Philippines: Wealthiest Nation on Earth?, Following Shambhalista's Dubai Philippine gold Options

[matigasngulo]

Gawd, it's just an op-ed piece; it's Mr. Mangun's job to be permabullish about the Filipino economy.

And you do know the Philippine economy grew the last quarters, right ? And that there's lots of hot money going around ?

[azaz]

For the benefit of new readers:

The Vatican manipulates the Philippines through its exploitation Roman Catholic church. Most Filipinos see the Vatican as the head of the Roman Catholic faith which is of course incorrect. The Vatican is only the administrative department of the Roman Catholic church but not the church nor the head of the church. The church is the people and the head of the church is Christ, not the Vatican. But many Filipinos revere the Vatican and take whatever the Vatican says as divine- the same Vatican involved in many atrocities throughout time. The Vatican almost made a martyr out of the scientist Galileo Galilie. In the Philippines, Vatican hands are stained with the blood of Gomburza (that is, Fathers Gomez, Burgoz, and Zamora) in 1872, and in 1896, that of Rizal. Anyone who would review Philippine history would see the dark silhouette of Vatican behind the death of Rizal. Spain had no reason to execute Rizal but had all the reasons to keep Rizal alive because of his affinity with Spain. Spain could have used Rizal if Spain decided to grant liberal reforms, or independence, to the Philippines. But Vatican interest was stronger than Spain. I guess Rizal in his life had thought so many times why the friars in the Philippines were so domineering and tyrannical. I believe Rizal found Spain as was not exactly the enemy as Rizal saw who was really wearing the Spanish crown and wielding power in the Philippines. But Rizal had to awaken first the mind, soul, the innermost being of the Filipinos. The Vatican made a martyr out of Rizal and left his blood in the hands of Spain (just like Pharisees putting the death of Jesus in the hands of Rome- which Pilate symbolically washed away). But the execution of Rizal was 114 years ago and the death of Rizal may not anymore interest many Filipinos today. But how about just 27 years ago? On August 21, 1983? The bucket of mystery on the assassination of Ninoy stopped at Danding Cojuangco. But who owns the bucket? Some say Danding had a multi-million dollar reason to eliminate Ninoy, but the Vatican, at the same time had a multi-TRILLION dollar reason to cut down the power of Marcos who wrested the control of Philippine gold from Vatican hands. And what could be the best scheme to shut down the entire Marcos machinery? Nothing else.... but the martyrdom of Ninoy,

The mortal organization Vatican cannot forever oppose the immortal God. But can Pope Benedict XVI do a Gorbachev?If he does, the Pope should bring along with him a company of German special forces. The Swiss sentinels around the Pope may have grounded their loyalty to the organization, and not to the Pope, and not to Christ anymore. A reformation of this magnitude would bring the Roman Catholic church to its foundation of humility, poverty and holiness. There would be a wealth of information on the Philippines if those archives are opened: the inventory of Philippine gold and the list of Filipino royalties, the dispatches between Manila and Vatican during the trial of Rizal, the dispatches between Manila, Vatican, Washington and Madrid preluding the the Fil-American war, the files of Severino Garcia Santa Romana, ex-Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, and Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. I will not be surprised if one large room is devoted to Philippine records. After all, the Philippines has been the Vatican's colony for hundreds of years as well as a major source of Vatican income. Is the reformation of the Roman Catholic church possible? Of course it is. Even God reformed heaven and ejected Lucifer along with one-third of the angels. It is a change that should be done and be done as soon as possible because God's patience is not eternal with regards to evil. The Roman Catholic church will reform because God demands its reformation whether the church likes it or not. And when it reforms and changes, where will the Philippines be? I believe most will be dumbfounded of the overwhelming revelations. Can the Philippines nobly and sagaciously handle the information and wealth that will come before them? Will Filipinos be defused of arrogant ignorance by the time they are needed to react? God works day and night and at least we should be aware of it for our self-imposed ignorance is unacceptable on a matter that should be of national interest.


