PhilFAQS

I just got up from my after-lunch nap.  Seems as if I am short of sleep, I’m a little cranky and out of sorts.  Could be I have caught a cold bug or something like that, but one reason I am tired has to be that today I went out and paid four bills … our monthly electric bill, our BDO Visa credit card, our wireless DSL Internet bill and the cable TV bill.  No big thing, really, but everything involving paying bills and keeping your account current seems to be twice … or even three or four times as hard .. as doing the same thing in the US.

Normally, paying bills is nothing but a quick little task to get out of the way and move on to pleasanter things … as long as you have the money to pay the bills … what could the problem be?  Well there are several things which make bill paying much less enjoyable here, and the main one is … it’s damn hard just to get your bills!

Since I was a little boy … that would have been a couple years after Wells Fargo stage coaches stopped being a primary source of mail transport … people have enjoyed nothing more than (as Randy says, “Talking Smack”) about the US Postal Service.

WHAT!?  The cost of a stamp is now $0.42 cents?  WHAT!?, It takes three days or even 5 days to get a letter from New York to California?  OMG!, you will not believe the lines at the post office around Christmas time mailing packages … I’m sure you have a few other choice “moans” you can add yourself.

Fellow Americans?  You don’t know what a privilege and convenience it is just to be able to be able to put a stamp on an envelope and expect it to be delivered.  You really don’t know how useful it is to have a place you can go to and stand in line, where even as the pace seems slow, at the end of the wait a competent clerk will take your package, charge you a few bucks and get it to the destination in reasonable time … you can even pay a few cents more and be able to track your package from your computer or cell phone.  Next time the USPS does something which upsets you, or asks congress for another 2 cent increase in First Class postage, remember this … you’ll never, ever have a problem like that in the Philippines … because for practical purposes, there just is no postal system here.  You just never know how good you have it sometimes, until you have to deal with life without it.

Technically, there is a Philippines Postal Service.  Here’s their web site and they do offer many services similar to the US postal system, at least for International mail.  Heck, our good friend Bob used to run a business using PhilPost to send his “sold” items to the US for delivery.  So they can’t be all bad.  But from my experience, frankly, you can just forget about them.

In just a few weeks we will have lived here at this same address, almost within site of Metro Manila, for two full years.  The PhilPost delivery man has been to our house exactly four times in two years.  One of those times was to deliver a notification that I had a parcel waiting at the local post office and that if I had a properly issued and paid for government postal ID I could go an pick it up .. “We don’t deliver packages to the home.”  I don’t have a postal ID, but luckily my father-in-law does, so I went and fetched daddy and the two of us drove to the little hovel in nearby Marilao that serves as our local post office.  You can tell where it is because in front of it are the only unoccupied parking spaces on the whole block … they are u8noccupied because in front of the post office are signs in the street that say, Post office, No parking.  I guess the spaces are reserved n case the presidential helicopter wants to land there, but customers need to find their own solutions.  (I did get the package, by the way).

But think about those average of 2 visits per year by the mailman.  That means you might as well forget about being able to get your bills by mail.  I must be a real Hell on earth to run a business here with monthly billing … there is no way to get bills into the hands of customers on time … some customers can be ‘trained” like I am, to just pay without a bill … which leads to things like three months difference between my records and the cable company’s.  Hopefully, it’ll catch up by November, else I’ll have to deal with that before I pay the next bill there, too.

Other people for sure are just not going to pay until they get a bill, so the business owner can either cut them off and lose their business forever, or ‘carry’ them along on credit and hope he can get his own suppliers to carry him.

Enough bitching … but Dave’s mental attitude aside, this is a huge problem for the Philippines.  It stifles the economy and makes life very difficult for the average “Joe” and “Juan” just to do the simple tings in life like keep the lights turned on.

I want to send out a great big thank you to the fellows and gals at the Galley Road station, 80915 and to every other member of the US Postal Service who has done so much to help me over the years.  If you get mail through the USPS, run outside the next time your carrier comes by and give him a big hug … or a cup of coffee and a thank you, because if you move here you’re going to miss him or her.  Trust me, you will.

Now I am not trying to say that this guy walked out of jail because someone forgot to lock the door, but if I had a dollar for every high-profile prisoner who has escaped from jail in the two years I have lived here … well, I’d have a few dollars I can tell you. Sadly, this kind of stuff is in the paper nearly every day:

Suspect in deadly Philippines bombing escapes from jail: official

MANILA (AFP) — A key suspect in the 2007 bombing of the Philippine parliament building that killed seven people has escaped from prison, the justice minister said Tuesday.

Jail guards announced Ikram Indama was missing from his cell at the national police headquarters on Sunday, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez told reporters.

