Over the weekend, Feyma and I were out around town together. It’s not often that we are out like that together, usually she is out or I am out, but not together. Well, on this occasion Feyma’s driver was not available, so I gave her a ride to the bank to get some money from the ATM machine. Next we went to one of the local fruit stands, I wanted to buy some Pomelo, but we could not find any Pomelo that we liked.
Our next stop was at the grocery store. I wanted to buy some fruit juice, so we stopped by at SM before returning home. We shopped for a few other things too, and our final stop was at the juice aisle. I felt like getting some Grape Juice, as it is one of my favorites, but I don’t buy it often. So, I was looking at all of the juices in the juice aisle and I came to a realization. Most of the fresh juices were from Thailand! There was a huge variety of juices from Thailand. Some of the kinds of juices really shocked me, and as far as I can remember many of the types were not even available in the US when we lived there. Some of the Thai juices that I can recall from my trip to the store included:
- Orange Juice
- Blood Orange Juice
- Tangerine Juice
- Carrot Juice
- Red Carrot Juice
- Tomato Juice
- Grape Juice
- Mango Juice
- Grapefruit Juice
- Pomelo Juice
- Melon Juice
- and many more that I can’t remember
What about Juices from the Philippines? Oh, sure, there were juices from the Philippines:
- Mango
- Pineapple
Those were the only real juices available from the Philippines. Oh, they had powdered drink mixes, which they also call “juice” here. For me, if you pour powder out of a bag, add sugar and water, that is not juice. Oh, I almost forgot… those two juices that were available from the Philippines also had a ton of added sugar! Well, I am diabetic, and I don’t need all of that extra sugar in my diet. Also, I simply feel that “real juice” tastes a lot better than sugared down feaux juice.
My initial thinking when I realized that nearly all of the “real juice” was from Thailand was that I wondered why the Philippines could not manufacture a decent product. I mean, all of these fruits are available in the Philippines, so why can’t they make juice here? My first thought was that maybe there was not enough demand for the juices here to justify the cost of manufacturing it. But, wait. I then realized that if there was a huge section of aisle space being devoted to these imported juices from Thailand, then that only proved that there was demand, but that the Philippines was not meeting the demand. I guess it is just like with the national food, rice, the Philippines is unable to make it and must import from places like Thailand and Vietnam. That is a shame.
After going home, I got thinking more and more about this. I thought of other categories of products. Again, the quality stuff was not locally made, rather it is imported. Why? Why can’t the Philippines make the products that it’s citizens need? Making something like juice is not brain surgery and should not be difficult to do here. I mean if we were talking about manufacturing Stealth Aircraft, I could understand that the technology is not in place, but squeezing an orange is not too difficult, right?
As Feyma and I talked about this, we also got talking about a TV show that we were watching a week or so ago. We were watching a travel show about Malaysia. The first thing Feyma said was “look how clean it is there,” to which I agreed. The show then started talking about specialty chocolate production in Malaysia. They showed a factory that made super high quality chocolates that are exported all over the world. They used their indigenous tropical fruits like Mango, Durian, Lansones, Rambutan and such to flavor their chocolates, and boxed them in a high quality piece of packaging. These chocolates were sold worldwide at very premium prices. I looked at Feyma and asked her, “why can’t the Philippines do something like that?” She just shook her head. Cacao beans are grown in the Philippines. The mango in the Philippines is recognized as one of the best in the world. All of these wonderful tropical fruits. All of the ingredients are in place. Why can’t the Philippines come out with high quality boxed chocolates for the world? Truth is that technologically it can, but it seems to me that there just are not people here who have the drive to do this kind of thing. It is so sad to me to see that.
Think about it… what product from the Philippines is truly world class? Is there any single product that the Philippines exports to the world that the rest of the world looks at and says, “yes, the Philippines has it right with this product?” I see none. Do you?
Bob: The only product that I ever saw in the states that originated in the Philippines, and seemed to market pretty well was (dried mangoes) vacu-sealed and produced in Cebu. You would think that a major coroporation like San Miguel would tap the juice market.
Hi Roberto – Oh, there are other products in the States, a big one is clothing that is made here. Electronics too. But those products are not really invented or grown in the Philippines. San Mig is in the juice business, but the juices they make are only few, and are laden with large amounts of sugar. Not for me.
Bob
I’ve seen sardines in stores from i believe GenSan.
Indeed, Randy. Sardines from GenSan are readily found. I am not sure I would consider that a “world class” product, or a really super mainstream product. You are sure right, though.
Mama Sita’s and Skyflakes as well as dried mangoes, the first two not really being special or unique.
Making matters more interesting, surely shipping from the RP must be inexpensive as all of those ships arriving with balikbayan boxes are leaving empty.
I also question why there is a lack of fresh juice in the RP, as well as fresh milk. Even in concentrated form.
My cousin ran Dole some years back and in a recent chat with him, mentioned while other countries have ownership laws for locals vs foreigners ie, 51% rule, these are easy to get around with a corporate shell game in other parts of Asia however in the RP if you don’t deal with one of the 4 family’s you are SOL. Most of the major brands Coke etc are licencee’s.
It always amazes me when I go into SM and such a large proportion of the shops are actually all owned by SM operating under different brand names.
The one business I always thought Filipinos abroad would go crazy for was calamansi juice in those ketchup sized sachets.
Sadly the major export seems to be skilled labour.
Hi John – Mama Sita’s is mostly sold only to Filipinos who are living abroad (the exports). Sky Flakes are nothing special in my book, only copies of crackers that are made in other countries. Dried Mangoes are great, though, I have to say.
Sorry, I think that you have it wrong on the returning ships… the ships are full going from Asia to North America, filled with products that the US imports from Asia (not so much from the Philippines). It is the Balikbayan Box shipping that is cheap, to fill those ships on their journey back to Asia to load up on cheap Asian products for the US market.
John, the only reason i can think of for the lack of “fresh milk” is the fact that the majority of the population does not have a refrigerator in their home and even if they do (my family) they don’t plug it in (too expensive), i think every time we visit the philippines every 2 years the “refrigerated” section at SM grows, as does the frozen section. I think it will only be a matter of time before those perishable refrigerated items become more common place.
in a Walmart Superstore just about half of the grocery store is refrigerated. Compare that with SM which on last visit was maybe 1/6.
I meant to say the ships from the RP to the Asian shipping hubs HKG/CAN must be empty, then of course they fill up to North America and Europe.