Two weeks ago, no. of views on this tread I remember was 49,949. I was looking forward to greeting our readers as views reach the 50,000 mark in a week's time. But I noticed it went down to 48,000 and now slowly climbing to 49,000 again. Was somebody able to hack AF and did a "dagdag-bawas" or "bawas-dagdag". Anyway, maybe it was a computer glitch or my mistake in looking at the tally. Our tread here has attracted the attention of all kinds of people and organizations. To all, hello. As a Roman Catholic, I have already given some out of the ordinary contributions to the church, like, an article on the biblical perspective on death penalty that was taken in a Philippine senate interpellation at the height of the discussion on the issue on Feb. 2, 1993, while, two other biblical perspective articles were acknowledged by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin. His personally signed letters of acknowledgement are now treasures to me. Therefore, I believe no one can say that I write against our Roman Catholic church nor the Vatican per se. It is just that the light of reason (as Rizal would say) has been exposing the hundreds of years of damages inflicted by the insidious Vatican interest in the Philippines that has not only deprived this land of its ancient wealth but also has taken its nationalist, patriots and statesmen. Some fear chaos because of this truth but it is just a probable consequence after being awaken from a state of ignorance. Are you going to wait for a pandemonium? It cannot be suppressed because no one can block God's Truth and Will. It will be like a rushing river breaking through and crushing man made fabrications. All these years, you think you have withstood the pressure and remained unnoticed but God is just waiting for you to be puffed up with pride and confidence, and then He will open the gates of truth, and the flood will overwhelm you. Vatican, you cannot go against God. Remove your fabrications and release Filipinas. You executed Dr. Jose Rizal because he directly opposed you. You collaborated with the Americans to annihilate the Filipino republic when you had no more use for Spain to secure the gold for yourself. Your silhouette draped the assassination of our supposedly future president before, Sen. Benigno S. Aquino Jr.--- a scheme that toppled Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos who took the control of Philippine gold from your hands. The souls of our patriots have become immortal and have seen the end of your treachery


We are in this forum because as the late Don Enrique Zobel lamented, this issue, a national concern, is shunned by our Philippine government. I do not think we lack nationalist in government. It is only that the pressure from foreign interests like the Vatican (custodian of Philippine gold) and the United States (with 132,000 metric tons to account for according to the Fr. Marcelino Tagle) are so severe that this matter is not allowed to take root in any government agency (well you can mention again the PCGG, but its mandate is limited to Marcos wealth and I think meant only to pin down Marcos--- a smokescreen to the Vatican and the US Treasury). I believe the Philippine National Treasury should be the lead agency responsible on this matter supported by other government agencies like the National Security Council, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the National Bureau of Investigation, to start with. But if our leaders themselves label this issue a myth, where will these government agencies get the initiative to start? The Philippine Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigation on Oct. 1999 fizzled due to the failure to present physical evidences in spite of the seemingly overwhelming and authentic documents on the table. Who would bring a metric tons of gold to convince the senators anyway? It was also common sense that the locations of the physical gold revealed by Don Enrique Zobel had been changed. Apparently, Zobel had a 10 year old information on the locations and, Philippine gold, being a precious commodity and very controversial, could had changed locations many times in that span of 10 years. With the influence and the logistics at the hands of the Vatican and the US Treasury, they could transport those bullion anywhere around the globe in less than a day. Second, though it was a valiant effort by the Philippine Senate to initiate an investigation, our senators, and I think Filipinos in general, were cowed by the mere thought of dragging the US Treasury or the Vatican into the issue (a trait that paired well with Vatican & US interest). And our national leaders' decision to bury the whole matter as a myth gave the Vatican, the US Treasury, and all other entities holding Philippine gold a free hand. In other words, they can do whatever they wanted now that Philippine gold is a myth in the Philippines. Of course, you can imagine how the bankers around the world laughed at the Filipinos. Who would respect a people who chose to remain ignorant and would abandon their own wealth. I can feel how Don Enrique Zobel felt that moment as he looked around that day when the Filipinos played well in a scheme to lose their own wealth and dignity. I do not personally know Mr. Zobel but may his soul hear my gratitude for his love of country and his revelations. He deserves to be remembered: Don Enrique Zobel, a Filipino patriot.

But woe to you Vatican. You are as stubborn as the Pharaoh of Egypt. You have the confidence of Sennacherib and the indulgence of Belshazzar. The God of Heaven and Earth, of Abraham, of Israel, Jesus Christ the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit despise you Vatican. Even Mary, the Mother of Christ, whose name you utter to implore will not tolerate you for she knew the pains that treachery and hypocrisy bring. No saint will take your side. The images of the saints that embellish your dwellings will condemn you. Remove your fabrications. Release Filipinas...

This post has been edited by azaz: Dec 13 2010, 06:42 AM

[higaynon]

Laundering scandal rocks Vatican Bank
By VICTOR L. SIMPSON and NICOLE WINFIELD
December 12, 2010, 5:05pm

VATICAN CITY (AP) – This is no ordinary bank: The ATMs are in Latin. Priests use a private entrance. A life-size portrait of Pope Benedict XVI hangs on the wall.

Nevertheless, the Institute for Religious Works is a bank, and it is under harsh new scrutiny in a case involving money-laundering allegations that led police to seize euro23 million (P1.31 billion) in Vatican assets in September. Critics say the case shows that the “Vatican Bank” has never shed its penchant for secrecy and scandal.

The Vatican calls the seizure of assets a “misunderstanding” and expresses optimism it will be quickly cleared up. But court documents show that prosecutors say the Vatican Bank deliberately flouted anti-laundering laws “with the aim of hiding the ownership, destination and origin of the capital.” The documents also reveal investigators’ suspicions that clergy may have acted as fronts for corrupt businessmen and Mafia.

The documents pinpoint two transactions that have not been reported: one in 2009 involving the use of a false name, and another in 2010 in which the Vatican Bank withdrew euro650,000 (P37.55 billion) from an Italian bank account but ignored bank requests to disclose where the money was headed.