Indama, from the southern Philippines, and two other suspects were arrested and then indicted in December for multiple murder over the November 13, 2007 bombing of the House of Representatives…  Full escape article here:

Yep, you read that right. A guy who quite possibly blew up a couple bombs in the entryway of the House of Reprentatives and killed as many as 8 people just turns up missing one morning. Kind of makes a guy wonder.

A few months back there was an even stranger case. A convicted child rapist appealed and re-appealed his sentence while in jail and finally got some court to agree to give him an early release. Or at least that was what was reported in the papers. He left the jail, returned to his home province and made the weekend news by throwing himself a big welcome home party.

Come Monday morning the President was upset, did some checking, and found that the supposed release order was, not legal … it was more of a newspaper report thna a legal document.

The rapist was returned to custody. Upon investigating what went wrong, the President fired the chief of the Department tof Corrections due to the circumstances of the illegal release of a notorious, high-profile crim9nal with no legal order.

The fired gentleman’s response: “I’m being made a scapegoat here. I didn’t illegally release the prisoner, the prisoner just walked out.”

Anybody else consider that as a pretty strange way of weasel wording things? So how many other prisoners are in a position to just “walk out”?

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve mentioned previously how titles and forms of address are much more important here in the Philippines.  It’s a little something that isn’t a big deal to most foreigners (it can even be a bit amusing, such as the part-time commissioned water bill collector in our neighborhood who insists she be addresses formally as "Collector de la Cruz", never Ms. or Mrs. de la Cruz).  Just a little part of the culture you need to be aware of, and likely should go along with to make things ‘flow’ easier in your life.

Medical professionals are normally addressed as doctor or doctora … this is quite common in the US so it won’t feel all that strange.  But basically any other professional person, with 4 years of college or more, has earned an official form of address as well.  An engineer is always addressed as such, a lawyer is always "attorney", even a 4yer chemistry graduate will undergo official exams, licensure and has earned the right to be "Chemist de la Cruz".  (here’s an interesting site I came across that tries to keep close track of all the many and varied exams and reports the results )

There are some other titles I have run into that don’t have to do directly with degrees.  For example, anyone who has ever piloted a plane, even as just a private pilot is "Captain" … I’m so old that I remember when pilots in the US were treated with a certain respect, but since I’ve never been a professional pilot, and never worked for an airline, no one ever called me "captain".

Now if someone has a title and you, as a foreigner, aren’t aware of the fact, don’t worry, it’s unlikely never to be a problem, but it’s a little part of life and etiquette here that I find it easy to catch onto and will help smooth the road of living.

Oh, one other thing which many, at least from the US may be unaware of (may not even agree with).  Old people, especially those a generation or more older than you are automatically in a position of respect an reverence.  It doesn’t matter if the garrulous old man in the corner speaks with a heavy accent, or bores you with tales of the time he saw General MacArthur drive by, you add a respectful "po" to your responses and even if you think he’s "bobo", you keep the opinion to yourself.  Life just is easier if you do your little bit to fit in.

Maybe I am wrong on this post. Perhaps there are not as many people my age, or at least old enough to remember when punch lines like my headline above played a part in any number of uncouth, racist and often very derogatory “jokes” that were heard every day … what, the police arrested the worng black man and locked him away for the crime, well ha, ha, ha, they all look alike to me … sadly that’s the generation I grew up in, and I’m proud to say I feel my country has made significant progress from the days (only 45 years ago, I know many of you were already alive then) when state governors could blatantly include in their inauguration speeches “… segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever”. Enough of that, we have along way to go still, but I think many would agree that progress has been made and even if you are a staunch Republican and hate the Democrats I don’t think there’s a thinking American left today who could listen to Barak Obama and then tell a “they all look alike to me” joke.

photo credit: burgermac I’ve mentioned before and was reminded again today that one of the aspects of “culture shock” many Americans will not be prepared for if they come here to the Philippines to live is the lack of any pretense at Political Correctness. A Philippine official will often “beat around the bush” all afternoon to avoid calling a convicted criminal a crook, or exercise some other form of delicadeza or obfuscation of the obvious. Sensitivity to racial differences are not a normal part of the day to day speech patterns of even high ranking officials.

A day or so ago some official moaned to the press that the administration was allowing “overstaying”

(itsel a slanderous statement since “overstaying” is an actual crime and you better be able to prove such an accusation when you make it aginst US service memebrs in public … but hey, he only made the blanket lie about Americans, and our own military at that, so why worry?)

by American servicemen and thus “giving up Philippine sovereignty”. Like any smart political establishment, Malacañang took that statement seriously and today “debunked” it, unequivocally.