A funny note about Mama Sita’s I was in Sao Paulo and I saw 4 or 5 of her spice packages.
Mama Sita is everywhere, John… she’s watching you! 😯
Some Knorr products say “Product of the Philippines” and marketed on mainstream Supermarket all over US, ie. Safeway, Giants, Wegmans, etc.
Indeed, but personally I would not consider knorr products to be world class. Others may, though.
Bob..Maybe the only product product from the Philippines is truly world class is there OFW’S and of course their women…but then People are not products…but that is what they seem to be famous for….Long..long..long before there was a internet…what I 1st remember about the Phillipines was their lovely women with their dark black hair and dark eyes and brown pretty skin and pretty smile….So..who knows about their fruits why they do not make juice from them or why they do not raise enough rice any more, but they do seem to have a never ending supply of OFW’S and lovley women….
Hi Dan – I knew that one of the early comments on this would be that the people are exported for labor and they are world class. However, as you said in your comment, people are not products. In fact it is sad that the people flock abroad to work, because it leaves the Philippines with a lot fewer of the best and brightest people who could carry the country forward. I do not consider the OFW’s as a good thing for the Philippines… the brain drain is killing the country.
Bob..I am sure you are right about the brain drain and that could be very possible for one of the reasons that the Phillipines is declining on products there that they could make,promote,sell and etc. I am not sure how that problem will be solved how ever. I can not blame the Fillipino for going abroad to make 3 or more times the money that they could at home and like I belive maybe you have said or others have said…on the whole what kind of good jobs are their in the Phillipines to keep the young…the smart..the educated Fillipino there? Some how for this problem to reverse it self I would think you will need a goverment that wants the Phillipines to go in a different direction over all than they way it has been going for a number of years now. I do not think the average person there can do it. I do belive how ever if their were some good job opertunities there in the Phillipines and lets say a Fillipino could belive they could make a living and have a few dreams in life come true, then sure a lot would rather stay in their own country and make a life….
Dan the brain drain is real. I have been trying to hire qualified web developers for over a year, I have certain requirements, anyone that I have been able to hire has either, given up and simply not shown up for work or has taken a job abroad as a barrista.
Hi John – if you are looking for a great web developer… check here: Web-Earner – I feel pretty certain that they can help you! 😉
Having used the services of Web-Earner, I can assure you that they produce a high-quality product! Or, in my case, products!
Thanks, Tom. We have done a lot of work together, and I think mostly the results have been very positive. I am very appreciative of you for your support!
Hi Dan – Just to clarify, I do not blame the Filipinos for going abroad. If I were in their shoes, I would do the same thing. But, I do blame the government for not making an environment that would use the talents of those Filipinos here instead of shipping them out to work elsewhere. No country can ever prosper when it sends it’s best and brightest abroad, or at least that is what I think.
Bob you are right about the goverment and of course I never thought for one second that you would ever blame the Filipinos for going abroad. I am sure you are one for sure that would love to see things change so more Fillipino people would stay and the country could proper more and realize its real potential as a country, and also when the most bright..talanted and etc leave any country..then in the long run all suffer one way or the other..2 bad the goverment can not understand that.
No doubt, Dan. Maybe the day will come when it can be a reality.
A country must first and foremost start with their natural resources. It is the basis of any countries economy. When their is a lack of exportable natural resources or even not enough for the country itself, then starts the trend of looking outward and it is very difficult to reign that back in. Something drastic has to take place (ie. huge outside investment / development)
Truth is, the Philippines is very rich in terms of natural resources.
That may be true in the areas of mining, some sectors of agriculture and the fishing industry, Bob, but not in forestry. The mountains are being denuded of its precious trees by illegal logging and slash and burn technique, and this is one of the reasons why there is constant flooding in the lowlands – there are hardly any trees anymore to stanch the flow of water rolling down from the mountains during typhoons.
The wealth of the Philippines applies to many resources. Unfortunately, lumber is no longer one of them.
Hi Bob, Philippine made cigar use to be sought worldwide for its quality, starting from growing quality tobaccos. Our cigar was so good that President Kennedy insist he has his supply of Philippine cigar on hand. During the ’50s, Philippines still has good quality manufacturing products leftover from when Americans mange it, (steel, rope, etc) all for export. It somehow decline.
Even they politicians act, in the old days, they acts like statesmen the way the write, speak, act and dress, somehow it has gotten worse.
Before Marcos declared martial law, I bought a box of cigar and even the hardwood box is quality made like a fine woodworker’s art. My wife is still using this as jewelry box. In 2003, I bought another similar and the workmanship quality of the box has really decline, ie. divider not fitting, not sanded and the finish is amateurish. A sign of decline of everything nowadays.
Hi Mars – Yeah, a lot “used to be” good and is in decline. One of these days, somebody has to bring back excellence to the Philippines, and strive to improve the country.
Hi Bob – I agree with the juice that’s available in the groceries. Either they’re from Thailand, or Australia, or New Zealand or US. I like Cranberry and Grape juice so I buy the ones made not from here. We have a lot of different fruits here. I’m not sure that grapes is grown? so don’t think we have that. But I guess.. buy fruits at the fruit stand and a juicer and make some fresh juice? He he.
As for truly world class products. I’m sure there are, Bob. We have some. Mostly in the furniture industry. Many from US and EU likes to have world class products made here and by Filipinos.
Hi sugar – Sure, there are grapes grown here in the Philippines, in fact I have a friend who grows grapes in the General Santos area. My point is… if Thailand can grow grapes and make grape juice, why can’t the Philippines do it? The two countries are very near, have very similar climates, etc.
There is some good furniture made in the Philippines, but the vast majority of furniture made here is poor quality, hardly world class. Sure, there are probably a few products made here that are world class… but mostly the Philippines produces poor quality goods.
Bob – Yeah, I was unsure if grapes are grown here. Now I know they do. You’re right. If climate is the same then we can grow grapes and make grape juice. But we do have the Buko juice. But that’s different, I know.
Yep, we have buko juice here…. as John pointed out in a previous comment, major manufacturers have been unable to get a decent source of it from here, though, and went to Thailand and Brazil for it.
bob,
not all products that bears “made in Thailand” are really made in Thailand, many of their products here bear that markings and the product is actually made someplace else.
in this new world of “outsourcing” nobody knows anymore where the product is really made, re-branding seems to be the norms nowadays.
Interesting, dans.
We recently bought pretty high end furniture and it was all made in thailand.
Doesn’t surprise me, unfortunately.
Right on target again Bob. The Philippines dirty little secret … inability to feed its own people.