The new allegations of financial impropriety could not come at a worse time for the Vatican, already hit by revelations that it sheltered pedophile priests. The corruption probe has given new hope to Holocaust survivors who tried unsuccessfully to sue the United States, alleging that Nazi loot was stored in the Vatican Bank.

Yet the scandal is hardly the first for the centuries-old bank.

In 1986, a Vatican financial adviser died after drinking cyanide-laced coffee in prison. Another was found dangling from a rope under London's Blackfriars Bridge in 1982, his pockets stuffed with money and stones. The incidents blackened the bank's reputation, raised suspicions of ties with the Mafia, and cost the Vatican hundreds of millions of dollars in legal clashes with Italian authorities.

On Sept. 21, financial police seized assets from a Vatican Bank account at the Rome branch of Credito Artigiano SpA. Investigators said the Vatican had failed to furnish information on the origin or destination of the funds as required by Italian law.

The bulk of the money, euro20 million (P1.14 billion), was destined for the American JP Morgan bank branch in Frankfurt, Germany, with the remainder going to Banca del Fucino, an Italian bank.

Prosecutors alleged the Vatican ignored regulations that foreign banks must communicate to Italian financial authorities where their money has come from. All banks have declined to comment.

In another case, financial police in Sicily said in late October that they had uncovered money laundering involving the use of a Vatican Bank account by a priest in Rome whose uncle was convicted of Mafia association.

Authorities say some euro250,000, illegally obtained from the regional government of Sicily for a fish breeding company, was sent to the priest by his father as a “charitable donation,” then sent back to Sicily from a Vatican Bank account using a series of home banking operations to make it difficult to trace.

The prosecutors' office stated in court papers last month that while the bank has expressed a “generic and stated will” to conform to international standards, “there is no sign that the institutions of the Catholic church are moving in that direction.” It said its investigation had found “exactly the opposite.”

Legal waters are murky because of the Vatican's special status as an independent state within Italy. This time, Italian investigators were able to move against the Vatican Bank because the Bank of Italy classifies it as a foreign financial institution operating in Italy.

However, in one of the 1980s scandals, prosecutors could not arrest then-bank head Paul Marcinkus, an American archbishop, because Italy's highest court ruled he had immunity.

This post has been edited by higaynon: Dec 13 2010, 08:46 AM

[matigasngulo]

no really, i think the laughing Aquinos are overdoing it a bit, maybe that was an executive order lol

[azaz]

And this is to remind the Vatican:


...You executed Dr. Jose Rizal because he directly opposed you. You collaborated with the Americans to annihilate the Filipino republic when you had no more use for Spain to secure the gold for yourself. Your silhouette draped the assassination of our supposedly future president before, Sen. Benigno S. Aquino Jr.--- a scheme that toppled Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos who took the control of Philippine gold from your hands. The souls of our patriots have become immortal and have seen the end of your treachery.

...woe to you Vatican. You are as stubborn as the Pharaoh of Egypt. You have the confidence of Sennacherib and the indulgence of Belshazzar. The God of Heaven and Earth, of Abraham, of Israel, Jesus Christ the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit despise you Vatican. Even Mary, the Mother of Christ, whose name you utter to implore will not tolerate you for she knew the pains that treachery and hypocrisy bring. No saint will take your side. The images of the saints that embellish your dwellings will condemn you. Remove your fabrications. Release Filipinas...

This post has been edited by azaz: Dec 18 2010, 12:29 AM

[matigasngulo]

The 21st century has been called the “Asian Century.” The term was first used during a 1988 meeting between Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

We are supposedly in the “Asian Century” because of the population size and growth of Asia and the fact that the economic growth in the region has been stronger than the rest of the world for the last decade. Of course, when most people think and speak of Asia, they really mean China.

It would seem then that Asia’s time has finally come. But is that accurate?

In1800, Asia contained about 50 percent of the world’s population just the way it does now. In 1800, Asia accounted for approximately 50 percent of the global output of goods and economic activity. However, by 1900, Asia still held 50 percent of the world’s population but its contribution to global gross domestic product (GDP) had dropped to about 20 percent. This was due to the industrialization of the West in which Asia did not participate. You could argue that perhaps colonization by the West of Asia limited its industrialization. That may be only partially true. China and Japan were not colonies. However, the reasons Asia failed to modernize its economies are not vitally important. It is simply a fact that in terms of economic development, Asia did very little between 1800 and 1950. The balance of global economic power became unbalanced in favor of Europe and the US because Asia stayed out of the economic- development game.

If the 21st century is truly the “Asian Century,” it is because Asia finally decided to come out of a 150-year economic slumber.

The reason I offer this historical perspective is that over the last few months, many e-mail have mentioned that I seem to ignore the importance of China. One e-mail last week expressed this thought most clearly. From Mr. Chua: “We cannot always think of how the US economy’s domestic policies will affect the Philippine economy. This time, China has become too influential to ignore and its self-serving economic policy changes will surely affect Asian economies. Maybe we should also take this in consideration in your future analyses.”

