman came by the other day, and I was shocked to find out he is a laid-off former software developer with decades of experience.
Anyway, the reason why the Philippines software industry may have not taken off is the common (yet denied) feeling of many Filipinos that a Filipino somehow deserves to be at the top, despite no experience or hard work. Obviously Filipinos are not White, so is it “Filipino privilege?” lol. Contrast with the Indians, inheritors of multiple great empires, who did not try to ride some great past (real or imagined) and realized at the time that presently they were down on their luck thus needed to re-learn starting from the bottom. Infosys, Cognizant, Tata typically had a handful of genius level guys who I joked were their commandos, while the rest were fresh out of technical college dummies who were so frustrating to work with. They sent the commandos to solve big problems, as SLAs contractually obligated them to maintain X or Y systems. Then the commandos would teach the dummies, who after they had experience, were no longer dummies but experienced journeymen that taught the next batch of green dummies. Do that for 10 years and one would get pretty decent. Do it for 20 years and one would corner the global IT and software consulting industry.
Another point is the Indians picked a handful of areas to concentrate on at one time. Developing their BPO industry, which enabled their IT industry. Completing imported motorcycle and scooter kits then graduating to Piaggio-type auto-rickshaws/tuktuks, to making cars and trucks. Every successful industry builds confidence to diversify into adjacent industries. By the way, post-war Japan, South Korea, then Indonesia and now Vietnam are doing it the same exact way concentrating on specific industries. Whereas in the Philippines, the feeling is the Philippines deserves to be the best at everything, yet the efforts to make that reality is feeble. There is a lot more humility elsewhere.
of course fandoms are emotional, though indeed how fan-atical fans become depends on what they might see as lacking in their own lives or at worst how socially isolated they are. I know European soccer fandom better, and you have everything from working class families cheering their home team and utilizing fandom as a means to socialize, people who work in offices seeking something more raw in their free time, “ultras” who I guess derive a sense of status from being those who are the loudest and most visible during matches, to the hooligans seeking violence who often overlap with gangs and political extremist groups. Parasocial is a thing nowadays with KPop fandoms and Swifties most known for it, though PPop fandoms have their share of overly online Gen Z types or even lonely BPO millenials.
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Re Indian firms, the Indians whom the Filipino teams at the UN found a bit weird were Tata, back in 1993/1994. There was indeed a bit of the journeyman model there as well from what I observed, while the Pinoys had the “when you know you know” mindset with small in-groups hoarding their respective knowledge.
I worked with Cognizant (in Germany) for almost half of the late 2010s. That stuff is under NDAs. But still what you said about levelling up seems to fit.
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“the feeling is the Philippines deserves to be the best at everything” yes, that is the real issue.
“There is a lot more humility elsewhere.” which is why others advance, as they have the courage to be “beginners”.
Actually the best Filipino software people do manage to go abroad and earn good money, but return isn’t that easy or almost impossible. Indians (and Romanians) have their software firms which can send them abroad (in the Romanian case it is even easier, as they are in the EU) with the option to return and I guess move up within the hierarchy over there. Being real players means one has more leverage as an entire group.
Filipinos believing they deserve to be the be the best of everything is a fascinating phenomenon. Confidence without capability. The abused orphan knowing the abuse is not right and he should be treated normal too, and have the successes others have. Unreasonable dreams like young Blacks in the US believing they can be in the NBA. Lack of life’s context, to know riches are acquired by working hard and smart, not lucking out. Indolence. Mostly I think Filipinos have never. Never. been given the vision of a future that can be earned. It’s the single biggest failure of colonists and modern Philippine leadership.
Young blacks dream to be in the NBA is very realistic methinks. Pinoys including the elites insisting basketball supremacy but complaining Australia should not be in the same group as Asia then that is very weird.
lol, yes.
I still shy away from the descriptor of “abused orphan,” as that excuses a lot of Filipinos that certainly should know better. Perhaps in an enclosed system the “abused orphan” theory may be true, but the Philippines has increasingly been connected to the outside world starting in the late Spanish period, accelerating under the US, and definitely now with cheap air travel with Filipinos all over the world learning new things AND exceling. The problem to my mind, is that those Filipinos who learned new ways of doing things do not bring those new learnings “back home.” And when those Filipinos do go home, they tend to take advantage of their superior knowledge and experience to attain better social positions. Take for example CV’s point that a returning Filipino who buys a modern home in Ayala Alabang complete with servants and helpers is somehow “middle class.”
Young Black American boys thinking they can somehow be in the NBA is probably outdated. That was a 1980s and 1990s escapist mentality during the height of the inner city drug crisis. The Black American community is remarkably pragmatic, with strong influence from their community elders. A more fitting study would be the political theory of Booker T. Washington vs W.E.B. Du Bois. Washington advocated for improving Black American outcomes by insular improvement, while Du Bois argued for a “talented tenth” of intellectuals, sportsmen and politicians to lead the rest. In hindsight, Washington’s more egalitarian view would’ve never worked as people are not equal in capability nor merit, while Du Bois’ view sees equal potential BUT crucially rewards capability and merit for those who would work for it.