American troops come and go in this country. The soldiers all look alike so it’s as if they never leave.

It was with such levity that Malacañang dismissed allegations that visiting forces from the United States appeared to have become a permanent fixture in the landscape of Zamboanga City and other crisis-torn parts of Mindanao.

“They are replaced every now and then. They leave, contrary to the critics’ impression that they have not left,” said Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita…. Full Americans all look alike article here.

Recently an American supplied Philippine Air Force C-130 crashed near Davao City. Philippine officials made the news by stating that the US was responsible for the crash and the loss of life becuase we, the US, must have supplied a defective aircraft. Well technically, those aircraft aren’t legally “given” to allied countries, a formal transfer occurs in which a dollar changes hands for the title to each multi-million dollar aircraft. I’ll go on record today and offer to buy back any “defective” C-130’s the Philippine Air Force wants to sell back for a buck a piece … just to avoid the embarrassment of my own country “crooking” our freinds here in the Philippines. I believe in fair play.

Immediately after the crash, the Philippine government, finding that they had no means to locate the downed aircraft, asked for and received assistance from the US Navy. A ship was sent, at US expense, of course, and located the crash site. In return a senior Mindanao offical called a press conference and complained vociferously about the US Navy coming into Philippine territorial waters to “spy” on the Philippines. I guess that was his way of saying “thank you” for helping the country locate the remains of their dead service members. OK, you’re welcome, sir.

And then yesterday I found out that the US servicemen who have been serving for years in Mindanao — at the express request of the Philippine government — risking their lives on a daily basis, living apart from their families,and putting up with the other well recognized hardships of military service are nothing more than “overstaying look alikes”. Hmm, as a guest here, I guess I better say, thanks again.

Bottom line? If you have a thin skin, especially about people who ask for help from our military brethren, receive it for free in the spirit of unity and graciousness, and then have to listen to unfounded accusations of criminality and racist comments from the highest levels of government, better not come to the Philippines … because this is just a normal week. If you’re a high profile Filipino upset about one thing or another, if things just aren’t going right for you, no problem, you can always find an American to blame it on.

One of the great things I gained from my years in US Federal Service was the opportunity to work with a lot of great men and women.  Some of them impressed me a lot with their leadership … you might like a story I wrote once about a fellow named Bob who taught me a lot about myself and what it means to be an expert (and if your name is also Bob, this one is for you ).

Another man whom I learned a heck of a lot from was a man named Russ Ondusko.  Russ was kind of a cross between a fantastically qualified radar technician and a backwoods philosopher reminiscent of Will Rogers.

One of Russ’s favorite sayings would come up often when someone on the job had a success that defied logic or one of us had something go right when, by all the odds, it should have gone wrong … "Even blind hog will find an acorn once in a while".

Here in the Philippines we are not, in my opinion, blessed with the best of law enforcement.  There is a spider web of often conflicting law enforcement agencies, often with no clear division of responsibilities.  The main agency, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is chronically understaffed under-funded and has, at least at some times, been tainted with scandal.  The pitifully low salaries paid to police officers almost seems to guarantee that their level of competence will often not be very high and when a man is asked to risk his life in a job that doesn’t even pay basic "hole in the wall" living expanses it is not at all surprising that some fall victim to the lure of corruption.

But still the men and women of the PNP soldier on, and often do a very creditable job … in some cases, like this one, substituting diligence, observational skills and simple logic for the flashy tools we see being used every day on CSI or Texas Swat.  At least some of the Philippines’ rice stocks are now safer since one gang won’t be stealing for a while.

Police find Philippine thieves via rice trail

08/30/2008 | 10:16 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Police say four thieves have been arrested after unwittingly leaving a trail of rice stolen from a warehouse in the central Philippines.
Senior Inspector Danilo Francisco says the four men were charged Friday with robbery.
Francisco says they broke into a warehouse in Bacolod city before dawn Wednesday, cutting the barbed wire on walls surrounding the compound and hauling off four sacks of rice, a television set and assorted grocery items in a tricycle.
Unknown to the thieves, one of the sacks of rice had a hole. Grain spilled through the hole and into the street, leading police to their house about 500 yards (450 meters) from the warehouse. Full Rice Tracking Story here.

Here’s a recent news story which I would like to believe:

RP may import ‘much less’ rice for 2009

The Philippines, the world’s biggest rice importer this year, (my emphasis) may buy much less of the grain for 2009 barring any major production problems, a senior official said on Friday.