Allow me to answer, Mr. Chua, by asking a question: What is the exchange rate between the Philippine peso and the Chinese renminbi (RMB)? Is the peso weaker or stronger against the RMB over the last year?

I would say that you do not have any idea what the answer is. In fact, if you look at the front page of the BusinessMirror, the list of exchange rates does not even mention the RMB. Why? Because the RMB is fixed to the US dollar.

The global economy is ultimately all about currencies. Successful and unsuccessful trade balances depend in large part on currency exchange rates. Foreign investment between any two countries must look at current rates and future projections of exchange rates.

Why has there been so much foreign investment in China during this “Asian Century?” A most important reason is that the Chinese government guaranteed that investors would not be subject to any instability of the exchange rate. Unlike in the Philippines where investors made money from peso appreciation, investors in China gave up the potential benefit of an appreciating RMB for a stable rate.

Of course, as the largest neighbor in Asia, the Philippines must keep an eye on China, its economy and its economic policies. But both eyes must be continuously focused on the US because of the dollar.

Another reason this is supposedly the “Asian Century” is that the wealth from Asian nations’ foreign currency holdings. Who holds the most dollars outside of the US? Number one is China (and Hong Kong) followed by Japan (2), Taiwan (4), India (6), South Korea (7), and Singapore (10).

Maybe the Philippines should look more closely at China. But I guarantee you, all the rest of Asia knows which country’s policy moves they need to watch.

As for being a big global economic force, China warrants a closer look to validate that assumption. In 2000, China accounted for 4 percent of the global GDP. The US share was 31 percent. By 2006, the US had dropped to 26 percent while China increased to 5 percent. As of 2009, China’s portion rose to 9 percent and the US fell to 22 percent.

The story of China’s economy is not the size but the amount of increase, which is immense. But even projecting current trends to 2015, the US percentage of global GDP will still be twice the size of China’s. Further, the G-7 countries, including Japan, will still make up almost 50 percent of the world’s economic activity, nearly five times as large as China.

None of this commentary is meant to underestimate the importance of the Chinese economy, particularly to its Asian neighbors. However, China must always be put in perspective.

As long as the dollar remains the world’s reserve currency and the US economy is the dominant player on the world’s stage, the US will remain the number one 800-pound gorilla in the room.

The Philippines must not make the same mistake with China that it did with the US. For decades, the US was the only consideration for our economic policies. We cannot allow that kind of thinking and mindset now to be switched in favor of China.

[mchristopher2010]

This is what I can say. The Philippines will grow stronger despite all the threats and manipulation. You cannot stop us from becoming the leader of this world to help all mankind. The time will come for the Filipinos to know the truth about who we really are and what we are capable of. Vatican, you will not succeed, you will fail, together with other foreign controllers. Our ancient ancestors have no religion but they have god and only one god. We came from the sacred bloodline, from the LION(JUDAH) and BIRD TRIBE. The first seal is already born to destroy you as we will return to the promised land.

[foi2]

Sigh, I guess this is written by that Mangun guy again? I actually agree with part of what he says this time, except he once again misses the main point by so far I don't know where to start. I'll breakdown his argument step by step, because SE Asian economies are actually interesting to me.

The 21st century has been called the “Asian Century.” The term was first used during a 1988 meeting between Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

We are supposedly in the “Asian Century” because of the population size and growth of Asia and the fact that the economic growth in the region has been stronger than the rest of the world for the last decade. Of course, when most people think and speak of Asia, they really mean China.

It would seem then that Asia’s time has finally come. But is that accurate?

In1800, Asia contained about 50 percent of the world’s population just the way it does now. In 1800, Asia accounted for approximately 50 percent of the global output of goods and economic activity. However, by 1900, Asia still held 50 percent of the world’s population but its contribution to global gross domestic product (GDP) had dropped to about 20 percent. This was due to the industrialization of the West in which Asia did not participate. You could argue that perhaps colonization by the West of Asia limited its industrialization. That may be only partially true. China and Japan were not colonies. However, the reasons Asia failed to modernize its economies are not vitally important. It is simply a fact that in terms of economic development, Asia did very little between 1800 and 1950. The balance of global economic power became unbalanced in favor of Europe and the US because Asia stayed out of the economic- development game.

If the 21st century is truly the “Asian Century,” it is because Asia finally decided to come out of a 150-year economic slumber.

The reason I offer this historical perspective is that over the last few months, many e-mail have mentioned that I seem to ignore the importance of China. One e-mail last week expressed this thought most clearly. From Mr. Chua: “We cannot always think of how the US economy’s domestic policies will affect the Philippine economy. This time, China has become too influential to ignore and its self-serving economic policy changes will surely affect Asian economies. Maybe we should also take this in consideration in your future analyses.”

