2010 philippines...much better than today, if gloria is still there, i admire her, she has these legacy hopefully she can fulfill it...

probably a near 100-million population... we're more than 90 million now and still growing in numbers!

If I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere that our population will be playing around 137 million in 2025.

^^ I really want to see several Subway developments and a nationwide railway system. The Makati CBD, FGBC and Ortigas CBD should each have their own underground rail system catering exclusively to the area within their respective CBDs. Not to mention, I don't want to see those spaghetti wires anymore.

Yes to that! Totoo...Spaghetti wires are so indicative of a poor third-world country.

Pic I took of spaghetti wires in my 2003 travel to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. This was inside the favelas...

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/8303/dscn1082bv6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Pic I took of spaghetti wires in my dad's area of Sorsogon City, Sorsogon Philippines in January 2007 (Bicol Region)....

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/894/dscn3855yc0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

:ohno: I hope in 2010 there will be LESS of these mickey-moused wires in the Philippines. Not only do they look bad, they are so susceptible to electrical/fire hazards (especially during repairs) and vulnerable to typhoons and storms. I think underground cables would be better like the ones in FBGC.

Countries currently considered NICs.The category of newly industrialized country (NIC) is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists.

NICs are countries whose economies have not yet reached first world status but have, in a macroeconomic sense, outpaced their developing counterparts. Another characterization of NICs is that of nations undergoing rapid economic growth (usually export-oriented). Incipient or ongoing industrialization is an important indicator of a NIC. In many NICs, social upheaval can occur as primarily rural, agricultural populations migrate to the cities, where the growth of manufacturing concerns and factories can draw many thousands of laborers.

NICs usually share some other common features, including:

Increased social freedoms and civil rights.
A switch from agricultural to industrial economies, especially in the manufacturing sector.
An increasingly open-market economy, allowing free trade with other nations in the world.
Large national corporations operating in several continents.
Strong capital investment from foreign countries.
Political leadership in their area of influence.
NICs often receive support from non-governmental organizations such as the WTO and other internal support bodies. However, as they are beneficiaries of globalization, many fair trade supporters and other protectionists have balked at importing the products of NICs and the outsourcing of jobs to the NICs, especially from/to the People's Republic of China and India.

Contents [hide]
1 Historical context
2 Current NIC countries
2.1 Brief economic analysis
3 Issues
4 References
5 See also



[edit] Historical context
The term began to be used in the 1970s when the so-called "East Asian Tigers"[1] of Hong Kong (then colony of the United Kingdom), South Korea, Singapore and the Republic of China (Taiwan) rose to global prominence with rapid industrial growth since the 1960s, most now having evolved beyond this status. There is a distinction between these countries and the nations now considered to be NICs. In particular, the combination of an open political process, high per capita GDP income and a thriving, export-oriented economic policy has shown that these countries have now reached the ranks of developed countries. All of them possess an HDI (Human development index) over 0.9, equal to the average of EU countries. Finally, South Korea is now part of the OECD.


[edit] Current NIC countries
The following table presents the list of countries currently considered NICs in each continent by different authors [2][3][4][5]. Some authors still consider the first generation list of countries (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong[6]) as NICs, and some others argue they are now developed countries.

Continent Country GDP
(Millions of USD) GDP
per capita (USD) Income equality (GINI) HDI
(2004)
Africa South Africa [4][5] 520,948 12,796 57.8 0.653 (medium)
North America Mexico [2][3][4][5] 1,108,281 11,249 49.5 0.821 (high)
South America Brazil [2][3] 1,566,253 9,108 58 0.792 (medium)
Asia China [4][5] 8,814,860 7,598 44.7 0.768 (medium)
India [2][5] 3,779,044 3,737 32.5 0.611 (medium)
Malaysia [2] 275,830 11,858 49.2 0.805 (high)
Philippines [2][3] 426,689 5,314 46.1 0.763 (medium)
Thailand [2][3] 557,378 9,084 42 0.784 (medium)
Europe Turkey [3][5] 605,876 9,108 43.6 0.757 (medium)

NOTES:
1. GDP (PPP) (2005 data), and GDP (PPP) per capita (2006 data)[7] figures correspond to the IMF.
2. GINI Coefficient as in the 2006 United Nations survey. The higher the figure, the higher the inequality.
3. Human Development Index (HDI) as in the 2006 United Nations report (data from 2004).

However, China and India are special cases: the immense population of these two nations (over two billion people combined as of November 2006) means that per capita income will remain low even if either economy surpasses that of the United States of America. However, keeping PPP in mind, the Chinese and Indian populations will enjoy significantly reduced costs of living, as basic commodities tend to be less expensive in both nations.

Additionally the group composed of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa meet annually with the G8 countries to discuss financial topics, due to their economic importance in today's global market, in a group known as G8+5.[8]


[edit] Brief economic analysis
NICs usually benefit from comparatively low labor costs, which translates into lower input prices for suppliers. This shifts the labor supply curve downwards, resulting in a lower equilibrium wage and a reduced number of labor-hours per worker. As a result, it is often easier for producers in NICs to outperform and outproduce factories in developed countries, where the cost of living is higher, and labor unions and other organizations have more political sway.

This comparative advantage is often criticized by those advocates of the fair trade movement.


[edit]

It's newly industrializing country. not industrialized

IMO were still developing, I think the best way to describe an NIC is that it has a strong manufacturing sector and low poverty rate, In this country the biggest sectors are still services and agriculture. But definitetly were still in the "medium" category..There's still a lot to be worked on

not yet.

yup, not yet

hopefully soon but as yet, quite a big percentage of the population still lives in the agricultural phase without actually tilling the land. :ohno:

proof? just ask every other OFW wittingly or unwittingly bogged down by their relations ( 'coz of either necessity or design or both). :(

I saw this posted in the wikipedia article on Philippine economy. I think it is accurate that we are an industrializing country and a new one at that. And just to remind everyone, manufacturing has already surpassed the agriculture sector in the Philippines since 1990s? With services at the top of the list. We produce and export more electronics and electronic equipments than rice and coconuts. :) We are a middle-income NIC and i can feel it.. and see it. :D

parang commercial ni alice dixon.... I can feel it!! :lol:

I can feel it... panalo ang line.. :lol:

sana nga. hope i can feel it too. and soon as well. :)

It's newly industrializing country. not industrialized

you are right,japan is one industrialized country and the philippines based on the the article is a newly industrializing country.having high per capita income is not one of the basis of being an nic.

Haha! Sabi ko na nga parang narinig ko lang yung linyang yun. kay Alice Dixon pala. :lol:

Let's go over the requirements again and see if we really fit in.

Increased social freedoms and civil rights. CHECK
A switch from agricultural to industrial economies, especially in the manufacturing sector. CHECK
An increasingly open-market economy, allowing free trade with other nations in the world. CHECK (Japan and ASEAN)
Large national corporations operating in several continents. CHECK (SMC, Jollibee, etc)
Strong capital investment from foreign countries. Strongest so far. CHECK
Political leadership in their area of influence. Don't know about this but whatever. CHECK

Countries currently considered NICs.The category of newly industrialized country (NIC) is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists.