Returning Filipino diaspora could definitely be the Philippines version of the “talented tenth.” They just choose not to, as joining the privileged class which they now have access to is easier in the short term. While I have observed in South Korea (Japan was before my time) then other SEA countries having their own version of a talented tenth. The same happened in Irineo’s oft used example of Romania, which also is true for the Baltics and Poland.
The psyche is hidden to most so I don’t think people conceptualize their subconscious drives that objectively. The Filipino is a relentlessly used and abused soul, even today with the power hierarchy putting them at the bottom. So it is natural to dream (star worship) and relish a little power when it exists (the returning OFW). There is clearly a gap in most Filipino’s ability to self-motivate and drive competently, from the poor to those in government, Filipino-Chinese businessmen being the exception. There are reasons we can look for that do not have us blame-casting Filipinos for not being like us, when most simply cannot be for very legitimate and deep rooted reasons. I use the abused orphan comparison because it fits. An isolated and oppressed orphan simply cannot be not-an-orphan because we are not orphans. I will continue to look for ways to advocate for migrating thinking here toward a future that is earned, rather than relentlessly blaming people who don’t have the internal data to automatically think like us for having the history they have.
No one is using and abusing the Filipino besides another Filipino. I’d not apply an American lens of systemic racism and institutionalized class privilege to other countries as I believe that to be a mistake. Rather, the blocking element in the Philippines seems to me to be that those who do have resources and knowledge tend not to share it. Whether that blocking element is the local dynasty, the landowner, the professional with a single helper, or the returnee who enjoys a much higher social class than he experienced overseas, it’s all degrees of the same.
I will also note that I don’t believe the uneducated, the ignorant, or he who lacks access should be blamed. They have little agency to change their lot in life. Even when they follow a corrupt local dynast, they are in fact doing what they believe to be in their best interest.
The blame lies at the feet of those Filipinos who know better, who are better educated, who have more access and thus agency. An ideal world would be an egalitarian utopia, but that reality does not exist just like a Man cannot reach the perfection of his God, though it is a human goal to get closer to the ideal. So in the absence of agency, it is up to those who have knowledge to teach those who have not to gain agency and to break open access pathways for others. We call these people leaders, as human society has always been led by leaders at every level.
Why do Filipinos who “have” not help Filipinos who “have not”? Not all, but enough to determine how the Philippines will be. What is the legitimate reason that they do not? Why do they cheer winners but vote against those who got theirs easily (Roxas), and calculate that assholes like the Dutertes will punish the elitists (but not me)? Angry for sure, the subliminal rage of the oppressed. One cannot talk the rage away. All the “shoulds” in the world can’t fix or change that rage. The only thing that can treat it is a long enduring set of opportunities to get past the rage through achievement and riches. The opportunity to be whole. Then it will diminish. We can easily see the shortcomings. I’m not sure that recognizing them is much help unless you grant legitimacy to the condition. Then change the environment, not the Filipino.
Of course leaders can emerge from any class, however the classes which have the most agency to become leaders are the upper and middle classes. So I’d separate the DEs out of being changemakers as most simply do not have the agency to do so.
If the environment were to be changed, then the Filipino needs to change. Having the environment change first is a cart-before-the-horse situation. The Filipinos who are best equipped to help other Filipinos change are those who have the benefit of position, power, knowledge or wealth that would allow them more access to become leaders. Even Duterte despite styling himself as a folksy outsider is a member of the privileged class (his father was a governor!).
Expect more from the people who have more power than us.
We disagree on the point. I believe the Filipino who, as you say, is unable to lead, is also unable to change in the ways needed. It requires psychoanalysis, conceptual education, and self-awareness. You can get there by changing the framework, not through instruction. That’s my view and I don’t mind if you don’t share it.
“it’s all degrees of the same.” and not only that, Philippine culture and Filipinos have a certain resistance to changing the way things are over there. Not only do they often assume that stuff abroad works the same way as it does in the Philippines – witness how DDS try the BS that works in the Philippines on the ICC. They also often carry the mentality abroad and adapt only superficially to what the “masters” abroad want, but learn little they can or want to adapt.
Those who do learn a lot from abroad often face merciless othering when they come back home and either adapt to the way stuff rolls there (my father is a case in point, I believe) or leave again like for instance Veronica Pedrosa, the daughter of Marcos Sr. era exile Carmen Navarro-Pedrosa who grew up in the UK, and among other things experienced weird questions like “how come you have a British accent”. “How come” in the loaded way many Filipinos use that phrase.