Completely irrelevant. As much fun as it is to conjecture about history, businesses and economies are ultimately forward looking. 2 hours after a earnings call and the trades are done, it's all just ancient history, nevermind stuff that happened hundreds of years ago. China isn't important economically because of its history. It's important because it's expected to be the growth engine of the world.

Allow me to answer, Mr. Chua, by asking a question: What is the exchange rate between the Philippine peso and the Chinese renminbi (RMB)? Is the peso weaker or stronger against the RMB over the last year?

I would say that you do not have any idea what the answer is. In fact, if you look at the front page of the BusinessMirror, the list of exchange rates does not even mention the RMB. Why? Because the RMB is fixed to the US dollar.

The global economy is ultimately all about currencies. Successful and unsuccessful trade balances depend in large part on currency exchange rates. Foreign investment between any two countries must look at current rates and future projections of exchange rates.

So wrong I don't know where to begin. Is this guy seriously judging the importance of an economy by whether or not the ticker of its currency appears on the Exchange rate list of his web site? Another huge mistake: the global economy is NOT all about currencies. Currencies are merely the units for exchange of goods and services; they are pieces of paper that represent what people think are legitimate claims to the goods and services the issuing country provides. It changes all the time, and is just ONE OF THE MANY factors that go into the global economy.

Case in point: The Euro was at $0.80 to the euro circa 2002, It approached $1.6 to the euro in 2008. It has since gone to about $1.3 to the Euro. Did the European economy somehow double in size between 2002 and 2008, and somehow contracted ~20% in the past year? No, of course not. It's ludicrous to assert otherwise. Currencies is just one aspect, one aspect which is often over-emphasized.

I suggest this guy go read some books about economics. Because in almost all theories of economics (Keynesian, Austrian, Monetarist, you name it), Exchange rate effects on currencies ultimately balance out over the long term. Maybe he just missed that little tidbit dozing off in Econ class.

Why has there been so much foreign investment in China during this “Asian Century?” A most important reason is that the Chinese government guaranteed that investors would not be subject to any instability of the exchange rate. Unlike in the Philippines where investors made money from peso appreciation, investors in China gave up the potential benefit of an appreciating RMB for a stable rate.

Again, so very, very wrong. China's foreign investment went up simply because it was a good place to do business. It has the right ingredients: Cheap but high quality labor, impeccable infrastructure for a developing country, complementary industries located strategically close to each other, and most important of all: favorable government policies for foreign businesses. Some of the deals that international companies got in the 90's to invest in China were ridiculously good. It's hard to say no to zero taxes and tons of subsidies for 5 years. The exchange rate is probably the LAST thing on corporation's minds when they invested in China during the boom years for foreign direct investment.

The Philippines would be better served not to emulate China's foreign exchange policy, but to emulate China's favorable business environment. Increase the quality of Labor by increasing the quality of education, and improve infrastructure. It would be foolish for the Philippines to follow China and peg the currency; it'd be a step backwards.

Of course, as the largest neighbor in Asia, the Philippines must keep an eye on China, its economy and its economic policies. But both eyes must be continuously focused on the US because of the dollar.

Another reason this is supposedly the “Asian Century” is that the wealth from Asian nations’ foreign currency holdings. Who holds the most dollars outside of the US? Number one is China (and Hong Kong) followed by Japan (2), Taiwan (4), India (6), South Korea (7), and Singapore (10).

Maybe the Philippines should look more closely at China. But I guarantee you, all the rest of Asia knows which country’s policy moves they need to watch.

As for being a big global economic force, China warrants a closer look to validate that assumption. In 2000, China accounted for 4 percent of the global GDP. The US share was 31 percent. By 2006, the US had dropped to 26 percent while China increased to 5 percent. As of 2009, China’s portion rose to 9 percent and the US fell to 22 percent.

The story of China’s economy is not the size but the amount of increase, which is immense. But even projecting current trends to 2015, the US percentage of global GDP will still be twice the size of China’s. Further, the G-7 countries, including Japan, will still make up almost 50 percent of the world’s economic activity, nearly five times as large as China.

Uh. This is where he loses all credibility. He does the math wrong on a simple projection.
China 2009 gdp = 5 trillion.
US 2009 GDP = 14.1 trillion.
In 2010, the annualized GDP growth for China was over 10%.
in 2010, the annualized GDP for the 3 quarters we have data on is roughly 2.6%.
As of today, 1 year non deliverable forwards (NDFs) on the USD-RMB Exchange rate puts us at around a 2.4% expected annual appreciation for the RMB.

So in 2015:
China = 5 trillion x (1.10 x 1.024)^6 = 10.2 Trillion USD in 2015.
US = 14.1 trillion x (1.026)^6 = 16.4 Trillion USD in 2015.

16.4 trillion is not "twice China's" 10.2 trillion.

Fail.

None of this commentary is meant to underestimate the importance of the Chinese economy, particularly to its Asian neighbors. However, China must always be put in perspective.