NICs are countries whose economies have not yet reached first world status but have, in a macroeconomic sense, outpaced their developing counterparts. Another characterization of NICs is that of nations undergoing rapid economic growth (usually export-oriented). Incipient or ongoing industrialization is an important indicator of a NIC. In many NICs, social upheaval can occur as primarily rural, agricultural populations migrate to the cities, where the growth of manufacturing concerns and factories can draw many thousands of laborers.

NICs usually share some other common features, including:

Increased social freedoms and civil rights.
A switch from agricultural to industrial economies, especially in the manufacturing sector.
An increasingly open-market economy, allowing free trade with other nations in the world.
Large national corporations operating in several continents.
Strong capital investment from foreign countries.
Political leadership in their area of influence.
NICs often receive support from non-governmental organizations such as the WTO and other internal support bodies. However, as they are beneficiaries of globalization, many fair trade supporters and other protectionists have balked at importing the products of NICs and the outsourcing of jobs to the NICs, especially from/to the People's Republic of China and India.

Contents [hide]
1 Historical context
2 Current NIC countries
2.1 Brief economic analysis
3 Issues
4 References
5 See also



[edit] Historical context
The term began to be used in the 1970s when the so-called "East Asian Tigers"[1] of Hong Kong (then colony of the United Kingdom), South Korea, Singapore and the Republic of China (Taiwan) rose to global prominence with rapid industrial growth since the 1960s, most now having evolved beyond this status. There is a distinction between these countries and the nations now considered to be NICs. In particular, the combination of an open political process, high per capita GDP income and a thriving, export-oriented economic policy has shown that these countries have now reached the ranks of developed countries. All of them possess an HDI (Human development index) over 0.9, equal to the average of EU countries. Finally, South Korea is now part of the OECD.


[edit] Current NIC countries
The following table presents the list of countries currently considered NICs in each continent by different authors [2][3][4][5]. Some authors still consider the first generation list of countries (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong[6]) as NICs, and some others argue they are now developed countries.

Continent Country GDP
(Millions of USD) GDP
per capita (USD) Income equality (GINI) HDI
(2004)
Africa South Africa [4][5] 520,948 12,796 57.8 0.653 (medium)
North America Mexico [2][3][4][5] 1,108,281 11,249 49.5 0.821 (high)
South America Brazil [2][3] 1,566,253 9,108 58 0.792 (medium)
Asia China [4][5] 8,814,860 7,598 44.7 0.768 (medium)
India [2][5] 3,779,044 3,737 32.5 0.611 (medium)
Malaysia [2] 275,830 11,858 49.2 0.805 (high)
Philippines [2][3] 426,689 5,314 46.1 0.763 (medium)
Thailand [2][3] 557,378 9,084 42 0.784 (medium)
Europe Turkey [3][5] 605,876 9,108 43.6 0.757 (medium)

NOTES:
1. GDP (PPP) (2005 data), and GDP (PPP) per capita (2006 data)[7] figures correspond to the IMF.
2. GINI Coefficient as in the 2006 United Nations survey. The higher the figure, the higher the inequality.
3. Human Development Index (HDI) as in the 2006 United Nations report (data from 2004).

However, China and India are special cases: the immense population of these two nations (over two billion people combined as of November 2006) means that per capita income will remain low even if either economy surpasses that of the United States of America. However, keeping PPP in mind, the Chinese and Indian populations will enjoy significantly reduced costs of living, as basic commodities tend to be less expensive in both nations.

Additionally the group composed of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa meet annually with the G8 countries to discuss financial topics, due to their economic importance in today's global market, in a group known as G8+5.[8]


[edit] Brief economic analysis
NICs usually benefit from comparatively low labor costs, which translates into lower input prices for suppliers. This shifts the labor supply curve downwards, resulting in a lower equilibrium wage and a reduced number of labor-hours per worker. As a result, it is often easier for producers in NICs to outperform and outproduce factories in developed countries, where the cost of living is higher, and labor unions and other organizations have more political sway.

This comparative advantage is often criticized by those advocates of the fair trade movement.


[edit]

Kumusta, kabayan! I was born and raised in Gapan, N.E. but grew up in Manila and now a resident of Southern California.

Very interesting article you posted. As I have mentioned in some of my prior postings here at SSC, I think Pinas' economy is getting better each year. Sana, tuloy-tuloy na ang pag-unland. Although personally, I would prefer to see the government achieve industrialization with emphasis and attention on food production given the Philippines' growing population (i.e. agriculture-food processing/canning-distribution).

I have some interesting comparative stats and I will leave it up to you and the readers of this post to make their own conclusions if Pinas is truly is on its way to economic growth and prosperity:

1. Electricity production (kWh): Japan = 974.4 million; So Korea = 345.2 million; Thailand = 121.7 million; Malaysia = 78.2 million; Phils = 53.1 million

2. Electricity consumption (kWh): Japan = 906.2 million; So Korea - 321 million; Thailand = 116.2 million; Malaysia = 72.7 million; Phils = 49.4 million

3. Budget Revenues (USD): Japan = 1.4 trillion; So Korea = 218 billion; Thailand = 40.3 billion; Malaysia = 31.6 billion; Phils = 19.4 billion

4. Per Capita GDP (USD): Japan = $33,100; So Korea = $24,200; Thailand = $9,100; Malaysia = $12,700; Phils = 5,000

5. Labor Force (Services): Japan = 67.7%; So Korea = 67.2%; Thailand = 37%; Malaysia = 49.5%; Phils = 48%

6. Labor Force (Industry): Japan = 27.8%; So Korea = 26.4%; Thailand = 14%; Malaysia = 36%; Phils = 16%

7. Labor Force (Agriculture): Japan = 4.6%; So Korea = 6.4%; Thailand = 49%; Malaysia = 14.5%; Phils = 36%

8. Unemployment: Japan = 4.1%; So Korea = 3.6%; Thailand = 2.1%; Malaysia = 3.5%; Phils = 8.4%

9. Population Below Poverty Line: Japan = NA; So Korea = 15%; Thailand = 10%; Malaysia = 8%; Phils = 40%

All above stats were taken from 2007 CIA World Factbook. Nice to see another Novo Ecijano on this forum. Regards.

we still need a lot of catching up to do

Haha! Sabi ko na nga parang narinig ko lang yung linyang yun. kay Alice Dixon pala. :lol:

Let's go over the requirements again and see if we really fit in.

Increased social freedoms and civil rights. CHECK No doubt, killing here and there...first day you check in as a reporter means after that you must also prepare for your funeral
A switch from agricultural to industrial economies, especially in the manufacturing sector. CHECK (see the percentage of of workers involve in manufacturing)
An increasingly open-market economy, allowing free trade with other nations in the world. CHECK (Japan and ASEAN) then please discuss about executive orders 500A that makes Tiger Airways scared of business uncertainty influence by greedy Gokongwei
Large national corporations operating in several continents. CHECK (SMC, Jollibee, etc) Jollibee is large business? how do you define large corporations? their revenue must exceed minimum $ 250 million i think, not large number of restaurants....
Strong capital investment from foreign countries. Strongest so far. CHECK
Political leadership in their area of influence. Don't know about this but whatever. CHECK

longgggg way to go...

lazybum, thank you for providing important data, u gave us clearer picture, as we know..it's still long way to go

and for me government is doing the wrong thing by skipping industrialization stage by jumping straight focusing on service industry, convince me how can we sustain the development without strong industrial background.