And even reforms or changes over there are often taken back. The meritocratic stuff that the USA established in PMA and UP changed a lot during and after the Third Republic. The book “Closer Than Brothers” by Dr. Alfred McCoy shows how the Third Republic PMA was still meritocratic, while Marcos-era PMA was “tropa”. Meanwhile UP was meritocratic in the Third Republic, with valedictorians and salutatorians of still good public high schools getting automatic scholarships.
So the Third Republic and the beginning of the Marcos era still had a lot from the “Talented Tenth” working on things, but that became a Privileged Tenth. An entire generation had just said “yes sir” to the Kano and the generation after went back to what my Canadian piano teacher would call “any old way”, as if nothing had really been learned or internalized. Sorry if I sound snarky on this, but it does seem to be like that to me.
Or look at how PNP was made into a real police organization with police ranks in Cory’s time. People kept using military ranks for police officers and Duterte returned them officially. How many times have there been efforts to remove K-12. Everything “not invented here” seems to be treated like a rejected organ transplant by Philippine culture. I don’t know what is gonna happen to a place that hardheaded and even proud of it.
Many of those who seem to shed their learnings abroad when they go back home probably never absorbed the cultural, economic and societal lessons during their time abroad. They also tend to confine themselves to the Filipino community wherever they are, effectively remaining as “FOBs” despite working abroad for decades. Even some who we may typically identify as highly educated (doctors, nurses, engineers) can be susceptible to this. So it’s no wonder to me that when they decide to let’s say retire back home, they default to where they feel comfortable… they never adapted to living abroad in the first place and were migrant workers by another name. Uncharitable, I know, but it is what it is.
Others though were able to attain high positions in their adopted country. Plenty of US Military general and flag officers are Fil-Ams, as are top managers in firms, and the Attorney General of California who may be the next California governor has spoken about his Fil-Am identity plenty a time. I mean if a Fil-Am can become the leader of an economy larger than Japan’s (and perhaps soon larger than Germany’s), it is proof that potential lies within every Filipino. What is more often lacking is knowledge, and the willingness to adapt new knowledge to one’s situation.
I liken the situation to being deposited in a new place, and seeing that the inhabitants there having new metal tools by which they may make their lives easier, but insisting on using one’s old wooden tools just because one is used to it. The metal tool is an upgrade, an enhancement of the tool’s more basic form that previously was made of stone or wood, so why continue to use the worn out wooden tool? It’s much more efficient to adapt to already invented stuff then to re-invent it, which is a lesson the Philippines has yet to learn.
I suppose part of the frustration by those who lived through the Third Republic, and those who grew up in the Fourth Republic and could still see proof of the former’s progress, is a sense of “we have been there before, but we lost it.” I have only heard stories of the past from my grandfathers and father who worked with their counterparts in the Third Republic, and from older friends some who have since passed, but such a feeling can be demoralizing. But I always point out that other societies have collapsed basically as close to the dark ages as can get, sometimes multiple times over that society’s history, yet the country found its way forward. In fact, I do believe that the Philippines, having never been a centralized “country” in some great past is a positive rather than a negative. There is just less historical baggage holding the Philippines back, if Filipinos so choose. What does become baggage, is the Filipino trying to somehow match the latest and the greatest with no foundation of experience to work off of, or the educated Filipino and non-Filipino that tries to fit the Philippines into a cookie cutter version of a great society. Consistent work and effort is a hard requirement though, including picking oneself up and carrying on when one stumbles instead of laying there pitying oneself waiting for a savior.
Interestingly, I am always amazed with most Filipino kids’ can-do attitude. Just think about all the ingenious self-made toys and games poor Filipino kids come up with. The kids’ boundless curiosity and capability to learn. Somewhere along the way, that potential was extinguished. Quite often the abuse and control starts within the family before society even gets to the child. It teaches the child to fear the superior authority, which is reinforced in all stages of a poor Filipino’s life at each level of authority. It is something most affluent Filipinos and foreigners who spend time in the Philippines will never see, which is why it is hard for most to understand DEs.
“insisting on using one’s old wooden tools” oh, this reminds me of something I read on the old AntiPinoy blog by BongV, about a gardener in the Philippines who refused to use a lawnmower and insisted on cutting grass the old way, telling him “sir, this is what I am accustomed to”. This does exist all over the world, but the Philippines seems extreme in such matters.
“fear the superior authority” yes, that is quite extreme over there, bosses who are too elite don’t notice to what extent their employees don’t tell them the whole truth for fear of scolding or worse. Or many bosses don’t want to hear about stuff not working as planned, which is why the gap between theory and practice is so wide over there. There is a variant of that in an old Dilbert comic, proving it is not just in the Philippines, just worse there. Dilbert tells his boss (Mr. Pointy Hairs) that his part of the project won’t work, status red, his boss says nah make that yellow, and the bosses’ boss reports green to the board. In the Philippines it is based on what little I know of how things work there gaping, and the issues come out only when things are a total clusterfuck, like when it came out in the Mamasapano investigations that different teams had incompatible walkie-talkies. LCPL_X correctly noted that a Marines commander would appreciate being told what was a potential risk, while in the Philippines the ego of bosses is often more important than work getting done. Even the Japanese with their hierarchy appreciate feedback from below as long as it is given with the corresponding courtesy.