As long as the dollar remains the world’s reserve currency and the US economy is the dominant player on the world’s stage, the US will remain the number one 800-pound gorilla in the room.

The Philippines must not make the same mistake with China that it did with the US. For decades, the US was the only consideration for our economic policies. We cannot allow that kind of thinking and mindset now to be switched in favor of China.

Finally, something I agree with. The US is not ready to be written down yet. But it would be equally foolish to write off the other up and coming 400 pound gorilla that will grow to be a 1000 pound gorilla sometime in the next 20 years.

For Philippines, it's better to focus on what matters first: Real, pragmatic education that would result in workers that companies would actually want, not just meaningless degrees. There's been several studies done that indicate the human capital in the Philippines are probably amongst the WORST in SE Asia given its Education level. Filipinos are educated, but they are not employable. Raise the level of human capital, and you raise the competitiveness of the Philippines as an economy. This is probably priority no. 1.

Second, continue to liberalize the economy, despite what some university kooks say about the impact of liberalization. Protectionism never does anyone any good, unless the intent is to protect strategic or infant industries. There are probably some in the Philippines ready to counter this point with the fact that despite trade liberalization, the Filipino economy lies stagnant in the past couple of decades. Many will seek to blame this on lowered government spending. However, it's important to realize that more government controls and more government spending is not the answer to a prosperous economy. If that were the case, Communist countries would all be heaven. This is clearly not the case. The stagnation of the Philippines lies in its uncompetitiveness of the labor relative to its cost. When you can't compete, the answer is not to shut the doors and stop competing; that will just lower the standard of living for all Filipinos. The real answer is to become competitive. Rise to the challenge and make investing in the Philippines a good deal for International Corporations.


This post has been edited by foi2: Dec 28 2010, 05:52 PM

[trismegistos]

China isn't important economically because of its history. It's important because it's expected to be the growth engine of the world.

The sluggish and decaying Northern Economies(West) is counting on China as the engine of growth and their saviour in these trying times. China is also afflicted by the same woes as the west brought about by Speculative and virtual economies as can be seen from their real estate bubble. There is fear of a Double dip recession or another Bubble burst. China's rise is only temporary and will be short lived if the neocons and the synarchists will have it their way.

http://www.georgewashington2.blogspot.com/...ign-credit.html
http://israelfinancialexpert.blogspot.com/...ine-behind.html
http://www.propertywire.com/news/asia/-chi...1009014454.html

For Philippines, it's better to focus on what matters first: Real, pragmatic education that would result in workers that companies would actually want, not just meaningless degrees. There's been several studies done that indicate the human capital in the Philippines are probably amongst the WORST in SE Asia given its Education level. Filipinos are educated, but they are not employable. Raise the level of human capital, and you raise the competitiveness of the Philippines as an economy. This is probably priority no. 1.

Second, continue to liberalize the economy, despite what some university kooks say about the impact of liberalization. Protectionism never does anyone any good, unless the intent is to protect strategic or infant industries. There are probably some in the Philippines ready to counter this point with the fact that despite trade liberalization, the Filipino economy lies stagnant in the past couple of decades. Many will seek to blame this on lowered government spending. However, it's important to realize that more government controls and more government spending is not the answer to a prosperous economy. If that were the case, Communist countries would all be heaven. This is clearly not the case. The stagnation of the Philippines lies in its uncompetitiveness of the labor relative to its cost. When you can't compete, the answer is not to shut the doors and stop competing; that will just lower the standard of living for all Filipinos. The real answer is to become competitive. Rise to the challenge and make investing in the Philippines a good deal for International Corporations.

Various Asian countries practiced protectionism for years, and insisted on low-interest loans with no strings attached. That is why they were able to industrialize. And guess who is the most protectionistic state, the state corporatist China, of course. For decades, Philippines accepted structural adjustment policies, which included decontrol measures, a high proportion of the national budget spent on foreign debt maintenance, austerity measures or budgetary cuts and agricultural subsistence to ensure that loans are paid.

To quote EA/Ra:
Economic liberalization policies led to globalization and the galvanization of the ‘virtual economy’ based on predatory finance. The ‘virtual economy’ had led to de-industrialization, agricultural decay, decline of S&T, and deteriorating infrastructures in the most affected economies, and had fragmented developing states into ‘failed states’.

The global financial system created by the relentless liberalization of financial, fiscal and monetary policies across borders, had already collapsed and is beyond salvation using the present intervention tools.

We have highest electricity rates in Asia. Industries highly dependent on electricity will not be able to compete globally. If they will not be able to compete, those export-driven factories or companies will close and many jobs will be lost and a vicious cycle would ensue to social decay and economic malaise. What makes the electricity rates very expensive? It is because of the speculations on the Electricity Spot Market(WESM), the sovereign guaranteed contracts signed by FVR, Peso devaluation and inflation(Banker's Arithmetic), high dependence on Oil and the mothballing of the most cost-efficient Nuclear power source, the BNPP. All because of being puppet to the policies set forth by IMF-WB.