Boleh... :colgate:

longgggg way to go...

lazybum, thank you for providing important data, u gave us clearer picture, as we know..it's still long way to go

and for me government is doing the wrong thing by skipping industrialization stage by jumping straight focusing on service industry, convince me how can we sustain the development without strong industrial background.

Hey, no problem, ssangyongs. However, the data I presented should inspire us to do more - it does not suggest that we as a people do not have the capacity to succeed. There are 149 countries in the world today. The good news is that the Philippines belongs to the upper 25% of all countries in terms of income, employment opportunities, etc.

As a matter of fact, in terms of GDP purchasing power parity, the Philippines is ranked #27 among all countries. Purchasing power parity is a technique used when determining the relative values of two currencies. For example, if a Big Mac costs $3 in the US, and 9,000 riel in Cambodia, we can determine that the exchange rate is $1 for 3,000 riel. We would then use this indexed exchange rate to determine relative value of other items. It is useful because often the amount of goods a currency can purchase within two nations varies drastically, based on availability of goods, demand for the goods, and a number of other, difficult to determine factors.

IMO, industrialization can be achieve in so many different ways. Japan, S. Korea, US, EU are involved in "heavy industries" like ship/aircraft building, satellites, car making, heavy machineries, etc. The Philippines doesn't have the capacity and resources necessary to compete in such heavy industries. On the other hand, the Philippines can supplement our existing industries by focusing on other industries that are geared towards food production, bio-medical equipments, farm machineries and implements, and so on. We just need to find a sustainable niche that is supportable in terms of financial and manpower capital.

philippines, nic????? :hilarious

^^^^ at anu nmn ang nakakatawa :baaa:

The huge disparity of rich and poor is something we must curb if we want to consider ourselves on the right tract to industrialization.

For me the sad thing is the entry: 40% of the population still below poverty line. If we truly want to be an NIC, we have to address this affliction. :ohno:

^^ 40% of the population below poverty line is a remarkable improvement though since I remember prior to me leaving for Canada (1993), it was 70% of the population being below poverty line. This despite the fact that there were lesser ppl back then and the poverty line measurement threshhold itself was probably increased a little. God knows what the rate would have been if Erap didn't become president.... :mad2:

:banana: Cabinet approves ’07 IPP
By Elaine Ruzul S. Ramos

The Cabinet yesterday finally approved the proposed 2007 Investment Priorities Plan, a list of investment areas that are eligible for fiscal incentives.

Trade Undersecretary Elmer Hernandez said with the Cabinet’s approval, the 2007 IPP would now be forwarded to Malacañang for official endorsement of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

President Arroyo left yesterday for a three-country swing beginning with Japan, followed by Australia and New Zealand up to the end of the month.

Hernandez said the Cabinet approved the IPP in its entirety, except for a revision in which the agriculture and fishery listing was amended to agriculture/agribusiness and fishery.

“All the others were carried including coverage,” said Hernandez.

The inclusion of agribusiness in the listing is expected to facilitate the granting of incentives to enterprises that integrate agriculture with processing for a higher-value product.

The approval of the proposed 2007 IPP had been delayed for over a month after government officials were sidetracked by the mid-term elections.

An inter-agency committee led by the Board of Investments submitted the proposed 2007 IPP to the Office of the President on March 30 after consulting various agencies and the private sector.

The approval of the IPP is crucial to BoI’s realization of its 12-percent target growth in investments this year. The listing serves as an investor’s guide on the areas that have been identified by the government for priority promotion and development and eligible for fiscal and non-fiscal incentives.

The 12 preferred areas included in the 2007 IPP are agriculture/agribusiness, fishery and support services; healthcare and wellness products and services; information and communications technology; electronics; motor vehicle products; energy; infrastructure; tourism; shipbuilding/shipping; iron and steel; R & D/training institutions; and machinery and equipment, raw materials and intermediate inputs in support of the activities listed in the IPP.

Cement products integrated with mining operations were also included in this year’s IPP.

The Department of Finance also endorsed the grant of incentives to new cement projects despite industry opposition.

Telecommunications projects in unserved areas are also entitled to incentives.

The mining sector has been removed from the 12 preferred priority sectors but is still entitled to government perks since Republic Act 7942, or the Mining Act, is listed in the mandatory inclusions of the IPP.

The proposed 2007 IPP retained the RED (Retention, Expansion and Diversification) program to cover the activities of existing investors either considered as global players or engaged in strategic industries.

The research and development listing covers in-house R & D activities of any manufacturing/producing firm and commercial R & D activities of private firms and research institutions.

The BoI has also included a provision requiring the endorsement of the respective government agencies on projects seeking incentives. The agency was earlier criticized for the loss of billions of pesos in government revenues because of the incentives granted to various enterprises.

Incentives registered with the BoI are granted income tax holiday of as long as eight years and preferential duty rate, among others.

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Wednesday , May 23, 2007

Exchange Rate
Closing: May 22, 2007
US$=45.87
Up 0.44 centavos
Phisix
Closing: May 22, 2007
3505.03
Up 38.69 points

Kumusta, kabayan! I was born and raised in Gapan, N.E. but grew up in Manila and now a resident of Southern California.

Very interesting article you posted. As I have mentioned in some of my prior postings here at SSC, I think Pinas' economy is getting better each year. Sana, tuloy-tuloy na ang pag-unland. Although personally, I would prefer to see the government achieve industrialization with emphasis and attention on food production given the Philippines' growing population (i.e. agriculture-food processing/canning-distribution).

I have some interesting comparative stats and I will leave it up to you and the readers of this post to make their own conclusions if Pinas is truly is on its way to economic growth and prosperity:

1. Electricity production (kWh): Japan = 974.4 million; So Korea = 345.2 million; Thailand = 121.7 million; Malaysia = 78.2 million; Phils = 53.1 million

2. Electricity consumption (kWh): Japan = 906.2 million; So Korea - 321 million; Thailand = 116.2 million; Malaysia = 72.7 million; Phils = 49.4 million

3. Budget Revenues (USD): Japan = 1.4 trillion; So Korea = 218 billion; Thailand = 40.3 billion; Malaysia = 31.6 billion; Phils = 19.4 billion

4. Per Capita GDP (USD): Japan = $33,100; So Korea = $24,200; Thailand = $9,100; Malaysia = $12,700; Phils = 5,000

5. Labor Force (Services): Japan = 67.7%; So Korea = 67.2%; Thailand = 37%; Malaysia = 49.5%; Phils = 48%

6. Labor Force (Industry): Japan = 27.8%; So Korea = 26.4%; Thailand = 14%; Malaysia = 36%; Phils = 16%

7. Labor Force (Agriculture): Japan = 4.6%; So Korea = 6.4%; Thailand = 49%; Malaysia = 14.5%; Phils = 36%

8. Unemployment: Japan = 4.1%; So Korea = 3.6%; Thailand = 2.1%; Malaysia = 3.5%; Phils = 8.4%

9. Population Below Poverty Line: Japan = NA; So Korea = 15%; Thailand = 10%; Malaysia = 8%; Phils = 40%

All above stats were taken from 2007 CIA World Factbook. Nice to see another Novo Ecijano on this forum. Regards.