“picking oneself up and carrying on when one stumbles” hard in a culture where people don’t focus on what in ITIL (I am sure you are familiar with that IT services methodology) would be called Root Cause Analysis, in order to record what happened and how to avoid a future Major Incident, while in the Philippines the game is to find who to pillory while the others who might know how to improve stuff just whistle and are happy they weren’t caught, due to fear of authority. Stumbles that are CAUGHT and especially stumbles that are ADMITTED are stigma in that kind of society, and if one says sorry the public will howl even more – I am not discounting the possibility of change but it takes I guess an existential crisis for that to happen, flood control might be such a crisis.
Knowing is not even half the battle, like bring disciplined in that line to the jerlepnwy door and one decided to run for it from out of nowhere, what happens next is up to the resolve of the others will they stampede to the jeepney door or chide the unruly bloke.
Even being younger than you, it’s sometimes hard for me to understand online fandoms. I grew up in a pre-digital world. Those fandoms are different from stuff like football fandoms though, as even the ultra hooligan fringe of football fandom emphasis physical connection rather than online. GenZ was the only generation very enamored in VR stuff like “metaverse.” It seems Gen Alpha is highly allergic to total digital algorithmic control. I had a young kid the other month tell his GenZ cousin “that’s so AI” regarding fake online lives, and I nearly fell off my chair that the term AI is now being used synonymously with “fake” by the newest generation.
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Other societies have followed a trial and error method, crucially learning from the errors. Sometimes I can’t help but think the Filipino model outside of the AB(C)s is the faking it until you make it model, and if you can’t make it then just pretend it never happened. The platforming of feel good stories in PH media of a Filipino winning at life (by pure luck mostly) emphasizes a diskarte attitude imho. Of course some of it has to do with most Filipinos not knowing how to do a thing, which is fair. But experienced leaders are needed in order to teach those who don’t know, to know how to do something. That also requires leaders not to gatekeep, which happens way too often in the Philippines even for simple stuff.
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I managed Infosys people back in the 2000s and 2010s. They were terrible. The Cognizant people were only fit for low level roles like QA or watching the server farm. How far have they gone by re-investing their newly learned skills and effort.
Re cargo cult, I just chanced upon social media posts in the tenor of “the Cebu Cordova bridge is still standing after a 6.9 earthquake, thank you Tatay Digong”.
Some will correct to say the construction or approval was during PNoy’s term, the smartest will say it was built by the Japanese.
The truly stupid comments are that Marcos Jr. era stuff will never be that durable or will become a ghost project.
To continue JFK’s remark “success has many fathers; failure is an orphan,” how much more true is this in the Philippines context where it is politics as usual for politicians to engrave their own names onto the backs of students’ desk chairs, or bend electioneering laws to unfurl banners emblazoned with their larger-than-life likeness across buildings and streets? Yet when things go wrong, fingers point everywhere except reflexively.
But we cannot fault regular folks for being so ignorant, naive even, or perhaps simply rabidly pro-whatever-team. Certainly it would be more collegial and responsible to give credit where credit is due, but that would require a game where everyone plays by the rules. The Dutertes and other pro-PRC Filipino politicians don’t play by the rules, and indeed spit on rules while making new rules of their own. With all that’s going on in the US, I think there needs to be a realization that in order to revive and reform the norms, one must first obtain power through any legal means necessary. Sadly that requires new fighters who are willing to exercise political gahum, if we will, and fight the other side at the same level of strength. Against the Duterte-nexus that would require countering the DDS propaganda narrative on social media, which is where every Filipino is on. Going on legacy institutions like ABS, GMA, or newspapers just don’t cut it anymore as hardly a Filipino reads those publications. What is needed are prowess at shortform communication like memes and clipped video, namely stuff people share immediately because it elicits an instant emotional response. DDS is extremely good at this.
“fight the other side at the same level of strength” Joe has mentioned passion being needed, I guess that was missing in the Leni campaign. Leila de Lima has enormous passion now, a bit of a Mandela effect I suspect, I recall how Mandela’s resolved was strengthened by his jail time.
“What is needed are prowess at shortform communication like memes and clipped video” I hope the opposition catches up on this.
Obviously Senators Kiko Pangilinan and Bam Aquino were able to reach a certain crowd, just a Reps. Chel Diokno and Leila de Lima were able to. Not watching too closely as what happened in 2022 was already very disappointing for me. The battle for 2028 will have to be prepared on won in the Philippines, and the earlier the players there understand what they are up against, the better.