I’ve lived in six states in America, and I have never once seen a Filipino Restaurant. Thai, Mexican and Chinese — all over the place and doing very well indeed. I think it is downright a shame that you can go about anywhere in the Philippines and find a rice patty but they haves to import Rice from Thailand to feed the masses. That’s makes as much sense as General Motors secretly buying cars from Ford Motor Company.
Thanks, Rich. I agree with your comment completely.
Rich
When I lived in Charleston SC, there was a Filipino restaurant owned by a retired military guy and his Filipina wife. It did a huge business, and made the owners quite wealthy. The food was always excellent and service to match. I sure miss their lumpia. I do not know why the concept could not be duplicated around the USA.
Is that the “Oriental Cuisine” in North Charleston? Loyd, there’s a lot of Filipino restaurant specially in California. We have a few here in Northern VA, but none is White Top. Most of them are Point-Point joint unlike the old “Oriental Cuisine” in Charleston .
Yes, Oriental Cuisine, originally on Rivers Ave in N. Charleston. My wife was always playing Mah Jong with the owners. They were in a shopping center for the longest time, then had to move, so he built his own building a short distance away, but still on Rivers Ave. I think a daughter now runs the restuarant, but in a new location.
Yes, we love that restaurant. The Pusit (Squid) Guisado and the Lumpia are out of this world. I lived in _____pepper something Subd. off Ashley Phospate RD from ’77-’80 having station their from ’74. About 2 years ago, I tried to look for it but I got lost and did not recognized the area, so built up. I was in a hurry so I ended up eating in Mickey D’s. I was on they way to Sav. Ga.
Whats really funny about that is that we have (san antonio) 3 filipino restaurants and none of the food is as good as my wifes and their pricing is outrageous. All but one are associated with groceries.
We had in addition a “goldilocks” bakery, decked out in the same colors as in the PI and privately owned but they went belly up. 99 times out of 100 a person in the states has no idea what Filipino food is much less where the country is on a map lol.
Yes, it can be, Bob. One Philippine product that easily comes to mind is the coconut and coconut products. It may not be “world class”, or a household word yet, but I believe coconut oil in various permutations – for cooking and for health – may already be making a big splash around the world. Many people may not realize it, but virgin coconut oil is a thriving industry in the Philippines.
Regarding your craving for grape juice and your aversion to sugar, Welch grape juice made with 100 percent grape touts itself as an excellent source of oxidants, fiber, and calcium, if it’s available in Davao. It’s what I drink every morning instead of orange juice. It offers a choice of no sugar added.
Hi Ricardo – Much of the canned coconut milk right here in the Philippines is from Thailand!
Welches Grape Juice is imported. That’s my whole point!
Bob, I am not saying that Welch’s grape juice is made in the Philippines. I’ve added the comment in response to your remark that you wanted to buy grape juice when you and Feyma were at SM, but don’t care for the sugar in the grape juices they sell there because you’re diabetic. Coconut milk? I am not talking about canned coconut milk. I am talking about virgin coconut oil that is manufactured in the Philippines. It really is a thriving industry in the Philippines, Bob. Check out Alibaba.com
Hi Ricardo – I think we are misunderstanding each other, and I am sorry for my part in that. I did buy sugar free grape juice, and it was from Thailand. That’s kind of my point in this article, if Thailand can produce these products, why can’t the Philippines.
I misunderstood that you did not mean coconut milk. You said “the coconut and coconut products” and thus I thought you meant all coconut products. If I was wrong on that, I apologize to you.
No need to apologize, Bob. We all mis-speak from time to time. With you, I understand the heavy volume of internet work load that you do. You do a lot of writing and a lot of reading to keep abreast of all your websites. I know you speed read, and speed reply to get things out of the way quickly in order to keep things moving, based on the timing of your posts. Time is money for all of us afterall, but most specially to you because of the nature of your work.
As a consequence, there are times when things are misunderstood, or taken out of context, as a result of speed reading. (In speed reading, you don’t really read the messages word for word; sentences are read in blocks). Some LiP readers, on the other hand, whom I assume to have the luxury of time, do read and re-read some messages (I know I do) especially those long ones, and they catch discrepancies and call you on it. In some messages, it’s not until the second reading that I get a full comprehension of what the poster is saying. I don’t mean to lecture, Bob; it’s just my insight into the matter.
No problem, Ricardo. Thanks for your thoughts on that.
Coconut water is supposed to be the new drink and in an interview the CEO from Zico said he is buying from Thailand and Brasil. All he said was he tried other Asian countries and no one had the distribution nor could satisfy his production needs.
Hi John – Yes, I believe you about the sourcing on the coconut water (called buko juice here). Sad, don’t you think? There are so many coconut trees in the Philippines, it is unbelievable that nobody was on the ball enough to grab this contract!
Its hard to “Grab” a contract if a Filipino company can not even answer a email 🙁
Without a doubt!
Ricardo
I agree with you. Coconut oil is good for you. I put it in my feet everyday it keeps them moist all the time.
Reverse economics, Pinoys think anything made elsewhere is of better quality than indigenous products. My wife has had relatives many times request things from here which were made their! Seems the magic of touching USA soil makes them better! Its a pity Country with so much potential is stuck in a perpetual morass. I can fully understand why major companies find investing in the RP a risky and often unprofitable scenario with thier (RP) …shall we call it …non-standard business practices. What shocks me the most is that politicians suck crumbs of the table when with a little long term business friendly planning it could be a feast for all.
That’s for sure, Brian. Anything is better if it is from abroad, even if it originally came from the Philippines!
I would have to say that bamboo furniture and wood products. Most of the truly high end Bamboo and Rattan suff is made in Cebu and you would have a stroke if you saw the prices these things sold for in US Stores like Ethan Allen as an example. Like 50 times the cost to make it here. Also clothing is another quality product especially childrens clothing that is sold in the US and elsewhere
Yeah, I’ve seen some very nice (and spendy) rattan furniture here, but rattan and bamboo furniture is such a small thing in terms of export. There is just not a huge demand for it. Indeed, I did point out that clothing was one of the major exports from here, though.
I think the national motto is “Bahala Na”.
I think getting qualified, dedicated workers is one big factor in considering a business. Running a big operation requires a qualified workforce. If you get the workers then you have the Filipino management style. The Philippines once was the Pearl of the Orient, but something happened along the way, and it stagnated or reversed course.