:banana: we're neighbors,im from cabiao,right now im in kuwait,paminsan minsan nagpupunta ako diyan sa new york.keep on posting kabayan, i love it.
new york

For me the sad thing is the entry: 40% of the population still below poverty line. If we truly want to be an NIC, we have to address this affliction. :ohno:

Do you have some recommendations in regards to address poverty?

control the population and enforce everyone to follow the rule of law. We don't need to raise the min. wages right now but the govt. needs to decrease the price of basic commodities. What' s killing us is the high price of electiricity, medicine , petroleum and food.
I'm in bangkok right now and i've noticed it is so much like metro manila only a LITTLE bit cleaner and organized . but then their pop. is only 60 million. they're ahead about five years in the highway infrastructure but the whole city looks almost like a cleaner old Manila. they also have a stinking smell of sewer permeating the air.

san ka dyan nag stay crap? sa first house ba?you should be out in the red district by this time..dun sa Phatphong....go now!!

Kala ko 26% nlang and nasa poverty line?

Kala ko 26% nlang and nasa poverty line?

Oo nga, sabi dito http://www.answers.com/topic/economy-of-the-philippines


Year 2001 pa yung 40%.

2006 is 26%

^^ OO nga!:) so ngayon 2007 bumalik sa 40%?!

Baka dahil nanalo ang GO?

^^ :lol::lol::lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

^^^^ Luwpet nyu nmn :bash: , bka nga!!:nuts: :lol:

d p nga tapos eh pero cge tawa na rin ganon din naman hehe..:lol:

pero elementary pako nung tnuro samin na considered ng NIC ang pinas kc ina-associate ung emerging countries sa NIC! alam ko rin NIC na tayo kahit nakatago pa sa kumot:)

^Iba kasi ang pagkakaintindi niyo sa article. May I remind you na 2 ang ibig sabihin ng NIC. Yung isa Newly Industrialized Countries. yung isa naman Newly Industrializing Countries. I hope by now, gets niyo na yung ibig sabihin nun.

Ito ata yung research ng Goldman and Sachs about emerging markets na may potential maging developed in several years. Fortunately, we're on the list. Pero they assumed na siyempre kung magpapatuloy yung pace ng GDP grwoth natin ngayon inc. pop. growth, and other factors. blah blah...

Marami pang terms eh like BRICs (BRazil, Russia, India, China) or Chindia (china, india) etc. etc.

control the population and enforce everyone to follow the rule of law. We don't need to raise the min. wages right now but the govt. needs to decrease the price of basic commodities. What' s killing us is the high price of electiricity, medicine , petroleum and food.
I'm in bangkok right now and i've noticed it is so much like metro manila only a LITTLE bit cleaner and organized . but then their pop. is only 60 million. they're ahead about five years in the highway infrastructure but the whole city looks almost like a cleaner old Manila. they also have a stinking smell of sewer permeating the air.

Would people agree on mass sterilization? Poverty and hunger exert an ironic effect on people, driving them to bear more children. The two are also correlated with lack of education, which includes lack of knowledge about controlling family size. Therefore, relieving poverty and hunger then, may be a necessary step in curbing population growth. When people attain better access to health care, education, and family planning, the death rate falls. After a time, the birthrate should follow suit.

The Phillippines have a golden opportunity with China so close by. The authorities needs to reduce red tape and cumbersome regulation that deters private business. It also needs to reduce tariffs and subsidies and increase competition in several sectors of the economy which will foster productivity growth. Monopolies are very bad for the economy. Finally, the fiscal policy must be prudent and responsible with a strict focus on keeping the budgets in order. A 7-8% annual GDP growth rate is necessary to make substantial progress in poverty reduction, and with close co-operation with China, it can be possible.

Would people agree on mass sterilization? Poverty and hunger exert an ironic effect on people, driving them to bear more children. The two are also correlated with lack of education, which includes lack of knowledge about controlling family size. Therefore, relieving poverty and hunger then, may be a necessary step in curbing population growth. When people attain better access to health care, education, and family planning, the death rate falls. After a time, the birthrate should follow suit.

It's interesting, in 1950, the population was only 21 million, today, 57 years later, it is about 90 million and in 2050 it will be about 150 million. But considering there is 127 million in Japan which is much more mountainous and inhospitable, there shouldn't be anything to fear from this, as long as the economy will grow.

try the street food..super sarap...saka yung tipaklong..try mo kainin...meron pa nga..fried langgam...

i remembered nun na ang NIC yung taiwan at singapore pa, tapos sa time ni ramos tiger cub economy daw tayo along with thailand tapos wala pa sa picture yung malaysia! tapos ngayion parang napag iiwanan pa rin tayo, ang inicocompara na sa atin ay indonesia... tapos may nabasa akong article na baka after 30yrs baka malampasan na tayo ng vietnam! We do need a lot of catching up to do. lets never be satisfied and go go GO!

thailand is ahead of us a few years but they're not out of deep waters yet. Malaysia is a better country to emulate.

yes..they still cant tackle muslim insurgencies in southern part. and it's the southern part which is least developed. at least in mindanao we have davao zamboanga and CDO.

Malaysia and Singapore are the best choice.

I hope we're going there. After all, we have been improving economic-wise ever since the GMA instituted economic reforms which proved to be beneficial for us. We wouldn't be experiencing the all high records if not for the efficient economic management. We won't win the confidence of the international community if GMA is idly sitting at her office.

Of course, we have to credit the hard work of our OFWs as well. We won't be achieving this much without the help of hardworking Filipinos abroad.

Even though we are on an economic take-off, I'm still wary of the possibilities that like an airplane taking-off, we might you know, crash, which is the worst possible scenario.

In the last 3 terms of GMA, she should focus on maintaining what she started in her administration or better, amplify the growth and lt it shoot up like crazy. Honestly, I'm still very much hopeful for an economic miracle to happen in our country, that would totally propel us into success.

What I never hope for is again, Filipinos voting for another idiot like ERAP into the presidential position this 2010. We need an brilliant economist like GMA and not a makamasa-type-but-uber-bobo one like ERAP and bless his soul, FPJ.

dahan-dahan sa pananalita mo, marami pa rin maka erap.
lol.

hmm... makes me think... who could lead us after 2010?
the next president should be able to maintain or surpass the achievements of GMA para tuloy2 na talaga ang industrialization ng Pinas.

IMO i think Miriam defensor santiago should be the next pres. or anybody who is COMPETENT enough to run the country, somebody who has the know how with local and international workings and not someone who is dependent on just popularity

^^I also think Miriam could be a good president. Matapang and matalino, just like GMA.