The Southeast Asian country’s purchase of 2.3 million tons of rice in 2008, rather than its more typical 1-2 million tons, helped drive benchmark rice prices to a record high in May. "I think if we meet all the targets, total imports for next year would be much lower than this year," Percy Manzo, assistant secretary at the agriculture department, told Reuters, without giving any numbers.

"I’m not discounting the possibility of importing but I’m saying we would be importing much, much less than what we had imported this year unless there’s a major calamity," added Manzo.

The Philippines typically imports about 10 percent of its annual rice requirements to fill a gap in domestic production and boost stocks ahead of the seasonally lean third quarter.

Under the agriculture department’s rice self-sufficiency plan, unmilled rice production is expected to reach 18.5 million tons in 2009 and 19.8 million tons in 2010, from a target of 17.3 million tons this year.

Manzo, who heads the inter-agency committee that evaluates domestic rice output and stocks, said import needs may be known by November at the earliest, when output data for the third quarter would be available.

Prices of the grain have stabilized after some producing countries relaxed export restrictions, with benchmark Thai rice steady at $700 per ton after peaking above $1,000 per ton in May.

Manzo said the country’s rice inventory looks good with "close to 90 days" worth of consumption available at the start of the lean season in July.

"I don’t think we will be having any more supply problems until the end of the year." (again, my emphasis … the under secretary noted a 90 day supply and probably he has looked at his calendar and determined that the"end of the year" is now about 90 days away.  Apparently the plan is to do nothing and have another crisis by year-end … his words, not mine.)

The agriculture department is targeting to produce 17.3 million tons of unmilled rice this year but rising fertilizer costs may limit output to just under 17 million tons.

Manzo said there is an ongoing review of the government’s rice self-sufficiency target to take into account the impact of high fertilizer costs, recent typhoons as well as the availability of state funds on production.

The Philippines was earlier hoping to achieve 100 percent rice self-sufficiency by 2010 but had to push it back to 2013 (again, my thoughts.  Rice takes 5 months to come to harvest, not five years!) given budgetary constraints and recent storms that have hit rice fields.

The review is meant to make the previous assumptions "more realistic," Source article on Philippine rice shortfalls here.

Not many years back, the Philippines was the "rice bowl" of Asia.  The International Rice research Institute (IRRI) in Los Banos, is arguably the world’s leading repository of expertise on the production and breeding improvements of rice.  They are not only nationally known for their work, but are directly responsible for the nation of Vietnam … a war-torn land of devastation 40 years ago taking over the position of the Philippines as the country who decides who eats, and at what cost.

I am totally mystified and blown away by the way the food business is handled here.  The government seems to make the case that production of food for the people is a net loss venture that has to be financed by loans and wishful thinking.  friends, in today’s Internet, stock options world people tend to forget something …agriculture is profitable … and people have to eat.  Exporting another 600,000 maids to Saudi Arabia won’t feed babies here in the Philippines.

The cost of fertilizer (as the big excuse offered) does not enable or prevent the production of rice.  It affects the gross profit from a given crop but even with no fertilizer rice will be produced and people will eat … if someone plants it!

There are millions of Filipinos who need work.  there are millions of hectares of potentially productive land sitting fallow, apparently waiting for the government to tell people. "Hey, if you want to eat next year, why not plant some rice now"?

I was going to make the comment that this isn’t "rocket science" put perhaps it is.  basic rice production requires nothing more than the use of a piece of land for 6 months, a hoe or a carabao and the idea that the former world’s largest producer of rice should not now be the world’s largest beggar.  Makes me sad.

A couple days ago I posted about a site I found of value, Lea Walker’s Davao City real estate site.  I have no connection with this site and I have never met Lea.  I do, though, like to keep up with the real estate market here and it makes me sad to see the lack of any sort of reliable information here in the Philippines on real estate.  It isn’t really all that much better in the US, but the problem there is perhaps too many sites, all seeming to work at cross-purposes … instead of showcasing properties and features they are mainly fighting the ‘buy from me’, ‘don’t talk yo my competitors’ battle.

Either way, the consumer … and the property owner, don’t forget about him,, he’s the real client here … suffers.

So I featured this site, because it works fairly well ( lot of work could be done on search features and better use of screen space, but it’s head and shoulders above most) and unlike the vast majority of real estate sites I have seen here in the Philippines, it actually has inventory .. so many real estate efforts just list a few properties … it’s like a sari-sari store with no canned corn beef on the shelves

Chas, one of my readers hade a comment regarding that post:

Hi Philly,I agree with you,Lea has a very professional site,the best i’ve seen in Phils.I think the fact she is married to an American may have had some influence,regards Chas.

I have to be honest.  When I first read that it definitely struck me the wrong way.  How does it strike you?