Like Mars Z said, Philippine cigars were once considered high quality. Philippine coffee once was an up and coming industry. Philippine mangoes are first rate, but can’t pass inspection for export. Yes, with all the abundant fruit and agricultural products you would think the Philippines would be noted for something exceptional.
Maybe it is the government that does not jump start any industry, or encourage the use of the resources that are so abundant there. I really think the government is apathetic to the citizens, and really does not care much about their welfare. The elite rarely cares about the lower classes.
I am very interested in gardening and farming practices. My sister-in-law has a rice farm that was marginally producing rice. I showed her how for just a few dollars she could “innoculate” the rice and increase her production by 3 times. She did a portion of her farm, and the rice plants thrived and caught the attention of the surrounding farmers. Her harvest from that portion exceeded any harvest she ever had. Did she ever do it again? Did the surrounding farmers care to duplicate her success? NO. She went back to her old ways, and seemed satisfied with her greatly reduced crop. The other farmers, even though they saw the huge results of increased rice, just did not believe it was the “innoculation”, so they did not even care to try themselves.
Rice farmers burn the waste from harvesting instead of composting and returning it to the soil. There are many “tricks” to get increased rice production, yet farmers are very stubborn to accept anything new. Getting farmers to do anything they are not comfortable with is almost impossible. The Philippines could be self sufficient in rice production, it is just that nobody cares, as it is easier to import it from Thailand.
Hi Lloyd – You are right, and Mars too. Back in the 60’s and before there was a real focus on quality here, but it seems to have disappeared over the years. Too bad, I wish that it could be rekindled.
Lloyd……I think you hit the big nail on the head ..head on when you said “I really think the government is apathetic to the citizens, and really does not care much about their welfare. The elite rarely cares about the lower classes. I think that pretty well sums it all up…If the upper class have what they want and the people in the goverment there are happy with what they got….then probably not much change gonna happen any time soon….and the average citizen pushes on in the same way it has been for a long time there……
Hi Dan – I think you and Lloyd are correct. The only thing that the government cares about in relation to these people going overseas is that they pump money into the Philippine economy. Beyond that, I don’t think they care a bit.
Yes, brian drain. The people who could run innovative businesses have no reason to stay here and fight the red-tape and corruption and government efforts to make more profit on their business than they do. There are difficulties at every turn; land purchase, building, importing equipment, hiring and firing labor, food production permits, export issues. These people make a lot of money and have the satisfaction of profiting from their creativity and drive elsewhere, while sending boxes of imported goods to their families at home…
Hi AmericanLola – I fully agree… what do you think needs to be done to rekindle innovation here in the Philippines?
Invite the Spanish or Americans, British, Japanese back…….
Ha ha.. that will never happen, John. 😆
I know, I am glad you saw my humour, after I hit enter I thought OH NO why did I say that ehehehehheheeeh
No worries.. the humor of the statement was obvious to me! 😉
“What do you think needs to be done to rekindle innovation here in the Philippines?” Make making money and creating businesses something that is encouraged and facilitated; smooth out red-tape, illimintate bribes (who will be the first to stop accepting bribes, eh?), make the country business friendly when it comes to the BIR, permits, land purchases, loans, regulations and so on, and have reasonable, enforced labor laws that protect both employees and business owners. Facilitate exportation for small companies. Make some way for foreigners to own and run companies in the Philippines. This country would benefit in so many ways from some competition and the innovative ideas which outsiders would bring. Look what happened when telecommunications companies from outside came in! We got decent phone service!
You make some good points there, AmericanLola.
Oops, that’s ‘brain drain’, sorry Brian… 🙂
gave me a good chuckle..thanks for thinking of me 🙂
Bob, Unilever produces a host of product from the Philippines for export all over the world. Also the main reason is the islands geographic locations. Noticed that countries like Thailand and Vietnam is not divided bit island and moving products to shipping ports would financially profitable. That’s why most factories are located in Luzon area near the hub of shipping. Can you imagine having a coco bottling company in Panay and have move products to Manila for international shipping? That would not be competitive. But I agree about the brain drain and the love of anything made in USA.
After PH was granted independence by the US, part of the agreement was for Filipino nationals to be able to join the US Armed Forces (Navy and Coast Guard recruited heavily), and specified only High School grads can/may join to avoid brain-drain, but later on many people joined with college degrees, by just saying they are high school grads! Those are the first OFWs!
Hi Mars – I am sorry, my friend, but I have to disagree with you. Shipping technologies for logistics are very advanced these days, and would not present a problem for this kind of thing. There are already products made in the provinces which are exported. And, yes, Unilever is manufacturing stuff here, but they are a multinational company, certainly not a Philippine Company, which is what I am talking about, why can’t the Philippines do this… not some American company who comes and outsources the work to the Philippines!
BTW, there were OFW’s long before what you are talking about. In the 1800’s and early 1900’s the first OFW’s were sugar workers who went to Hawaii. Or at least that is what I have been told.
Maybe so Bob, but if you are trans-shipping product w/o transfer, will surely cut down on profit making, but you are right. I’ve seen a lot of sardines and canned Tuna from Mindanao here in most supermarket.
You are right also on OFW, but those early oldtimers went to the US as immigrant when the Phils was a Commonwealth of the US. Before that, Spanish ship where made in Cavite and manned some of them sailing to Mexico, Gulf of US and others countries (as history goes) galleon ship jumpers started a community in Louisiana as OW.
Hi Mars – You hit one export product from Mindanao that really is a biggie – fish. Sardines from GenSan and Zambo are a huge domestic product, and I suppose international too. Tuna from GenSan is a world class product that mostly goes to Japan where it fetches huge amounts of money.
Yessirre, my sardines! Finally saw one the other day pack in foil with three sardines in it. Perfect for a quick snack with a bowl of rice or a stack of crackers. Selling for three packs for $1.00 Dollar, from GenSan. The small can sells for $0.49 cents here.
Enjoy, Mars. Keep an eye on the cans, I will put a secret message on one for you before it is shipped out! 😆
Ok, I will keep an eye on it. I usually rinse it though before putting it in the recycling….or get a dirty look from the Mrs. BTW, since they sell the small can (5.5 oz) here for $0.49 cents, that would be about P22.00 pesos there, is that the selling price there also?
Hi Mars – The small can of sardines is P10.50 or so here.
Hi
Unilever is I beleive a British/Dutch company. Palm oil which was used by both companies was their reason for joining forces. Lever being the British part.
Marjorie
Indeed it is, Marjorie!