The sooner we weaned out from the Financial neocolonial oligarchic control symbolized by the IMF-WB the better. IMF and WB are synonymous to counter development of 3rd world countries.

To quote Bello:
The complex of policies that have pushed the Philippines into the economic quagmire over the last 30 years might be summed up in that formidable term: structural adjustment. Also known as neoliberal restructuring, it involved prioritization of debt repayment; conservative macroeconomic management that involving huge cutbacks in government spending; trade and financial liberalization; privatization and deregulation; and export-oriented production. Structural adjustment came to the Philippines courtesy of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization, but it was internalized and disseminated as doctrine by local technocrats and economists as doctrine.

This post has been edited by trismegistos: Dec 28 2010, 09:46 AM

[foi2]

The sooner we weaned out from the Financial neocolonial oligarchic control symbolized by the IMF-WB the better. IMF and WB are synonymous to counter development of 3rd world countries.

To quote Bello:
The complex of policies that have pushed the Philippines into the economic quagmire over the last 30 years might be summed up in that formidable term: structural adjustment. Also known as neoliberal restructuring, it involved prioritization of debt repayment; conservative macroeconomic management that involving huge cutbacks in government spending; trade and financial liberalization; privatization and deregulation; and export-oriented production. Structural adjustment came to the Philippines courtesy of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization, but it was internalized and disseminated as doctrine by local technocrats and economists as doctrine.

I agree with that to a certain extent. IMF and the WB have lost all credibility in the developing world. They prescribed things that are overly harsh, and pushed medication not based on sound economic policy, but political direction. It's difficult to give them credit when all they've done is cause pain in the developing world to further the interests of the dominant political players in the world.

However, the liberalization I'm talking about is more than just trade liberalization. Trade liberalization benefits competitive economies. In fact, it also benefits uncompetitive economies because it raises the standard of living for all, but there will be some structural displacements while the pieces fall into place. If needed, limited protectionism on key industries can make sense. But on the whole, liberalization is still better than protectionism. Certain other elements, like getting rid of burdensome regulation and agencies can help lower the cost of doing business even without opening up trade. There're plenty of things the Philippines can do to improve its position in Asia. Once it does, it can stem the outflow of foreign funds. God knows the Philippines can really use the investment cash right now. The infrastructure is in shambles, and there's plenty of room for improvement.

[kumbong]

Dear readers, Azaz is suspended from Asiafinest.
Azaz maybe banned forever, cannot register or post anymore at Asiafinest.
Azaz says that others should get a copy of his inputs.
They may get deleted. Blessed New Year!

This post has been edited by kumbong: Jan 2 2011, 06:03 AM

[mchristopher2010]

Why is AZAZ was suspended? Did he post something bad?

[trismegistos]

Why is AZAZ was suspended? Did he post something bad?

Why is an infrequent poster like azaz get suspended? For what, double posting?

Perhaps his account was hacked.

[chutzpah]

For the benefit of new readers:

The Vatican manipulates the Philippines through its exploitation Roman Catholic church. Most Filipinos see the Vatican as the head of the Roman Catholic faith which is of course incorrect. The Vatican is only the administrative department of the Roman Catholic church but not the church nor the head of the church. The church is the people and the head of the church is Christ, not the Vatican. But many Filipinos revere the Vatican and take whatever the Vatican says as divine- the same Vatican involved in many atrocities throughout time.

If indeed you have been suspended then you won't be able to answer this challenge, what a pity! But your lies can not be left unexposed.

You claim to be a Catholic yet you know precious little about the Church and the role of the Vatican and perhaps have very little understanding of the scriptures and Christ's teaching.

1st, the Vatican is the centre of the ONE, HOLY and APOSTOLIC universal Church, where Christ's vicar on earth (the pope) resides. The pope is the head of the Church on earth in persona Christie, read your cathecism if you are indeed a Catholic.

2nd, to say Filipinos take whatever the Vatican says as divine (whatever that means) is an insult to all Filipino Catholics. The Vatican may make announcement concerning many matters but it is not to be taken as divine inspirations.

It is only when the holy father the pope makes an announcement ex cathedra regarding in matter of faith (ex cathedra means from the chair - in this case the chair of Peter the 1st pope) that Catholics must obey.

3rd, what kind of attrocities did the Vatican commit?

Even though I know very little about the Philippines' history, I am quite certain the rest of your post are just garbling, because you can't even start it with the correct information to benefit the readers.

[mrconfusion87]

If indeed you have been suspended then you won't be able to answer this challenge, what a pity! But your lies can not be left unexposed.

You claim to be a Catholic yet you know precious little about the Church and the role of the Vatican and perhaps have very little understanding of the scriptures and Christ's teaching.

1st, the Vatican is the centre of the ONE, HOLY and APOSTOLIC universal Church, where Christ's vicar on earth (the pope) resides. The pope is the head of the Church on earth in persona Christie, read your cathecism if you are indeed a Catholic.