Here’s why it gave me pause:

• I have no idea who Lea’s husband is.  Perhaps Chas may know, or perhaps he may be making and assumption.  There’s more than one Filipino with a Western-sounding name … the Gordon’s and the Wilson’s come to mind right off the top of my head.
• Since, as I have noted above, there are plenty of Americans who ought to know how to build a proper real estate site, but most obviously seem to display the fact they haven’t a clue, I’m sort of looking to understand why having an American husband would be assumed to be an asset?

I asked my Filipino wife to read the comment and give me her view about my reaction and she allows as to how I am probably a bit oversensitive … and she’s the smart one of the pair of us, that’s for sure …. so I’ll leave it at that … and not belabor the point … but I wonder, none-the-less.

Please realize I’m not beating up on Chas here, there is certainly rational thought behind his comment and we all have the right to our opinions … comments are open, what’s your opinion?

Just a little quick note here to keep the blog alive ;-)  I have comments waiting for response as well, and I am working on a review of Bob Martin’s very informative "49 Ways to Make a Living in the Philippines book.  I’m also almost ready with the next "Moving" installment … but time is always a factor and my Internet access hasn’t been what if should have been the last 24 hours or so.  Poor me  LoL.

I put this little note and graphic up, though, because ever since I wrote my last installment on gasoline and diesel prices I’ve been troubled by the vast difference in what diesel should cost in many countries and what it does cost.

A lot of college professors and other pundits spend their days getting paid to deliver ‘book’ knowledge that tells us over and over again how the laws of supply and demand apply to the free market.

If you take a look at the real market … that is what people have to pay at the pumps, you’ll soon see that the idea of a free market in oil is nothing more than a lie being promulgated to the population in general.

Now I don’t know who is behind the lie(s) … I have my suspicions, but I’ll not start a flame war here (you might ask yourself who the last male person you saw kissing a Saudi sheik on the face was, but then again, why bother) but the bottom line to all of is is that the multinational oil companies … many of whom are not even US-controlled any longer, are allowed to just run roughshod over we, the people, without any regard for the actual costs they incur or the simple economics of what products one can actually make for sale out of the proverbial barrel of oil.

Whether you plan to live out your years in the US or in the Philippines or somewhere else, you might want to question the oil policies (if they even have one) of whichever candidate you choose to support.  I doubt you’ll have much problem in evaluating either the Republican or Democratic party’s oil policy in the US … a blank sheet of paper and a ‘do whatever you please’ ticket to the oil companies are pretty easy to understand.

Here in the Philippines, as I mentioned, the oil companies essentially have free reign as well … they actually publicly announce when they, the oil companies inform the government regulators when they, the oil companies have decided to change prices … and not one3 government official even makes a statement.

But you can tell from the fact that diesel is much less than gasoline here that it’s a good place to own a diesel car.  I’m not mad, by the way, just disappointed that governments all over the world just ignore the situation and if they do anything, use the money of the people to prop up one price while chopping the others, all the time telling the people an untruth abut the laws of supply and demand

Workers hoist the Philippine flag at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite yesterday in preparation for Independence Day celebrations in the place where the Declaration of Independence was first read by revolutionary president Emilio Aguinaldo.  Photo by MANNY MARCELO

It’s a big day here in the Philippines today … Independence Day.  I really noticed the flags living the expressway and every "Municipio" … town hall … that we passed on our trip up to Pangasinan on Saturday. 

You know, as an American living here I see plenty of things I could find fault with.  In fact, I do, from time to time, although I try not to make a habit of it.  But faults or no faults I really have a lot of respect for the Philippines and for the heroic Filipino freedom fighters who took on first the (then) might of the Spanish and later the full force of the United States (ever notice how in the Philippines it is called the War of Independence but in the US it’s called the "Philippine Insurrection".  I guess when one country invades another by force, imprisons and even executes numbers of its citizenry and then ’squats’ there like a large, demanding houseguest who won’t leave, the concept of ‘war’ or ‘insurrection’ is certainly in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it? (no comparisons’ with the senseless occupation of the sovereign country of Iraq now, GW "Shrub" Bush is, I am sure, monitoring these words with the Carnivore system, and, of course there is no true comparison … the Philippines we "bought" from someone who didn’t own it, Iraq we just "took".

Present day politics aside, there are a lot of my fellow Americans who have many unkind things to say about the Republic of the Philippines.  yet I would submit we take a look at a number of other former Spanish possessions.  Guam.  Another small island country.  They didn’t become truly independent, they are essentially still a ‘ward’ of the US and a huge source of welfare expenditures … must like the Indian people’s reservations that my poor US has yet to figure out how to administer.