@amigo32. Honestly wala akong pake kung namumutakti sa mga maka-Erap ang forum kasi talaga namang bobo ang idol nila. There's no sin in telling the truth. :)

dahan-dahan sa pananalita mo, marami pa rin maka erap.
lol.
bakit bay, maka erap kaba:lol: gusto mo dalhin kita sa camp x-ray :nuts:

bakit bay, maka erap kaba:lol: gusto mo dalhin kita sa camp x-ray :nuts:


alam mo bang noong kinulong nyo ang kainuman ko, nalungkot ako ng todo, at nawalan din ng kasama sa mga pinupuntahan kong casino? kaya ganun na lang ang galit ko kay gloria, pinalabas nya na walang ka kwenta kwentang presidente si sherap, dahil sabi ni gloria working president sya, eh si erap anong tawag nya? drinking president?:lol:

please stop talking about other countries if you can't say anything good about them. you see some pesky forumer has just landed in this part of our forums. so let's stop talking about their s*it coz it ain't our problem, ayt?

Now back to topic.

tagalog nalang..

bakit ang ibang bansa..lalo na kapag katabi natin..parang gigil na gigil..kapag..uma angat tayo? napapansin ko lang.....dahil ba insecure sila dahil no. 2 tayo dati..at sa atin lahat sila nag aral..UP TO NOW!!

hehehe, gusto mo cebuano? hehehe, ambot sa iyang lobot. j/k. now back to topic.

well because im residing in a foreign country means im not a pinoy? i'm pinoy. full stop.

tagalog nalang..

bakit ang ibang bansa..lalo na kapag katabi natin..parang gigil na gigil..kapag..uma angat tayo? napapansin ko lang.....dahil ba insecure sila dahil no. 2 tayo dati..at sa atin lahat sila nag aral..UP TO NOW!!


hmm. i think its due to the fact that the economic difference among the original ASEAN countries (except Singapore) isn't that big which means Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia are all basically experiencing a relatively equal level of economic development and that creates a great deal of competition and tension. ASEAN is not like the EU or other economic regions that have certain countries leading their neighbors through G8 status. ASEAN-6 is more on an equal footing (neither Singapore is G8) and is still on its way to developed world status with foreign investments being crucial and being fought upon.

^very informative. truth is each country has those it's a fact but deep in our heart it is sad. even rich country like singapore has it, we passed through this sleazy district where u could choose a prosti in the window. haha

hmm. i think its due to the fact that the economic difference among the original ASEAN countries (except Singapore) isn't that big which means Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia are all basically experiencing a relatively equal level of economic development and that creates a great deal of competition and tension. ASEAN is not like the EU or other economic regions that have certain countries leading their neighbors through G8 status. ASEAN-6 is more on an equal footing (neither Singapore is G8) and is still on its way to developed world status with foreign investments being crucial and being fought upon.

I agree with your observation. In your opinion though, do you think that the EU economic/political model will work for ASEAN? With regards to Singapore, and with its limited resources, I think most of its growth will still be dependent on its excellent seaports and its ability to maintain a crucial transhipment point for the far east. However, with the further development of Subic bay as an alternate transhipment and distribution center, I think that that the Philippines can give Singapore a run for its money in the not too distant future.

Singapore now is reinventing itself after suffering in the manufacturing sector losing it's jobs to China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Now, they want to be the Geneva of Asia...opening and liberalizing it's banking industry..and of course.. creating it's bank secrecy laws...

If the Philippines will convert into a federal state..then one state can convert and establish a similar platform like Geneva, Cayman Islands, etc....and we will really kick off in terms of investment...

RP economy grows 6.9% in Q1, fastest pace in 17 yrs:banana: :applause:


(Update 2 10:13 a.m.) The Philippines on Thursday reported that its gross domestic product grew 6.9 percent on-year in the first quarter of 2007, boosted in part by the strong local currency, low inflation, and pump-priming by the government.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made the initial announcement in Canberra, Australia, where she is currently on a state visit. Several minutes later, the National Economic and Development Authority released the official report locally.

NEDA said this is the strongest economic performance since the first quarter of 1990.

In the first quarter of the year, NEDA said gross national product rose 6.6 percent. GNP is the economic measure which takes into account remittances from overseas Filipino workers.

In 2006, the country's gross domestic product rose 5.4 percent, below government expectations, as successive typhoons in the last quarter of the year dragged the domestic economy.

This year, the Philippine government aims to grow the economy between 6.1 percent to 6.7 percent. President Arroyo, however, said growth within the 7-percent mark is doable.

The National Economic and Development Authority will release the official GDP report at 10 a.m. - with a report from Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/44508/Philippine-economy-grows-69-in-Q1-GNP-at-66

hmm... makes me think... who could lead us after 2010?
the next president should be able to maintain or surpass the achievements of GMA para tuloy2 na talaga ang industrialization ng Pinas.

IMO i think Miriam defensor santiago should be the next pres. or anybody who is COMPETENT enough to run the country, somebody who has the know how with local and international workings and not someone who is dependent on just popularity

that another crasy political butterfly ... a brenda

Singapore now is reinventing itself after suffering in the manufacturing sector losing it's jobs to China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Now, they want to be the Geneva of Asia...opening and liberalizing it's banking industry..and of course.. creating it's bank secrecy laws...

Smoking - Even with Singapore's strict money laudering laws, a small Singaporean bank is suspected to have laundered money brought by a suspected terrorist group. It is really a cause for concern.

yes..let's focus back to the topic...that topic is so sensitive...

question: who in here hasn't use a prosti? ever in his/her life...

hahahaha...open nalang ako sa samahan..sori mods

me aamin kaya non.

hoy friendsss..back to the topic.

singapore not just reinventing themselves as global financial hub/ tax haven but also speeding up their biotech sector because they realize they can no longer compete with low cost labor countries like vietnam, indonesia, philippines and china.

malaysia is developing its islamic banking. tu lure petro dollars from middle east.

how about banking system in the philippines.

Major banks like BPI, BDO, ChinaBank, PCI Equitable do they offer online banking? Can someone like me open accounts in these banks? I mean i'm a son of an OFW born outside pinas

una...bwisit talaga ako sa mga taga singaporeans...puros mayayabang yan...mas mayabang sakin...kaya galit ako sa kanila...:nuts:

pangalawa....walang pagmamalaki ang thailand...talagang ginamit nila ang sex industry para makaluwag sila during the 80's...tapos..ayun nag sunod sunod nalang dahil dumami turista nila dahil sa sex.....pwede ba wag sila mag malinis..kahit hari nila...pumayag dun...kaya nga legal sa kanila ang prostitution ehh.....sana walang mag interpret nito..kung hindi yari ako sa hari nila...


yes, on this topic we have common ground. Singaporean especially the chinese were so mayabang - chauvinistic d . . n slit-eyed barbarians.
I work there for almost 20 years and those chauvinistic singaporean chinese were so mayabang and they think malays and indonesians were beneath them. and I am thinking if I am not with them they will say something bad also about Pinoy.

Before I am not chinese hater but after I mixed with Singaporean Chinese,
the rich and elite (my bossing), and the lower class (my workers), I hated them eventhough I have a Singapore Chinese girlfriends before, (before she was a ramp model and a college student, now she is an accountant).

I am apprehensive that when PRC China became so rich and militarily powerful these Singaporean Chinese will become more mayabang. I am thinking the other day why it became my habit to annoy
Chinese forumers, now I remembered it was due to my experience in Singapore.