Aside from Leni joining the contest a bit too late, personally I think the fundamental mistake of the kakampink movement was equating algorithmic feeds online which validated their own beliefs as real life, while Marcos Jr. and his surrogates did the actual on-the-ground gladhanding which wins over voters.
My fear is that since Marcos Jr. “isn’t so bad” and didn’t go “full dictator,” there is a large degree of complacency that would allow the Dutertes to engineer a political comeback a la Trump 2.0, whereupon the 2.0 version would be much worse. The anti-DDS/pro-democracy crowd in the Philippines still seems more interested in egghead policy arguments that may or may not happen, and definitely will never happen if their side does not capture power. Aspirational policy points mean nothing without the power with which to enact it.
Well, the Philippines might need to go through a Duterte 2.0 to finally wake up, like many Americans (a good number who voted for Trump in 2024) are waking up. The question then, is when Duterte 2.0 arrives, will local Filipino politicians and everyday citizens rise up to oppose that possible regime like multiple levels of American society are rising up now? That, I’m honestly not so sure.
You could count it under “attention to detail”, but “able to separate facts from fiction” is a critical item. Politicians spread rumours, create emotions, trying to cover up the facts. Add religion under this.
Then add schools based on the Parrot System and the whole competency, commitment and integrity issue is almost Mission Impossible until a Singapore style leader emerges. A benovalent dictator.
we’ve seen dictators rising all around us, the good type is unique and what is the chance of this person popping up here? But the country is ripe for a dictator, let’s enjoy the show, hope for the best, but be responsible and build safeguards for our children.
Those are within the realm of attention to detail, and are great examples of the lurking incompetency hereabouts, that fact/fiction bugaboo being a tough one. I share your call for awareness and adaptability which is why JoeJr is learning Mandarin and rock/blues/folk guitar.
Joe Jr. has options. My kids had and they voted with their feet, my eldest twice as she left (again) after she came back and left with her family only 2 years later.
What does it take to motivate those kids to stay (or return) and believe in a future?.To invest their skills in a country with a future? The same critical points mentioned in your post, but who will lead and make it happen?
What is interesting is that any number of people could lead the Philippines to decency if voters would merely stop falling for blustering liars and self dealers. Hontiveros, Aquino, Pangilinan, Teodoro, V. Sotto, De Lima. Belmonte. Others as well. The problem is the incompetence of voters I suppose. Or the incompetence of honest people’s messaging.
I use that as red/green flag. If the first thing you do is to pass the buck then you are red flagged.
Oh, that is excellent, Gian. I might have to invest in flags for my son. I’d be afraid to flag my wife, haha.
Never too late for our civic and governance makeover.
The drama is really heavy at this time as all the corrupt seek to hide and the public demands action for the gross theft. The Senate is the main stage I think.
We are no longer entertained
the senate is conducting its own inquiry re flood scam, the house too has its own inquiry re flood scam and lest but not last, president marcos hindi nagpahuli and created ICI, to top them all flood scam inquiries! 3inquiries running simultaneously, no wonder people are getting antsy.
delima wants president marcos to give more teeth to ICI. already jinggoy is trying to silence a witness by taking the witness immediately to court, despite the ongoing inquiry. if ICI is not given full power and do investigation behind closed door and away from the public eye, it will become be summat a ghost investigator investigating ghost projects, and may well come up with ghost proposals no one takes seriously.
maybe, it is best to give ICI full investigative power and resources, taking over both senate and congress inquiries, leaving senate to pursue soonest sara’s impeachment, instead of senate having to compete for prominence among flood scam audience!
Yes, I think there are bills in the hopper to give them power. But information is also power if delivered to law enforcement loud and on a silver platter.
I think legislating should not be left alone yo legislators and governance should nor be left alone to government.
That makes a whole lot of sense looking at today’s situation in which the People are pushing hard against corruption, almost like they are more righteous than the legislature. President Marcos is in duck and cover mode, lol.
president marcos has to do a double take, these days there are socmed platforms that are incompatible and not supportive of democracy.
Yes. He is pro-democracy. Yellows must be stunned.
We also toyedwirh federalism but we sucked at devolution.
Parliamentarian system was proposed but we can not do with out a check and balance to stop the perennial balancing and encashing of checks.
this time, I agree with president bong marcos that we dont need to change our constitution but we need elected officials to change their attitude and have change of heart and stop stealing taxpayers money.
https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/7/ph-needs-change-in-attitude-among-gov-t-official-instead-of-change-in-constitution-palace-1531
O yes and my train of thought in this thread is the pushbike nowadays is strong enough to ignite and drive change.
I hope we have good spark plugs
UNI PINK Is the new kakampink and dilawan.
I don’t think there ever was a difference, politically. Salmon is likely what mixing yellow and pink gets you, or peach.