How about Cuba?  Another small island nation that kept itself separate from the US … but they didn’t stand on their own feet, they aligned themselves strongly with the former Soviet Union.  Do you think, perhaps, with all things taken into consideration, that the Philippines, who has been truly independent a shorter time than Cuba ought to get some credit?  Frankly, I do.

Happy birthday, my adopted country.  Don’t worry, I still wave "Old Glory", but I recognize the world is more than big enough for other nations as well.  May both our ensigns fly high for along, long time to come.

Largest know Philippine flag flying (22 x 44 feet) on the former US Navy headquarters flag pole, Subic Bay metropolitan Area Hq building, Zambales, Philippines.

Well, of course, there is a lot of real gold in the Philippines.  Mining for minerals is enjoying quite a boom lately,and the Philippines is rich in a number of important minerals, gold being one of the most well known.

But that is not the sort of gold I am thinking of.  I’m thinking about gold the Philippines is sitting on that will never run out, which requires no environmentally damaging methods to mine and which they can, and do use today in a profitable, environmental way.  Geothermal power production.

Geothermal power is simply the act of using steam produced by heating water in the deep, hot parts of the Earth’s crust to turn turbine wheels which are connected to generators that produce electric power for the grid.  Many people don’t understand the fact that virtually all the electric power we consume in the US, or in the Philippines and most other countries is steam generated.  Even nuclear (or nu-clue-your if your initials are GWB) is steam produced power … the reactor heats water to make steam to urn the turbines and generators.  The same with oil, natural gas or coal-fired conventional plants.  Just find heat to turn water to steam and you have electricity. (hydro-electric plants use gravity-flow of water to turn the turbine wheels … we won’t cover them here).

A perfect example of the largest geothermal commercially viable electric generating pant in the world is located on the island of Leyte in the Visayas region of the Philippines.  You thought the Philippines was just a backward, "third-world" country, but they could certainly show the US a lot about energy use.

So why am I writing this?  Simple.  A lot of the energy used by the Philippines comes from coal.  Coal is a horrible fuel to use for electricity generation.  It is environmentally ruinous to extract from the earth, it wastes a huge fortune in transportation costs, it’s not particularly efficient to burn and it’s an environmental disaster to burn.

The second largest city in the Philippines (in population, Bob, not land area ;-)) is Cebu.  Cebu gets nearly all it’s electric energy from the Leyte Geothermal Production Field (LGPF).  Recent usage trends show Cebu needs more capacity.  Of course the simple method would be to string more undersea cables to Leyte … that’s what has served Cebu well for years.

But nope, the Philippine government has entered into a project to build a huge new cola generation plant on Cebu.  Why?  It’s an utterly stupid thing to do, but some misguided international agency wants to lend money and the administration is falling all over themselves to accept yet more debt and further mortgage the Philippines.  Not to mention the deaths that will be caused by the pollution.  And not to mention the current coal-burning plants are unable to buy enough coal to keep adequate stockpiles.  Not enough coal in Asia?  Hmm, build more coal-fired plants.  How dumb a decision is that, really?

I don’t often make many appeals, but if you know anyone who has any government connections … or if you’re one of my Filipino readers who has access to normal government channels … do think about taki8ng action now.  This is environmental and economic suicide in the making.

A tip of the blog hat to regular reader Laurence who brought this to my attention:

Asean open skies

We hail the announcement by Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza last Thursday that the Philippines will sign in December an open skies agreement with Asean member-countries.

Open skies throughout the ten countries of Asean will surely boost tourism, and of course trade, substantially.,, rest of the Manila Times article is here.

In spite of how we sometimes carp and complain about airline service in the US, we Americans are truly blessed since the de-regulation of air traffic back in the 1980s.  An airline company can just start serving a city whenever they see demand. 

In Asia it often is still back in the dark ages, when airlines have to go through months of government hoops before they can get permission to even try to make a profit.

This announcement is good news, not only for the Philippines but for all the member nations of ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Asian Nations).  For the past few years I have been wondering if this organization had died … they appear to be alive and well, thank goodness.

The rimes article points up an attitude I see all too often in the Philippines.  It talks about some kind of alchemy regarding tourism and gains in the economy.

Unlike newspaper writers who were born, went to school and got a job in the same city, I have been traveling for both business and pleasure for more than 50 years now.  The idea that "tourism’ is a separate and distinct segment of the economy and that ‘business’ is a separate entity is dumb and shortsighted. 

For every tourist who visits, drops a few dollars and leaves for good there are many others who come just to take a look, see opportunities and invest … and many other business persons who come to attend meetings, conferences and educational opportunities that they would not bother with if seats are scarce and expensive.