2nd, to say Filipinos take whatever the Vatican says as divine (whatever that means) is an insult to all Filipino Catholics. The Vatican may make announcement concerning many matters but it is not to be taken as divine inspirations.

It is only when the holy father the pope makes an announcement ex cathedra regarding in matter of faith (ex cathedra means from the chair - in this case the chair of Peter the 1st pope) that Catholics must obey.

3rd, what kind of attrocities did the Vatican commit?

Even though I know very little about the Philippines' history, I am quite certain the rest of your post are just garbling, because you can't even start it with the correct information to benefit the readers.

And our own Catholic Church is even more medieval than the one in Rome - much of the world's Catholic Church hierarchies have already made their peace with artificial contraceptives (in Mexico as early as the mid 1980s according to an article I've read in a Nat Geo Magazine issue from that time). They are still trying to prevent our RH bill from passing!

[azaz1]

Behind the scenes of Rizal's retraction and execution: the Vatican.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZctNDMaxuWc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjUlWvohA00...feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hleY6c0morA...feature=related

This post has been edited by azaz1: Feb 17 2011, 08:58 PM

[azaz1]

Spain welcomed Rizal's liberal thoughts but why would the Vatican be threatened? Unless the Vatican feared Rizal's enlightened mind and spirit would dislodge the Vatican from the seat of wealth and power---which the Vatican enjoys up to now.

Where is Trismegistos? Mchristopher? Matigasngulo! Higaynon? Were they also banned like Azaz (account suspended, email and software blocked!)?

This post has been edited by azaz1: Feb 26 2011, 04:50 AM

[trismegistos]

Spain welcomed Rizal's liberal thoughts but why would the Vatican be threatened? Unless the Vatican feared Rizal's enlightened mind and spirit would dislodge the Vatican from the seat of wealth and power---which the Vatican enjoys up to now.

Where is Trismegistos? Mchristopher? Matigasngulo! Higaynon? Were they also banned like Azaz (account suspended, email and software blocked!)?

Oo nga pala. Kamusta na nga pala sila?

Sir, basahin mo ito... http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showth...60#post54520760

Mabuhay Maharlikans!

[higaynon]

Oo nga pala. Kamusta na nga pala sila?

Sir, basahin mo ito... http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showth...60#post54520760

Mabuhay Maharlikans!

Present po mga masters..... ^^

LAgi ako nag che check dito everytime maka online...gaya ni sir trisme....

active ako dun sa LAFI sa pinoy exchange hehehe...

Gandang gabi sa lahat....

This post has been edited by higaynon: Mar 2 2011, 08:39 AM

[azaz1]

Good to hear from Sir Trismegistos and Sir Higaynon. Readers might think we are in some kind of secret society with these "Sirs" and "Masters" thing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It seemed that the forbearers of the Illuminati and the Vatican were comrades being together in the Crusades. Though organized between 1774 and 1776, the forbearers of the Illuminati,the mythical Priory of Sdon, the Templars, the Freemasons, all intertwined in history were said to have roots earlier than Christianity and even Judaism. But in 1307, jealousy stemmed out from the Vatican under Pope Clement V that crushed the forbearers of the Illuminati in a bloody, horrible, definitely un-Christian way of extermination. It was actually a holocaust with God as an excuse. From then on, conspiracy stories have placed the Illuminati against the Vatican. But I think, they have already come to terms. This warming up began in 1898. Pres. Mckinley,a prominent Freemason, thought it was Spanish territory the United States Navy encroached in on May 1 that year. In a few weeks, Mckinley would learn that the Spaniards were only sentinels and the archipelago was actually a Vatican possession, and would share a common interest. The begrudged Vatican might have felt requited by Mckinley's assassination in view of the Vatican's new but unwelcomed partnership with a country whose leaders have a mythical link with the Vatican's ancient enemy, the Templars, and also with the very mysterious Illuminati. Nonetheless, the Americans played its role by annihilating Filipino independence while the Vatican regrouped and licked the wounds it suffered in the revolution. Approaching the end of the Commonwealth government and the eventual independence promised by the Americans, along with the onset of the Pacific war, the Vatican sent Fr. Jose Antonio Diaz, aka, Col. Severino Garcia Santa Romana, to secure the gold in the Philippines and collaborate with the American OSS, Overseas Strategic Service, the forbearer of the Central Intelligence Agency. It seemed that two caps of authority were vested to Santa Romana, one from the Vatican, the other from the Freemason United States of America.

Filipinas, you are not yet free. The fence that surrounded you was simply pushed farther. But it is still there. Walk a little more and you will see the edge of the freedom you know and the enclosure that surrounds your reality. Its wall are stained with the blood of your patriots and around pieces of shattered dreams litter. Go and you will find. Do not stay blind and adapted to slavery even if it looks benign.

This post has been edited by azaz1: Mar 6 2011, 12:33 AM