Nice!
( I remember CV got offended by Nice hehehe)
We all know our problems and we do not lack introspection maybe what is different now is….. I don’t know the driver(?)
Hmmm, thinking about DE, the driver seems to be need and the misconnect is seeking to punish the world with a strongman rather than build it with an honest man or woman.
Thanks
And for emphasis
4. Perseverance in using 1,2,and 3
Yes indeed. It is circular and feeds back to number one. It can’t be a short-term fling, it needs to be an enduring commitment. Excellent point.
I just asked ChatGPT (inspired by some discussions with Joey here) about why the Philippines failed to develop a software industry on a par with India or Romania and got this:
That’s a very good and nuanced question — and one that industry analysts, economists, and policymakers in the Philippines have debated for years. The Philippines has a large and competent IT services workforce, yet it hasn’t developed the same software development and export strength as countries like India or Romania. The reasons are structural, historical, and policy-related.
Let’s unpack this carefully:
🧩 1. Historical path dependency: BPO vs. software
When the Philippines’ IT sector began to grow in the 1990s–2000s, business process outsourcing (BPO) — call centers, shared services, back-office tasks — became the dominant model.
Low entry barriers (English fluency + customer service culture) meant quick growth.
Software development, by contrast, required deeper technical training, R&D capacity, and local product markets — things the country hadn’t yet built.
So talent and capital flowed into voice and customer support, not software.
→ Result: a “path lock-in” toward service outsourcing instead of product or software innovation.
🧠 2. Education and technical training gaps
While Filipinos are highly literate and English-proficient, there are chronic issues in STEM education quality and computer science depth:
Many CS graduates are trained for IT maintenance or support, not advanced software engineering.
Universities often lag in curriculum updates (e.g., agile methods, AI/ML, cloud-native dev).
India, by contrast, built elite technical institutions (IITs, NITs) that fed into global software firms.
🏛️ 3. Weak government industrial and innovation policy
India and Romania both had targeted policies to promote software exports and tech parks.
India: NASSCOM + SEZs + export incentives for software.
Romania: zero income tax for IT workers, EU-funded R&D hubs.
The Philippines’ policies focused more on BPO incentives and tax holidays for call centers, not R&D or product startups.
There was no coordinated national software strategy or tech cluster development.
💸 4. Venture capital and startup ecosystem limitations
Access to capital for software startups has been very limited.
Few local VCs understand or are willing to fund long-horizon software products.
Most funding goes to service-based or fintech startups, not deep-tech or SaaS products.
In contrast, Romania leveraged EU startup funds, and India developed a massive VC ecosystem post-2010.
🌍 5. Market scale and export orientation
India had a huge domestic IT market (serving banks, government, telecom) that trained firms before they exported.
Romania, being in the EU, naturally plugged into European markets.
The Philippines’ domestic market for software is small, fragmented, and price-sensitive — so local developers often struggle to scale or refine their products before going global.
👥 6. Cultural and organizational factors
Many Filipino IT workers prefer stable employment over risky entrepreneurship.
The BPO industry reinforced a “service mindset” rather than a “product mindset”.
Local managers are often operations-oriented, not innovation-driven.
Risk aversion, modesty, and lack of mentorship ecosystems make it harder to scale ambitious software ventures.
⚙️ 7. Infrastructure and bureaucracy
Connectivity has improved but remains less reliable and more expensive than in competing countries.
Red tape and inconsistent digital policies (e.g., data privacy, procurement rules) discourage startups and foreign software firms from setting up development centers.
🔭 What could help the Philippines “level up”:
Strengthen CS/engineering education and university–industry collaboration.
Create software innovation zones or clusters beyond BPO parks.
Offer tax incentives for software R&D and product exports.
Build government demand for local software (e.g., e-gov platforms built by Filipino firms).
Cultivate a national software industry association akin to India’s NASSCOM.
Develop public-private funds for SaaS, AI, and digital products.
— I was asked if ChatGPT should suggest policies, said yes and got this:
Great — here’s a concrete, actionable policy + ecosystem roadmap the Philippines could use to “level up” its software industry into product-led, export-ready clusters (short, medium, and long-term actions, plus KPIs and financing ideas). I’ll highlight the strongest evidence-based levers and point to real programs already in the Philippines that you can build from. I cite the most important supporting sources as we go.
Wikipedia
+4
ASEAN Briefing
+4
pchrd.dost.gov.ph
+4
1) Overarching goal & logic
Goal: move from a BPO-first model to a mixed economy where locally-built software products and export-focused services capture high-value talent, IP, and recurring revenue (SaaS, platforms, AI tools). Do this by (A) building talent and R&D capacity, (B) derisking product startups with procurement + capital, and (C) creating a national industry engine (policy + industry voice). Evidence: the Philippines already has targeted R&D grants and national digital plans to build demand and capacity.
pchrd.dost.gov.ph
+1
2) Quick wins (0–18 months)
These are low-friction, high-impact moves that government + industry can do fast.