Again, I welcome the good news, but the Philippine DoT needs to wake up and smell the coffee (the excellent coffee that it is so hard to get in the Philippines) and stop treating tourists as some sort of rare endangered species.  The focus needs to be on making a robust, convenient travel infrastructure … tourism and commerce will then follow, hand in hand.

It’s no secret that one of the things I dislike a lot about living in the Philippines is the near universal manta of "If Only" that permeates daily life.  I think part of the problem may be that newspaper editors and television network executives are inveterate consumers of the American press.  It’s no secret that shows like American Idol are hugely popular here … especially if there’s a Filipina contestant.  What comes along with the "wanna be American" mind set is, sadly, the continual bad press and almost constant misinformation and half truths that constitutes the US media coverage of the Philippines.  Since most media people in the US were taught history and geography (assuming they even had any courses in those subjects) by football coaches or driving instructors, when the Philippines gets mentioned, it’s almost certainly in a negative tone.  Filipinos listen to this claptrap, 24-7, and next thing you know, whenever they think of their own country, visions of weakness, poverty and "can’t do" are the first things that come to mind.  In the immortal words of Cher in one of her roles that I really liked, "Get out of it"!

Recently I have had some discussions both here and on other blogs about one segment of the online business, running an Internet cafe.  One of the ‘If only’s", or "But we can’t’s" I have heard over and over is the cost of software, and the cost of new, high-spec computers to run that software.  After all, if you total up the figures for 20 new "Dual Core Pentium" machines and 20 copies of Windows Vista, you are going to need a hefty limit on your credit card.

"If only" these guys and gals trapped in the mire of negative thinking and the "scarcity theory" would open their eyes to just what’s going on, right here in the Philippines, by Filipinos, for Filipinos, they might be able to have a much more enjoyable and certainly successful life.

Take a look at the excerpts or (recommended) read the whole article.

Software programmers at the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of the Department of Science and Technology are now putting the finishing touches to the latest version of Bayanihan Linux…. tailored for use in schools by teachers and students. In addition,…ASTI first launched Bayanihan Linux in October 2001 for use primarily in government offices. It formed part of a package of measures by the Philippine government to curb rampant software piracy in the country. … As its name implies, Bayanihan Linux is a suite of programs running on the Linux operating system. Included in the bundle is Open Office, a package of word processor, spreadsheet, database, and presentation tools. Open Office is similar to commercial packages widely available in the market and many times sold as pirated copies. … because it is Open Source, Bayanihan Linux can be freely copied and modified by anyone. … Bayanihan Linux can be freely downloaded online at http://www. bayanihan.gov.ph, at the same time, a CD version can be purchased from ASTI for P 120. … Later versions of Bayanihan Linux, including Version 4 released last February 2007 have bundled into them WINE, an Open Source program enabling easy interface with Windows applications. … Bayanihan Linux Version 4 can run even on obsolete Pentium 3 PCs. According to Balinte, the same will be the case for Version 5.

If this all sounds too good to be true, it isn’t.  I have to admit I have been very lazy about getting myself into Linux, but this is going to furnish the impetus I need.  I have several older computers sitting around Blog central" here gathering dust … and there are kids who could use them literally everywhere  What about you, want to make a difference?  Or would you rather retreat into the world of "if Only"?

In today’s Philippine Star a front page headline reports on the progress of S1315, a bill that will correct a massive injustice to the tiny remainder (about 12,000 at last count) of the hundreds of thousands of Filipino veterans of WWII who fought alone or side by side with their US and Allied nation GI brothers and sisters.

This is not a debate about the entitlement of these veterans to a small monthly pension.  This was decided years ago, and Filipino vets in the US are entitled to and receiving much larger compensation for their service.  But the US decided when the entitlement bill was passed back in 1990, only 45 years late, that those vets who still reside in their native country can’t receive any benefits.  This attitude ignores the fact that these vets can not come to the US … a real catch 22 perpetrated by the steadily more anti-military legislative and executive branches of the US government.

Something many may not realize … these few remaining old men were not US servicemen, complete with regular pensions and medical benefits … those folks already receive care.  These are men who served outside the US forces … when there were no US forces in the Philippines in many cases and were not ‘fortunate’ enough to be injured by their service … at least physically.  Remember also that the Philippines was a commonwealth of the US at this time, not a foreign nation, and thus, supposedly, under the care and protection of the US.

At any rate, 62 years late, progress is being made.  The bill still has to go through the house and get signed by the president.  If it does, hopefully, there will still be a few Filipino heroes left to collect.  A sad commentary on how my country treats its own, in my view.