The Pinoy Chinese I think is not so bad nor so chauvinistic, anyhow I have no contact with the local chinese or the Chinoy, except the owner of hardwares or store where I used to buy things.

yes, on this topic we have common ground. Singaporean especially the chinese were so mayabang - chauvinistic d . . n slit-eyed barbarians.
I work there for almost 20 years and those chauvinistic singaporean chinese were so mayabang and they think malays and indonesians were beneath them. and I am thinking if I am not with them they will say something bad aslo about Pinoy.

Before I am not chinese hater but after I mixed with Singaporean Chinese,
the rich and elite (my bossing), and the lower class (my workers), I hated them eventhough I have a Singapore Chinese girlfriends before, (before she was a ramp model and a college student, now she is an accountant).

I am apprehensive that when PRC China became so rich and militarily powerful these Singaporean Chinese will become more mayabang. I am thinking the other day why it became my habit to annoy
Chinese forumers, now I remembered it was due to my experience in Singapore.

The Pinoy Chinese I think is not so bad nor so chauvinistic, anyhow I have no contact with the local chinese or the Chinoy, except the owner of hardwares or store where I used to buy things.

ha! akala mo lang yun! kahit mga chinoy mayayabang! at least yung ibang kakilala ko... and 1 thing, sobra silang reklamador! nagiging stereotype na nila yun

is that why malay indonesians tried to burn them .

all those singaporean or hongkokng based economy related mags. never include Phils in their lineup.

Nako wag na nga nating pag-usapan yang mga foreigners na yan! Basta importante, MATALO NATIN SILANG LAHAT AT BAWIIN ANG INANGKIN NILA MULA SA BANSA NATIN!!! Naku wala sanang makatranslate neto!

all those singaporean or hongkokng based economy related mags. never include Phils in their lineup.

About this kind of stuff, most foreign entities do not include the Philippines in any stupid lineup of theirs. Like CNN, nako halos wala mang coverage sa Pilipinas.

^^ sad but true...

is that why malay indonesians tried to burn them .

if I said something about the reasons why...

baka magkaroon pa ng away..., and our Mods may closed this Thread,
same like about the other thread with China topic.

I better remain quiet... :)

how about banking system in the philippines.

Major banks like BPI, BDO, ChinaBank, PCI Equitable do they offer online banking? Can someone like me open accounts in these banks? I mean i'm a son of an OFW born outside pinas

As far as I know, PNB, Union Bank, and PCI Equitable Bank offers online banking.

@Avenger, So sorry to hear about your ordeal here. Lahat naman ng newcomers dumadaan sa ganitong baptism of fire sa kanila. Pero pang kunswelo na lang, kumokonti ang lahi nila samantalang parami ng parami ang noyPi dine. baka sakaling magbago...


all those singaporean or hongkokng based economy related mags. never include Phils in their lineup.


oonga 100% tumpak ka diyan. ewan kun bakit...

please stop talking about other countries if you can't say anything good about them. you see some pesky forumer has just landed in this part of our forums. so let's stop talking about their s*it coz it ain't our problem, ayt?

Now back to topic.

Right. Offtopic posts have been deleted. :)

philippines, nic????? :hilarious

I only thing I can say is you guys should more be proud that The Philippines has achieved this status and not laugh about it.

Rajah_Soliman has the tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible view of the Philippines. ;)

why the prostitution comments get deleted? it is an industry and it's related to the economy.

^ahahaha... napakalaking industry. :lol:

^^ yes, grabe ang industry na yan :lol: :lol: :lol:

^^ yes, grabe ang industry na yan :lol: :lol: :lol:

one of the oldest profession:lol:

why the prostitution comments get deleted? it is an industry and it's related to the economy.

It's because they don't contribute much in our economy. If prostitution is legal, our country will be then collecting more taxes.:lol:

Nako wag na nga nating pag-usapan yang mga foreigners na yan! Basta importante, MATALO NATIN SILANG LAHAT AT BAWIIN ANG INANGKIN NILA MULA SA BANSA NATIN!!! Naku wala sanang makatranslate neto!

AGREe! ako dyan....let us fight them in terms of knowledge, know how and hard work...let us all unite and achieve an industrialize Philippines even in 2010!

if I said something about the reasons why...

baka magkaroon pa ng away..., and our Mods may closed this Thread,
same like about the other thread with China topic.

I better remain quiet... :)

Honestly wala akong alam dun..can you please post like an objective report here about that incident..I mean taken from news report or something...pls

This is the type of future leaders we badly need in our country to run for political office para umunlad ang ating bansa at umangat ang kabuhayan ng ating mga mamamayan.


BIG DEAL: MVP in 2010
By Dan Mariano

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/june/01/yehey/opinion/20070601opi2.html
Soon after his ticket swept the polls in his hometown, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay revealed that what really gave him the preelection jitters was not his rival Sen. Lito Lapid but Manuel V. Pangilinan.

As chief executive officer of First Pacific, MVP would have given Binay a run for his money—figuratively and otherwise. As a top-notch manager, Pangilinan has done wonders to practically every company that has come under his wing, and many Makati voters are well aware of this.

PLDT, for instance, had been nearly run to the ground by its previous owners, but after MVP took it over the phone company became one of the profitable corporations, not only in the Philippines, but also in Asia. Its introduction of broadband services permitted the rise of the previously unheard of business process outsourcing, which laid the groundwork for the call centers that now employ thousands of Filipinos.

MVP also had the foresight to invest in digital information technology, which has led to—among others—the rise of Smart Communications as the number one cellular-phone company in the country.

Pangilinan’s reputation as a miracle worker who has turned around companies engaged in communications, transportation, real estate and water service, among others, has reportedly inspired his admirers to urge him to seek public office.

For far too long, this country has been under the spell of either inept or crooked—or both—politicians who have done little to improve our national life. Perhaps the time has come for us to turn to professional managers—of proven value and unblemished record—to lead us out of our current mess.

MVP in 2010? Why not?

Nako matutuwa si Jay Manalo nito...it will be music to his ears

as i see it around me... it's a YES!

Nako matutuwa si Jay Manalo nito...it will be music to his ears


tsismis?:lol:

Read this: Worldbank's update for the Philippines http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPHALFYEARLYUPDATE/Resources/550192-1175629375615/Philippines-Update-April2007.pdf

Nako matutuwa si Jay Manalo nito...it will be music to his ears

Bading ba si Manny Pangilinan?

@amigo32, Malaking chismis nga to!

ala amigo..ano yang tsinitsismis mo?

LOL, ikaw ha, ikaw lagi nag uumpisa, sabay iwan mo ako sa buwan.

asa global city pa naman yan nakatira...

bakit alam na alam mo ha?

ayun sa aking bubuwit! hehehe

nag jogging yan eh minsan...kasama yung poddle nya na may damit na pink...hahahahahha

Bakit nagiging showbiz na yata ang mga threads ngayon? Pati ang mga Filipino-Spanish heritage threads nahawa. :lol: Now, end this. :evil:

^^National Pastime ng mga Pilipino ang chismisan! :)

well personalities were mentioned as an alternative leader for an industrialize Philippines so we have to discuss their issues..I don't think that is showbiz? Pangilinan is not a showbiz character? It so happens na may kabit sya na showbiz.

one of the oldest profession:lol:


actually , and this is a fact.... prostitution is the world's oldest industry, ask any archeologist or Antiquity Historian...:cheers:

I remember we had an ASEAN thread but I can't find it. If one exists and this doubles just merge it Mods.