Bob:
The country is now starting to pay the price for exporting labor all of these years, as you mention, the brain drain. Add in the poor infrastructure and business climate and this is the result.
It is the reason why, when I read comments about opening up to foreign investment, I just sort of shake my head. That is no cure, and what many people do not take into account is that the type of capital they are promoting is highly fluid and can easily move out of the country again. In an upcoming article, I mention that thousands of investors rushed into E. Europe when it opened up 20 years ago. Most left broke, tail beneath their legs. It has taken 20 years for most of those places to begin to see improvement, but only after massive intervention from the EU in the banking and legal systems, along with hundreds of billions of dollars spent on infrastructure projects that allowed those countries to compete….This happened only with EU membership and only after the markets were opened to competition. Notice I didn’t say foreign investment.
Until the Philippines starts focusing on domestic industry instead of subsidizing other countries’ cheap labor force (The government is effectively paying for the US’s , Canada’s, the Middle East’s, and EU’s growth) Filipinos who are educated enough to change things will continue to leave.
Hi John – You are so right! The Philippines cannot even produce the products needed for the domestic market, why focus on exports? Fixing the domestic production would allow the country to iron out problems that would be faced in export production, and in the long run open up the export of such goods. I don’t see anything on the horizon, though, to make me think this will happen.
Bob: Unfortunately, I don’t see it either… and it is such a waste of resources.
I agree with you.
I have to admit I feel guilty, about the brain drain. I sent one neice to Brent and the other nephew to British School MNL only in the hope to give them the education to get out. The one graduated from BSM and is in university in Bangkok, he will never come back, I had to almost drag him home for Xmas.
My neice the other day, mentioned a family friend who went to SIN for a job in a hotel and she is so jealous…………….
thay make a good 45 cal pistol made by armscor.
I recall a few years ago reading a newspaper on a flight from Calbayog City to Manila and there was a full page ad in the paper highlighting all the accomplishments of the Arroyo administration (this was probably around election time). One of the “accomplishments” was in increase in OFW remittances. I had to read it twice to make sure I was reading it correctly. I was, and still am, amazed that they would brag about this. In esssence, what they were saying is they have done nothing in all the years of their administration to keep the local population from leaving for greener pastures.
I also recall reading a Clive Cussler book in which one of the characters was drinking a San Miguel and commented that it was the only decent thing that the RP exports. I would add the dried mangoes to the list. I can find those in the grocery stores here and at Costco.
In my small town of about 15K people in the boonies of Montana, we have many Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Mongolian restaurants and, amazingly enough, one Filipino restaurant that does fairly decent. I get my lumpia fix from there once a week when I am back in the States. The woman who runs it is from IloIlo.
Hi Montana Gary – It doesn’t surprise me, because I think that “bringing more OFW jobs” or “increased OFW earnings” would be a huge positive to Filipinos. They think much higher of those overseas jobs than anything local.
Obama is complaining about a brain drain, too. Well, sort of. In his state of the union address tonight currently on-going, he is lamenting the fact that America is sending back to their respective home countries foreign [science and technology] students after they have completed their post-graduate education in the States, instead of keeping them here to help America stay competitive. Those students who obtained their higher learning in America and were sent home end up competing against America.
I think there is some truth to that, Ricardo. If those who are educated in the USA were able to stay there, they would surely bring innovation to the USA, which would produce jobs.
Ha ha, I’m watching the same thing and had the same thought on this discussion when “The anointed one” was complaining about the reverse brain drain……..and his “Sputnik moment”. He also want all the Expats to come home and help re-build the economy, oh did he say that?
No? Ok, Bob, the Prez doesn’t want you guys home yet so enjoy the hot sun while we freeze our butts off here…another snow foretasted for later tonight!
Thankfully, it’s a free country, and he cannot make me come “home”. Philippine Citizenship is always an option, though. 😉
Bob very good article and the comments contribute to some interesting thought. In my opinion I don’t see an anwer. There are pockets of success but nationally it is not attractive. Foreign investment is slow due to corruption and as you brought up in your previous article unreliable infrastructure. I think that in a short time China and other economic powers in the region will gain concessions from the political machine and use the Philippines as a natural resource in one way or another. I hate to even think this but that will just be another form of colonization. The leadership both economic and political don’t seem to care much for the Filipino but for their own agenda which is power and financial gain. Honestly the Philippines is a failed state. That is not to say the Filipino is a failure as they are a bright star in almost every area. Its the Filipino that leads and manages that has diminished the nation’s potential. Ron
Hi Ron – Like you, I see no answer, at least no easy one. Your feelings about what China might do are probably right on track.
bob,
many of philippines products like import quality fresh bananas and mangoes are not sold in the philippines, they are sold abroad, you will also not see those fresh juices because raw fruits from the philippines are sold to juice manufacturers abroad, believe it or not, coconut juice in cans that are sold here with a markings “made in thailand” is actually a product of philippines.
You could say that philippine is not a manufacturer for consumer but rather a supplier of raw materials.
Hi dans – Yes, I am aware of the “export quality” stuff not being sold here, and it is very apparent, because the quality of products being sold here is very poor. The problem with being a supplier of raw materials is that all of the value is added on the manufacturer end, not on the raw materials end, so the money is being made elsewhere.
bob,
haha I got “Import” and “Export” mixed up, in my point of view since i am abroad, it is “imported” and to your point of view it is “exported”, anyway, there are many philippine products here specially fresh fruits and they are of high quality, as a matter of fact, one company here that manufacture “fresh mango and fresh guava” juices in a box gets their mango from.. guess where?? – philippines.
this also reminds me of an undergarment company from the states, the garments are 100% made in the philippines and it will be sent to US just to have a “made in the usa” tag and pack it in a fancy box and sent back again to the philippines to be sold as “usa product” – I know this because my sister-in-law works for that company.
Hi dans – the Philippines will never get ahead if it just sends it’s raw materials elsewhere for the value added services.
I have been very well satisfied with some undergarments I have purchased in The Philippines that are tagged ” Made In Philippines “. On my first visit, the airline lost my luggage. On the day after my arrival my Filipino friends took me to Gaisano to some clothes. I decided that if I could find things made in The Philippines that is what I would like to buy. I bought some undershirts ( white T Shirt ) branded ” Guitar ” and some undershorts branded ” Warren “.
Since that first visit, I have found these undergarments to be comfortable, and of long lasting quality. On each visit since then, I have bought more of them.
Three days later, my lost luggage was delivered to my Hotel.