A. Use public procurement to create first customers for local software
Mandate a “local-first” procurement lane for government digital projects under the DICT e-government masterplan. Reserve a portion (e.g., 15–25%) of medium-sized e-gov contracts for local SMEs/startups that meet basic security and delivery criteria — this provides revenue and reference customers.
ictstatistics.dict.gov.ph
KPI: number of contracts won by local firms / total e-gov spend; target 20% local share in 18 months.
B. Boost non-dilutive R&D grants & commercialization vouchers
Expand programs like the PCHRD Startup Research Grant (increase amount, shorten approvals, add commercialization support). Match grants with mentorship for productization and IP filing.
pchrd.dost.gov.ph
KPI: number of startups reaching revenue >PHP 5M within 2 years of grant; target 50 startups in 24 months.
C. Soft regulatory fixes
Fast-track streamlined IP support (cheap patent/utility model assistance), and clarify data transfer rules for exports. These are fast changes that reduce friction.
3) Structural moves (18 months–4 years)
These create the environment for sustained product-led growth.
A. Education + talent pipeline reform
Fund university–industry co-curricula: mandatory capstone projects with industry sponsors, modernize CS curricula (cloud-native, MLOps, product management), fund teaching exchanges with top global CS programs.
Create subsidized “industry residency” programs: 6–12 month paid placements at local product firms for recent grads.
KPI: share of CS grads placed in product roles within 12 months of graduation; target a 30% increase in 3 years.
B. Tax & incentive redesign for R&D and product exports
Use CREATE Act improvements as the base but add targeted R&D tax credits or refundable credits for early-stage product firms (so loss-making startups can use them). The CREATE reforms have already adjusted incentives and tax treatment for business; tailor the next tranche to R&D/productization.
ASEAN Briefing
KPI: increase in private R&D spending as % of GDP for tech firms; target +0.2 percentage points in 3 years.
C. Scale-up capital: public seed / blended fund
Create a PHP innovation fund (blended public + limited partners) to co-invest in Series A rounds for local product companies. Use catalytic capital to attract foreign VCs and sovereign/DFI capital. Evidence shows VC interest is growing in PH (reports showing rising deal flow).
web-assets.bcg.com
KPI: number/value of Series A+ rounds for PH product companies; target 20 Series A+ deals in 3 years.
D. Industry association & export push
Form a strong, unified industry body (product-software council) to coordinate standards, training, export promotion and to act like NASSCOM did for India — convene buyers, talent programs, and policy lobbying. NASSCOM is a model for how a consolidated industry voice helps scale exports and training initiatives.
Wikipedia
KPI: formation of council + published national product export strategy in 12 months.
4) Place-based strategy: build 3–5 product clusters (2–6 years)
Focus resources on several regions to create network effects rather than spreading thin.
Suggested clusters & specializations
Metro Manila / Quezon City: Fintech, enterprise SaaS, cloud platforms (access to finance and large clients).
Cebu / Visayas: Gaming, animation, creative tech (existing creative talent).
Davao / Mindanao: Agri-tech and maritime/logistics software (local domain advantage).
Clark / Subic / Iloilo: Cloud/nearshore dev and AI R&D centers (incentives + proximity to airports).
Cluster tools
Tech parks with subsidized office space, R&D facilities, co-working + mentorship, and living stipends for early hires.
Local tax breaks (time-limited) and employment tax credits for hires in clusters.
KPI: number of product firms in each cluster and cross-cluster collaboration metrics.
5) Regulatory & fiscal details (what incentives should look like)
Refundable R&D tax credit (20–30% on qualified R&D spend for SMEs) — refundable helps loss-making startups.
IP box / reduced tax on income from IP exports for 5 years (to incentivize global licensing).
Talent mobility visas and targeted scholarships to attract Filipinos abroad back to product roles.
Performance-based employment tax credits for companies hiring graduating CS majors in product roles.
(Example: Romania’s earlier income-tax exemptions for IT workers were a powerful attractor for talent growth — the Philippines can borrow the logic but tie it to company R&D performance to avoid rent-seeking).
TheRecursive.com
6) Finance & funding sources
Public capital: national innovation fund (PHP + DOST/DTI seed + multilateral concessional capital).
Blended finance: match public seed with private VC to de-risk Series A investing. Evidence of growing local VC/deal flow suggests catalytic public capital can unlock private follow-on rounds.
web-assets.bcg.com
Tax credits & grants: as above.
Corporate venture: encourage conglomerates (e.g., telecoms, banks) to run corporate VC with co-investment incentives.
7) Target sectors (where the PH has natural advantages)
Fintech / payments / e-wallets — local success shows scale potential (example: Mynt/GCash growth demonstrates domestic product scale routes).