This is thread is for discussing issues regarding the Association of South East Asian Nations. As a framework similar to the EU. The Association's goal is to prevent wars, foster greater wealth through economic integration among it's members. Among the biggest projects currently are the writing of a constitution for all member nations which would be the basis for interaction among the states using rule of law. Another great thrust is economic integration which would build a much larger market for ASEAN countries and eventually key trading partnes, China, Korea and Japan. Eventually this would lead to Monetary unity using only one unified currency to make transactions more effecient.

The article below illustrates one of the key steps needed to be undertaken by the Republic to achieve this vision.


Vol. XX, No. 229
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
Today’s Headlines
Tariff cuts approved
Under ASEAN free trade deal

The elimination of tariff barriers in Southeast Asia is nearer to completion following President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s approval of Philippine rate reductions under a regional free trade agreement.

The government expects Philippine exporters to gain from free trade deals.

With the issuance of Executive Order (EO) 617, import duties on over 8,000 tariff lines, or 71% of all goods traded in the region, have been removed, Tariff Commission Chairman Edgardo B. Abon said.

The region began embarking on economic integration in 1992 when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) established a free trade area (AFTA). The Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme required that duties levied on a wide range of products be brought down to no more than 5% and eventually to zero.

The free trade agreement covers all manufactured and agricultural products save for 734 tariff lines in a General Exception List which are permanently excluded for reasons of national security; protection of human, animal or plant life and health; and are of artistic, historic and archaeological value.

A framework agreement for the integration of priority sectors, signed in Vientiane in November 2004, provided that the ASEAN 6 (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) should eliminate by January 2007 "all CEPT rates of products (other than those in the sensitive, highly sensitive and general exception lists) covered by the individual ASEAN Sectoral Integration Protocols, except those listed in accompanying negative lists to the Protocols."

This agreement identified 11 priority sectors: agro-based products, air travel, automotive, e-ASEAN, electronics, fisheries, healthcare, rubber-based products, textiles and apparel, tourism, and wood-based products.

The ASEAN 6 has until 2010 to complete liberalization while Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam were given until 2018.

Based on Tariff Commission data, 8,136 lines out of the 11,444 total are no longer charged duties. Another 2,205, or about 19%, have a corresponding 5% tariff rate; 911 lines, or 8%, are levied 3%, and 121 lines have a 1% rate.

Less than one percent of all the products covered continue to have 20-40% rates.

"Reduction of CEPT rates on sensitive products to 0-5% for ASEAN 6 will commence in 2010," Mr. Abon said. The sensitive list includes rice.

The Philippines, meanwhile, is also ready to grant reciprocal tariff treatment to products in the sensitive track of the ASEAN-China free trade area (ACFTA) under a trade in goods agreement.

In EO 618, Mrs. Arroyo directed that this be accorded "after a notification has been received from the party/parties that the rates of duty of products in its sensitive track are at 10% and below."

Mr. Abon said the sensitive track covers 2,121 tariff lines ranging from meat and meat products to automobile parts and accessories.

"Progressive elimination of tariffs on products included in the sensitive track of the ACFTA products will be from 2012 to 2018. For those products considered as highly sensitive, tariffs will be reduced by 50% in 2015," he explained.

By 2018, tariffs of products in the sensitive list should not exceed 5%.

The ASEAN-China trading bloc is described as the world’s biggest, spanning 1.7 billion consumers and a combined gross domestic product of approximately $2 trillion.

To fast-track implementation of the agreement, an early harvest program was initiated among the ASEAN 6 and China to eliminate duties on certain products by 2006. Covered were live animals, meat and edible meat offal, fish, dairy produce, other animal products, live trees, edible vegetables, and edible fruits and nuts.

Mr. Abon said these commitments are "equally favorable" to the countries involved in terms of trade, investment and employment.

"For the Philippines, opening up our market to ASEAN and China will attract more investments and will benefit Philippine exporters in specific industry sectors," he said.

"Over time, business will grow, giving more and better jobs to people. Likewise, there will be an increase in investments as well as in research and development, thus promoting technological innovation," he added.

Mr. Abon said the progressive elimination of tariffs doubled the country’s exports to China to $4.5 billion in 2005 from $2.5 billion in 2004.

On the whole, trade arrangements have resulted in "greater economic activity" within the region and with China, Mr. Abon added. — Josefa L. Cagoco

The original thread: ASEAN + 3 Monetary Union (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=346908&highlight=ASEAN) :colgate:

Should the threads be merged?

if wer goin to place ASEAN in the world economy, it will be at 6th place.

this would require careful study,... I'd rather not see prices going up all of a sudden ...

if wer goin to place ASEAN in the world economy, it will be at 6th place.

Could be... South East Asian region is one of the richest areas in the world in terms of resources (natural and manpower)...

bakit kasama yung 3??? nakikisawsaw yata ah! I think the emergence of the ASEAN economies will be suffice without the sawsaw 3! eh may parang may org naman rin sila ah

OK lang ang Asean Monetary union basta hindi kasali ang Thailand. :bash:

Baka magka-galis ang Piso kapag mapakatabi ang Baht. Nuong panahon ni presidente el tabako, wala naman prolema ang piso pero yung baht bumagsak. Ayon, sinama pabagsak ang piso.

Eh ngayon ang daming ng problemang pulitikal ng thailand, baka isama na naman tayo sa hukay ng mga yan.

^^Hay hindi naman siguro ganyan. Kapag sa isang grupo may isang iniwan, panget yon. Imaginin mo kapag inexclude ang Pilipinas dahil sa "Äbu Sayyaf, NPA at extra judicial killings".

^^ IMO whatever happens to the major world economies, the Philippines will be affected one way or the other... its a chain reaction... especially when RP has a higher statistics for Import than Export... In the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 90's with S.E. Asia being the fastest growing region in the world, it so happened that the booming economy of Thailand was the one that triggered the crisis... it could have been Vietnam or China or Canada (then it would have been N. American financial crisis)... In the past, there was also talk about "overheating" of China's economy, and for sure, we will be affected by this.

In these modern times, where each country's economy is closely connected to the other, any movements, good or bad will have a global effect --- short or long term.

Take for example the looming embargo on Iran. If it should happen, oil prices will rise because the countries which imports oil from Iran will look to buy somewhere else and thus affect the flow of supply and demand...

Or if Brazil's economy would be in trouble, for sure some minerals (i.e. timber, steel, etc.) would become scarce, and therefore trigger another global imbalance.

Its a complicated discussion which I'm not really good at, but these are just my opinion so to speak...

The Asian Century is a term used to describe the belief that, if certain demographic and economic trends persist, the 21st century will be dominated by Asian politics and culture, similarly to how the 20th century is often called the American Century, and the 19th century the British Century.