Once upon a time the Philippines were developing new breeds of rice in U.P. Los Banos, Laguna. Students from Southeast Asia were able to learn and apply the new technology to their own country. Now, Thailand is one of the biggest exporters of rice in the world. One of those varieties is called “Milagrosa” rice. I see them here, buy it monthly, eat it everyday and its produced in Thailand. GEEZZZZ!!!!
What happened? According to wikipedia the Philippines have 14 major varieties of rice and 80 other varieties with all the color you can think of (red, brown, black, white glutenous rice). Where are all those varieties? Do we still have rice paddies in the Philippines? When I was growing up and during the weekends we used to go to Pansol, Laguna to spend some time in a resort, and in going there I used to see lines upon lines of rice paddies along the SLEX. Now, you will see rows upon rows of Malls and subdivisions along the way. GEEEEZZZZ!!! There must be something wrong with the urban development somewhere.
You are right, of course, jonathan. The IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) is the place here in the Philippines where much of this research was done. Now, there are plenty of malls and such, all filled with products imported from around the world, with very few products of the Philippines!
It’s true Bob. Philippines can’t seem to manufacture even the smallest of things. A simple nail cutters or fliers, you’d see it was made from Taiwan. These all things maybe is the after effect of past administrations negligence. We all agree here that in the 60s Philippines is not far behind in progress compared to other Asian nation, but that can’t be said now. The Government should get the full blame for this. I think if the leaders of today can give some incentives to inventors or manufacturers it can be a good start. During Pres. Ramos term, they initiated a project aimed for people to start and become a small and medium entrepreneurs. You know giving loans to small businessmen for starting capital. That’s one good project, but I don’t know what happened to that now. In essence maybe another contributing factor to this whole mess has something to do with change of leadership. Wherein after elections the coming administration put down projects of her/his predecessor even though it’s good for the country. Take for example the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. In this time of surge in fuel prices and high price in generating power, this Power Plant should have been put in good use if it was rehabilitated. But since it was built by not so good past administration, they didn’t bother utilizing its potential.
I agree Louie, the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was the brainchild of Marcos. It was one of the many visions of that past administration even at their corruptest stage, along with the LRT project and interconnecting highways. I’m not saying that I’m pro-Marcos but at least he has a vision. The succeeding leaders lack this, save for Cory Aquino because she was fixing the political turmoil, but Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo (more corrupt than Marcos) and now Aquino III (I just hope he won’t be like the rest)? What have they done? Do they have a vision for the country? Why am I still an OFW (lol)?
Hi louie – You are right on so many things. For me, I personally believe that President Ramos was the best of all post-Marcos Presidents. If he only had more time to get more of his projects rolling.
Thanks Jonathan. Btw, at present times being an OFW in many ways is better, lucky you, lol. Many our kababayans, my relatives here, are dreaming of working abroad. Working here in our country all our lives won’t be rewarding financially. We longed for a time when Philippines can provide jobs to many Filipinos and need not go abroad to earn more and save for their future when they go back home.
Yes I’m one of the lucky ones, sort of. But really, Louie, working away from home is too much to bear especially I’ve been working abroad since 1992. I really wanna go home and spend more time with my family while working and be like Bob!
Louie – You can make good money in the Philippines, if you think outside the box.
Hi Bob- I agree among them I think Ramos is ok albeit with some controversies too. Upon assumption of office he presented the Philippines to the world as one good investment destination and made positive responses. He solved the power crises during that time and initiated some good reforms.
That’ s one thing that Ramos’ temporarily solved, the power crises, because Congress gave him absolute power to approve BOT schemes (build-operate-transfer) without public biddings. It later resulted to higher costs of electricity which we are all suffering from now.
I remember working at an office in Quiapo during the latter-days of Cory’s administration and the power will be cut-off for like 4 hours or more a day. We had computers running and it would just stop and people starts chit chatting (lol). Eventually, our employer set-up his own generators so he could power up the office and the manufacturing plant. It was costly though.
Ramos put the Philippines on the world stage during his administration. Today, unfortunately, in too many instances the country is a laughing stock to the world.
It is a sad thing to see the Philippines going downhill after World War II, while the rest of the Asian countries made their uphill climb. And it is still going downhill today. Part of the cause is the Spanish Overlords and the Elite keeping the country poor, in order to maintain their power thru a Feudal System that is a “Demockracy” in name only. Also the Roman Catholic Church is a big partner-in-crime.
Simple explanation of why the Philippines “Do Not” produce all of these agricultural based products (fruit juices, rice, dried fruit, etc) but keep importing them ….. Production cost (i.e. fertilizer) is too high and does not feed the farmer; Not enough land to attain the volume necessary to lower cost due to mechanization; highest power cost in Asia; government policies that only big time smugglers make money; plain pig headedness by farmers on improvemens in farming methodologies.
It is not that people have not thought about these, but rather they do not have the money/capital to implement this …. whereas the big companies (e.g. San Miguel Corp) are not too interested in doing these since they do not seem to be that much of a big money earner vis a vis other ventures, and amount of work involved.
In Chicago’s specialty stores, there is calamansi juice in a slim 8 oz can produced by Dole.
Hi DanielY – After WWII up to the mid 60’s or so the Philippines didn’t really go downhill, but was actually a powerhouse in Asia. It’s been all downhill since then, though.
Who would want to invest large amounts of capitol in in a factory, shipbuilding yard or any venture that needs large amounts of electricity when power there in expensive and unreliable?
Without a doubt, Rob. The Philippines has among the highest power rates in the world, yet it doesn’t work!
Hi Bob,
Thailand Government aimed for agricultural industrialization and got it.
In the 70’s their Government did a massive infrastructure projects like road and bridges for their farmers to be able to sell their products. The result is lots of farm are accessible so business boom follow to make juices and can agricultural products. Thailand Government is not corrupt like the Philippines and the Thai people revered King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. Bhumibol steered the people and the Government to what is Thailand now.
The Philippines in the 70’s up to the 80’s is under dictatorship and the infrastructure project are overpriced and 50% of money pocketed by the corrupt cronies. Even now if you look at it. the national road around mindanao is only 2 lanes. The Philippines did not focus on Agriculture but electronic parts. The Philippine market also focuses to the U.S. and Japan. Meaning Pineapple, Mango and Banana produce. It is slowly changing though but the Philippines economy is humming now as it should have 25 years ago. I hope it will catch up as a result of the infrastructure projects done during the Arroyo administration.