Pretty interesting how the current front runners voted too.  senator Hillary Clinton found time to do her job as a US senator and voted yes.  Thank you for attending to business, Senator Clinton … even if you had voted the other way you would earn some respect from me.

Senators Obama (who never served his country … gets in the way of making money you know) and McCain, who trades upon his military career shamelessly (and enjoys a pension more than 20 times that which is due to the Filipino vets) could not find the time to vote … either for or against.  Am I mistaken?  Aren’t these gentlemen still senators and being paid by our taxes?  Sad.  I certainly expected more from Senator McCain, in particular.

This morning’s Philippine Star newspaper devoted about 70% of its entire front page to current news from the US.  As an American this might give me a swelled head … unless anyone actually reads the articles.  Let me ad this disclaimer … the following is my opinion, so you don’t have to like it … and you are free to leave comments, which I am also free to publish or delete at my will.  I seldom write pure opinion pices but today just cried out too much for this post and the next one.

The biggest and saddest story … a US-based firm, with extensive holdings in the Philippines has been found guilty of a pretty substantial fraud against the US government … more than $100,000,000 USD.  The company is known as Health Visions and for a number of years they systematically inflated health care claims and even totally fabricated medical bills … all on the behalf of US military retirees living in the Philippines.

Many years ago when I first started keeping track of life in the Philippines I became aware of many of my fellow retirees using various schemes promoted by Health Visions and some partners they had in the Philippines.  A majority of my veteran friends followed the rules, a cadre of ‘money grubbers’, however actively promoted the schemes and scams Health Vision was promoting.

I hope those opportunists feel their crookedness (or in some cases ignorance of the rules … ignorance of the law is not an excuse, as military members it is our responsibility to know these sorts of rules and follow them) feel that their profits were worth it.  For me, I feel betrayed and saddened by my fellow brothers in harms placing their own personal profit ahead of honor.  Makes me look at the world in a different light, when people’s honor can be bought for so few dollars.

Anyway, Health Visions themselves and the 400 or so co-defendants are all US.  There were, for sure, Philippine accomplices and ‘helpers’ in these scams so it is a joint US-Philippines "black eye" and I hope the US pursues catching the Filipino criminals involved as well … the Philippine NBI (National Bureau of Investigattion) already stands reasy to do so if the US prefers charges against any Filipino citizens.

All in all a pretty annoying Saturday morning for me.  Folks, military or not, as you pklan your retirement, do not let money be your God.  Your honor is worth ever so much more.  And if you have a great benefit like TRICARE, paid for in sweat and the very blood of those who went before you, follow the rules … it’s the least any of us swore an oath to do.

Don’t want people to think I’m continually off on a rant about bad behavior when I post these rants about … well … bad behavior at the airports, at government offices and such, but, as my dear mother-in-law, Bessie has been known to say, "I’m old, and I can say things if I feel like it."

Well indeed we all can.   I was prompted to post on this subject by a comment one of  my faithful readers, Laurence made about children being taught to behave in schools, and schools being safer here than perhaps my country, USA or perhaps even in his country, Australia.

I was taught something a couple days ago by a little girl in my neighborhood, wish I had her name, I’ll find out on one of my trips to the store.  Anyway, she’s about 6 or 7, likely a first grade student at one of the local schools … likely a small private academy, most of the kids in my area go to private schools, I’m note even sure where a public elementary school is in our town.

My wife and I had walked to our corner store ,,, only 100 meters or so from our front door, and as we were walking up to the store we were sharing some kind of joke and kidding between ourselves, including the subject of my hair … or lack of same.  My wife said something about me being "kalbo" which is the generic Tagalog word for baldness. 

The little girl was few feet from us, also walking toward the store window.  Hearing my wife’s comment, the child piped right up and said to my wife, in Tagalog, "Po (pronoun of respect when speaking to elders), you shouldn’t speak about his baldness.  it says so in my GMRC book and our GMRC lessons at school."

Wow!  From the mouths of babes.  Does your 7 year old even have a GMRC book?   Does you children’s school have GMRC classes?  (I’ll be happy to hear from anyone with comments on this, I about busted a gut laughing as I typed it, remembering my sons’ education and thinking of a US school teaching manners, especially with a book … but i digress). Would your seven year old assertively, but politely, correct an elder’s behavior in public?  It sure surprised me.

Now I am not trying to convey that every Filipino walks around with an etiquette book under his or her arm, or that you won’t have people cut in line at the drug store or not get irritated by the noise and smell of the tricycles going up and down the street … but it does open one’s eyes a bit.

If you do a Google on Good manners and Right conduct, the whole first page will be Filipino blogs and web sites discussing the practices or lack of same, or who out there really needs to retake their GMNRC classes.

All part of the experience…..