Reuters
SaaS for SMEs — local knowledge of Filipino SMEs -> regional expansion.
Gaming & creative software — cultural & creative workforce.
Maritime & logistics software — Philippines is a maritime nation; domain expertise matters.
Healthtech / telemedicine — strong mobile adoption + diaspora medical community.
8) Governance, accountability, and KPIs
Create a National Software & Digital Products Council (NSDPC) — public/private, chaired by DTI/DICT + industry leaders. Responsibilities:
Publish a 5-year Product Export Roadmap and annual scorecard.
Run a competitive, transparent grant and procurement process.
Coordinate incentives and monitor abuses.
Suggested KPIs (examples)
Product exports (USD) per year — target +50% over 3 years.
of product companies with >$1M ARR — target 30 in 4 years.
Private sector R&D spend as % of GDP — target +0.2% in 4 years.
VC dealflow/value for product startups — double in 3 years.
web-assets.bcg.com
9) Risks & mitigation
Risk: incentives create rent-seeking. → Use performance conditions (job creation, R&D milestones, IP filings).
Risk: brain drain continues. → Combine diaspora return incentives with local high-quality career paths and equity upside.
Risk: fragmentation across agencies. → Central council (NSDPC) with real budget & reporting powers.
10) Suggested 24-month pilot (concrete program)
Launch a PHP 2B blended Catalyst Fund for product startups (co-invest public + LPs).
Set aside PHP 1B in DICT/DTI procurement for local software in 2026 (local-first lane).
ictstatistics.dict.gov.ph
Expand PCHRD grants to 100 startups/year with commercialization support.
pchrd.dost.gov.ph
Create 3 cluster soft-landing spaces with subsidized office + shared R&D labs (Manila, Cebu, Clark).
Success measure after 24 months: 20 product companies raised Series A or reached $1M ARR, 100 gov contracts awarded to local firms.
11) International partnerships & soft power
Use trade missions and “soft-landing” programs (QBO, IdeaSpace) to help startups access markets (US, EU, ASEAN). QBO is already an active local accelerator that can be scaled via DTI/JP Morgan partnerships.
QBO Innovation
+1
Short summary checklist (for policymakers)
Create NSDPC + national product export roadmap.
Use procurement to create first paying customers.
ictstatistics.dict.gov.ph
Expand refundable R&D tax credits and tailored CREATE Act addenda for startups.
ASEAN Briefing
Create blended public VC to catalyze Series A.
web-assets.bcg.com
Reform education with industry residencies and capstones.
Pilot 3 clusters and scale up successful ones.
Measure: product exports, $1M-ARR firms, private R&D spend, VC dealflow.
(AI is indeed the super Google of today, at least the ideas are worth looking at)
N. R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys interestingly started out as communist-curious, until he got arrested and expelled by the Bulgarian State Security services (secret police). Infosys was founded with the equivalent of $31.50 USD/27.25 EUR. Makes me chuckle a bit when I think about how little capital I had when I started out, though it was nearly 10x more than what Murthy had.
At some point, entrepreneurship requires taking a risk and just going for it. In the Philippines often I see people sort of sitting around waiting to bandwagon on the next big thing, but not willing to take a risk to go first. Well, someone has to go first! Probably also explains why Filipino political leaders who put in the minimum level of effort somehow look like hard workers on behalf of the people. In the bigger picture, the vaunted Chinoy businessmen who own the conglomerates are not really that dynamic or visionary as their mainland counterparts; they are basically a bigger version of a bazaar negosante as most of their business model is reselling imported stuff. Then don’t get me into others trying to co-opt or even outright steal credit.
“not willing to take a risk to go first.” which is why imitation business models flourish there, kebab and samgyupsal and maybe PPop being examples.
“others trying to co-opt or even outright steal credit.” ooh.. there are some stories I have also gathered, but I also don’t want to go deeper
“look like hard workers on behalf of the people” yes, Isko Moreno going into flood zones, the action man whose rubber shoes always somehow manage to stay white
Well I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with imitation. Koreans pretended to be Japanese and opened sushi joints for years before Korean food became mainstream. The Japanese before that pretended to be Chinese and opened Chinese takeout establishments before modernizing sushi with “uramaki” having nori on the inside (California roll style) being more visually appetizing to Westerners. Though, in each instance the pretenders tried their very best to imitate as closely as possible. Filipino imitations seem more like to be following trends. There are now pho and banh mi places in the Philippines around university campuses and BPO centers that taste and look nothing like pho or banh mi. When I asked a few of the owners, they said they just saw it on Instagram or TikTok and decided to open a place. Asian Americans and British Asians are often annoyed of stuff like “White people’s pho” where Caucasian owners try to jump on trends then inadvertently do their cultural appropriation totally wrong. It happens in the Philippines too, lol.