Toting
Hi Toting – In many respects the Philippines is doing much better than most of the world economically right now. I don’t know that I would say that the Philippine economy is humming. 😉
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Hi Bob,
What I meant about humming is, it is running smoothly.
according to Merriam Webster:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humming
Hum is to run smoothly
I totally agree that the Philippine Economy is one of the best performer right now.
Toting
Hi Toting – Oh, I understand what you meant when you said “humming”. I just don’t agree that the economy here is humming. Lots of people have no work, etc…. for me, the economy here is doing better than much of the world, but a long way from humming. 😆
Hi Bob,
I guess we have a different basis. After the EDSA uprising the Philippine economy started to move. During the Marcos era the Philippine economy contracted but now at least the Philippine economy has expanded and still projected to expand. It is still an emerging market therefore many people are still unemployed but not as much compared 20/10 years ago. The Philippines can not jump from underdeveloped to developed in just a few decades. It will need at least 50 more years to catch on (in my opinion. I would still say it is humming because it is projected to expand at 5.1% compared to other countries. I based it on the economic expansion not unemployment(It will always be there and every country will have it).Unemployment rate is based on people seeking work only not not on idle people).
C’est la vie !
Toting
Last year, China’s economy grew by over 14%. Singapore grew by 12%. Sorry, Toting, but 5% growth is simply nothing to get excited about. In fact, the growth was less than the inflation here, so in reality there was no growth at all.
I’m so with you on this issue. For such a tropical paradise, where oh where is the juice. How many times have you ordered orange juice in a resto and got…………you guessed it, TANG!
It’s usually Tang or Hi-C, Tony! Amazing, isn’t it?
Bob – Many years ago my wife used to know nothing other than “Tang”. I’ve heard barely a mention of that name in ten years though.
Ha ha… you mean that she discovered what real juice is?
Hi Bob,
Can we blame it scale of economy?
Maybe so, what do you think?
Bob- my appologies if someone already mentioned this but I havent yet read all the posts. I just came across a site by which one can easily compare living in the Philippines to most other countries.
http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/index/PH
I’ve only looked at a few comparisons- and didnt necessarily agree with some of their conclusions, but its a great easy source of info
I went and checked out the site, and it’s quite interesting, ian. I did a comparison between Thailand and the Philippines, and Thailand came out way better. Even the things that they counted as negatives for Thailand, were positives in my view. For example, they said that if you live in Thailand you are likely to use 2.5 times the amount of electricity as somebody in the Philippines. Yeah, probably for two reasons: 1. It’s cheaper there so more people use it, and 2. More homes actually have electricity!
Having condos in both places, Thais love Air Con, I am actually cold when I visit friends homes, they will also have central air in condos not the window shaker units. Also every Thai home has a microwave, they are addicted to them, so much of their food is fast frozen , fast food now and as I learnt they are power hogs. You also don’t see Thai’s turning the on……….off heheheheheheh
😆
hi there mate
a very good posting as always and if u can not find what u are looking for mate why dont u make ur own and sell it there must be ways to go about it and it may sell too as u must start some there as all the big ones did……..god bless u and ur famliy……peter martin …tassie
Ha ha… I don’t think it would be practical for many juices, peter. But, for fruits that are readily available, making your own is certainly an option.
Bob..that is interesting that San Mig beer is brewed in the Phillipines, but I have never read where they raise hops.. barley or wheat or oats or what every they use to make all their beer…..I quess they have sugar available there from the sugar cane…They must import all the grain and hops to make all that beer.I would think by importing all the stuff to make their beer would make it expensive, Yet I hear its not to expensive…
I never really thought about that, Dan, but it is interesting to consider.
“Think about it… what product from the Philippines is truly world class?” — I can think of one, if you would call them a product: nurses. In my experience in the US, Filipino/a nurses are head and shoulders above the rest.
As for manufactured products, which is what you’re really talking about, I certainly know ambitious Filipinos here who would love to start an export business, but none of them have or could get the money required to do it, and none of them have the specialized expertise required — exporting to foreign markets isn’t simple. The only people who could undertake the kinds of businesses that you’re talking about are wealthy locals or foreign investors. Wealthy locals can make much more money in the local businesses that they already have — why try to compete in foreign countries when you are already in a system that’s highly slanted in your favor? And foreign investment is so legally treacherous and restricted here — most investors would prefer to go somewhere more predictable. (The latter is not necessarily a bad thing, in my opinion — I don’t think having rapacious foreign companies come in a turn the RP into a nation of marginally paid factory workers would be an improvement.) What really needs to happen is a system that isn’t run purely for the benefit of a few wealthy families. Not holding my breath on that one.
Jack
Hi Jack – Maybe you didn’t read through the comments, but we already discussed this. Nurses are people, not products. I know you don’t mean to do it, but saying that really makes objects out of them, and in my opinion is disrespectful (I know you don’t mean it that way). Exporting the best and brightest people in the Philippines is killing this country.
HI Bob, just crossed my mind, Phils companies is popping up in major California cities, NY and Asian Countries: Seafood City, Jollibee & Chow King. SM Malls will soon open in other Asian countries as well, but dunno how many % of Phil made product the store sells. But Walmart here in the US mostly carry products made in China.
Well..one thing for sure on Wallmart..they will stock what ever they can find and get the best deal on. They do not care where they get it as long as they can get it cheap..stack it deep and make people think they are selling it cheap.If for example there was per say……a big company or a lot of big companys that manufactured things or products in the Phillipines that was of interest to Wallmart and they could buy cheap enough then they would and then in Wallmart stores you would see made in the Phillipines on a lot of stuff.My self would like to see more stuff in Wallmart that was made some place besides China….
Problem is, Dan, Philippine products mostly are too expensive for Walmart. China is so much more competitive than the Philippines, it would be hard to ever get into mass marketing like that.
Oh…thats interesting Bob…so what you are saying is that the workers in the Phillipines make more money than the workers in China? For some reason I thought the workers in China made pretty good wages now days….I mean nothing compared to western countries per say, but thought more than what a worker in the Phillipines makes…I quess I was thinking wrong….
Hi Dan – I think that the workers in the Philippines make quite a bit more than the average worker in China. However, I know for sure that Philippine labor is the most expensive in SE Asia. There have been a number of studies on this, and the Philippines always comes out as the most expensive.
I have never experienced dealing with a call center located in China, but I do frequently with either India or the Philippines. If Philippine labor is more expensive than Chinese, how do you explain the abundance of U.S. call centers located in the Philippines as compared to China, Bob? Could it be that English language proficiency of the average Filipino may be a notch above that of the average Chinese?
To date, to my knowledge, call centers have not been a major Chinese business. I would guess it is because of language skills.
I think in some cases, Walmart will inform a manufacturer if they can make something for a selling price that Walmart dictates to the manufacturer they will sell that product in their stores.
Ricardo, the labour cost is about 25% in factor. China has positioned itself to take over the RP in terms of call centres within 2 years. Facilites and infrastructure are the main issues, as an expample when Telus had over 200 employee’s MIA for two weeks, after Ondoy Telus, HP and Travelport all opened new facilites in China.
In terms of English skills, keep in mind 1/3 of the population in China speak English and are fluent in more languages than the RP can ever hope for. Quebecois, Portuguese Brasilian. I don’t know who started this English is spoken in the RP since I hear nose bleed all the time.
Call any call centre in the RP and say Z (the proper way Zaid, not the zzzz thing)
Hey, John, I heard Koreans resort to piercing their tongues to get rid of their accents when speaking English.
I would be surprised if China becomes a major call center location within the next decade.
Bob..thats good to know then that the Phillipine worker {lucky enough to have a job} makes pretty good money then there. I quess then why there are so many OFW’s ,is that there are 2 many people there for what pretty good jobs there are avaiable then. Also from what I hear if you are over 30 then you are out of luck for a job pretty much.I am sure that as closed down as China is for any real information about a lot of things there in that country, that they probably have a lot of sweat factories…places where the people are near slaves and work long,long hours for very little money…It will get interesting as time goes by…all the Asian countries what to make more stuff and export more and etc. If they do not get it together here in the USA some of them will have to find other places to export to..They say there is no inflation here but I beg to differ on that….example..at Wall Mart…..a year ago a pair of certain kind of jeans was like around $9.99 and now around $12.50 or so…that is near 20% increase..that is just one example…food is going up all the time also..but the goverment, or those in the know say we are at low inflation….The more I think about all of this I really think that all the corrupt countries out there, learned it from the good old USA….any way it good to hear that some of the workers there in the Phillipines make pretty good wages and I quess if the countrie could do more on that this post was all about in the 1st place then there could be more half way decent jobs there…but as they say……all good things take time!
Ha ha… we look at this differently, Dan. I feel sorry for the Filipino worker. Because wages and benefits have been set so high, few jobs come to the Philippines, they go to China, Thailand and Vietnam instead. If Filipino wages/benefits were set at a more reasonable level there would be more jobs available here.
Oh my goodness, I have to agree with most of what has been written here….but as far as not being able to find good web developers in the Philippines. That is simply not true. A couple of years ago I worked for a large cargo container company in America. I was in charge of website development and SEO.
We found GREAT website builders in the Philippines and we had tough standards. The websites we had built were first class in every way.
I recently decided to get back into website development and SEO. I have found so many good designers I didn’t even know who to hire. Many of them deliver a first class product. And I am not talking about simple affiliate sites. These are FANTASTIC sites.
In fact as of now I am putting a website development business together along with SEO and fili
will play a huge role in this. Don’t get me started on so many of the brutally bad SEO companies and website builders in the United States. The poor job many of them are doing is almost criminal.
Anyway, there are a LOT of high quality website builders in the Philippines….why the Philippines cannot make other world class products, especially in the food department, I will never know. They certainly have the natural resources to make first class products.
Just another thing about the Philippines that is hard to understand.
Todd, having hired and fired over 250 developers in the RP when I made the comment it wasnt for freelancers, it is for highly trained HTML/Java/MySQl/Mobi/Flash/App builder types, the high end guys who make 100K USD plus. The basement developers can be found anywhere in the world, and some places they are super cheap. We reacted and outsourced to China and Thailand for two reasons, lack of quality talent and turnover. BTW we weren’t paying peanuts start was 130K a month PHP.
I like the ube ice-cream…… but I don’t buy it that much because it’s very expensive…
Hi JC – Perhaps I am wrong, but I don’t see the world running to get Ube ice cream. I like Ube ice cream, but I would not classify it as a world class product. I would bet that 99% of the people in the world don’t even know what ube is, let along eat the ice cream! 😉
Hi, Bob. Thanks for this website. I accidentally found it while browing the internet on “Why Filipinos have no acceptance of gray hair in their old age”. I got sidetracked and started reading all the postings in your site. Very interesting, indeed, that non-Filipinos are showing care and concern for our country as evident in this forum. I immigrated to Canada 34 years ago. I got to visit the the Philippines only once in all those years, that was in 2008. I stayed mostly in Manila where I was born. It’s sad how the country has deteriorated even within those threee decades after I left. However, despite the disheartening situation (i.e., the gross poverty of so many people) that I saw, I could still see a glimmer of hope. The Philippines has lots of potential – its people being number one. If only the people in the government could change for the better and start caring for the country and its people instead of just enriching themselves and their cronies. A lot of things said in the thread of postings are right. The Philippines is a country of many contradictions. I hope and pray that things could still get better for us, starting with a sense of nationalistic spirit of the government officials – meaning do things that are good for the country and stop the graft and corruption that have gone on for so long already.
Just two days ago, I went to a prayer breakfast with my sister. I was touched by the comment of a lady sitting with us whom we never met before. She said, “Filipinos are like orchids scattered everywhere they go”. What a generous compliment for us as a people, especially for the fact what we often hear from the media are deragatory news and information about the Philippines and the Filipinos. So I say “Mabuhay” to that lovely elderly lady for those kind, uplifting words.
Thank you all and God bless!
Hi Celia – Thank you for your nice comment, and I am happy that you like the site.
Of course, I have care and concern for the Philippines, because I have been living here for 11 years already. Just as I am sure that you have care and concern for Canada, right? 😀
in a Walmart Superstore just about half of the grocery store is refrigerated. Compare that with SM which on last visit was maybe 1/6.
For me, I think that everything in SM that needs to be refrigerated is. If WalMart is 1/2 refrigerated, I’d say they are wasting energy.
That is why education is very important. Philippines is known to be rich in resources yet there isn’t enough technology to optimize it. That is where education comes in. In the Philippines, 6.2 million primary-school aged children are not in school. Unfortunately, only one-third of young Filipino children enjoy early childhood development classes(© Save the Children). In summary, there are many factors that hinders the education of children in the Philippines. Education is very significant because Filipino people lack of motivation to do something better for the benefit of their country and its countrymen. As what my professor said, “We need to plant in mind of the younger generations the passion to help the Philippines progress.”.