Our Asian neighbors and the Asian Century


Remember the "Asian Century"? Back in 1998 it seemed to have ended even before it had begun. The so-called Asian Tigers had collapsed almost as suddenly as they had arrived on the world economic scene. Pessimists argued it was all a bubble and that rebuilding would take a decade or more.

Here we are in 2004 and it's time to talk about the Asian Century once more. But this time we are talking about an Asian Century that's very different from the one envisioned five years ago. Now the giant in the left-hand corner is China, growing in leaps and bounds, gorging itself on steel and other commodities from around the world.

But the even more unexpected development is that India has suddenly become part of the Asian Century. Call it India Shining, India Rising or whatever you will, it's a development that the world hadn't really foreseen. An economically powerful

India would be, "the second pole" that would make the region more powerful than anyone had imagined.

Now, everyone is rapidly redoing their calculations. As Jean-Pierre Verbiest, assistant chief economist, Asian Development Bank said in early December: "New and very large tigers are growing up. PRC (China) has now joined the group, and India is increasingly on its way to join, and will do so in the decade to come. Together, the new and old tigers will make the twenty-first century Asia's century."

India is never going to be an 800-pound gorilla like China -- at least not in the near future. But it could become a powerful 500-pound beast that will pull far more economic weight than anyone had ever expected back in the early '90s when its foreign reserves were still in the single-digit billions.

Is this pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking? Let's say it won't happen overnight -- and, as always, there are lots of ifs and buts. India's interaction both with China and South-east Asia are still at relatively low levels. But there are signs of a fast pick up.

India-China trade has, for instance, climbed from a paltry $300 million in the early '90s to around $5 billion. Similarly, two-way Indo-Asean trade is around $12 billion currently, but the Government is convinced it will climb to $30 billion in three years.

These figures are important because the Asian century is looking a whole lot different from what it did five years ago. That era depended heavily on exports by the South-East Asian nations to richer countries like the United States. Today's Asian Century will be fuelled by entirely different factors.

Firstly, there will be inter-regional trade among countries like India, China and the smaller nations of the region. Verbiest points out that "Typically, for all these regional economies, the share of total exports going to China has doubled since the start of 2000. China has already overtaken the US as the main export market for Korea (about 20 per cent of Korea's exports)."

Verbiest adds: "Long-term growth estimates indicate that the size of India's economy could reach about $1 trillion a decade from now, about double today's size. In a decade, China and India together would have an economy about the size of that of Japan today, but a fast expanding and dynamic economy."

For once the Indian government appears to understand the opportunities that are coming its way. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed Asean earlier this year his speech was all about bits, bytes and the need to boost trade. Also, the Government is talking about free trade zones with countries like Thailand.

Back in the early '90s, Fortune wrote a lengthy cover story on the Asian miracle without even once mentioning India even tangentially. Today, somebody has started a magazine called Asian Century -- and it talks about everything from Bangalore's software professionals to Indian shopping malls.

Says the magazine editorial: "The fastest-growing technology companies in the world are Asian -- Wipro, Huawei, ZTE, Samsung and Infosys. And lately, we see that the buyers of what were previously American-funded regional infrastructures -- the Flag Telecoms, the Global Crossings and so on -- are Asian."

Any of those names sound familiar?

The Asian Century, again.
The Philippine Star
July 9, 2007


Our busy ex-president, Fidel V. Ramos has organized a lecture on “10 Years After The Asian Financial Crisis” on July 18, 2007. This could be interesting if controversial questions were to be asked. The written invitation is entitled “Where Are We Now?”. It then enumerates a number of questions. How did we survive the 1997 Asian financial crisis? Why have we lost our edge over our Asian neighbors since our emergence from the crisis? What is being done by both the private sector and government to regain the ground we lost due to the crisis?

The date of the lecture, July 18, is the same day that IMF approved a credit of $1billion to the Philippines to help stave off the effects of the crisis in 1997. The former president must be remembering those days when at the tail-end of his single presidential term so carefully nurtured to bring up the Philippines to emerging tiger he had to bow out in the midst of a crisis not of his or the country’s making.

The question is whether such a meltdown which caused so many bankruptcies and loss of jobs across Asia can happen again? It especially hurts because it was about the time that media were full of articles on the coming Asian Century. It was totally unexpected.

Contrary to received wisdom it did not begin with Thailand but with Japan when it hinted in early May 1997 that it might raise interest rates to defend the yen. Although the threat did not happen, global investors began to sell Southeast Asian currencies and set off a tumble both in currencies and local stock markets. On July 2 after using $33 billion in foreign exchange, Thailand announced a managed float of the baht. The Philippines also intervened to defend the peso. Malaysia did more than that and did not suffer meekly the onslaught on the currencies of the region.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir went on the attack and accused “rogue speculators”. He singled out financier George Soros and called him a ‘moron’. He would later take back his accusation but the shot had been fired. Others picked it up and pointed to conspiracy theories on just how and why it happened. After all, at that time Asia was in a roll. Pfft went the first announcements of an Asian century. I remember Asian specialist Robert Elegant writing a book on the ‘Asian Century’ that warned the West, particularly America it did not know enough of the region. Well, it never came to that. Mahathir told delegates to the IMF/World Bank annual conference in Hong Kong that currency trading is “immoral and should be stopped” and described his foreign critics as “cockerels crowing arrogantly but with the tail-feathers mired in feces.” George Soros answered, “Dr. Mahathir is a menace to his own country.”

Before long besieged Asian countries were knocking for help at IMF’s door. At the APEC Summit, leaders of the 18 Asia Pacific economies endorsed a framework to cope with financial crises. It was not Asia alone that was hurting as the contagion spread to other countries including Russia and Brazil. Analysts, in remembering 1997 are quick to point out that many improvements have since been made among them regulatory transparency and supervisory oversight, corporate governance, risk management, and the quality of economic data. Likewise central banks were made more independent and government debt reined in.

Across Asia, governments saw how current account deficits in trade and investment flows can make them dangerously vulnerable. Through the years reforms put their economic houses in order, focusing on improving investment policies on export capacity, maintaining low currency values and building current-account surpluses. Among the measures taken the most notable is accumulating massive amounts of foreign exchange reserves. In this China leads with its central bank holding more than $1 trillion. After the financial crisis governments in the Philippines and Indonesia encouraged greater foreign capital flows through major investments. So lessons were learned.

But more significantly Asian countries want a bigger say in the world’s financial system instead of being left to its mercies in a crunch. When asked what Asian countries have done since David Kang, who teaches about the Asian political economy at Dartmouth said in a recent TV interview that a similar crisis in 1997 is unlikely to happen. “Asian countries have created their own center of economic stability since the time of the Asian financial crisis. They’ve done two things. The first one is to horde currency reserves, particularly US dollars, in massive amounts - hundreds of billions of dollars - to make sure that they don’t have a balance of payments crisis like they did in ’97. China leads the pack with almost a trillion dollars. The second thing that they’ve done has . . . begin to work within themselves to try and create more trade zones, and not exclusively within Asia - they’re trying to make free trade zones with United States. But in many ways they’ve decided that they have to, you know, take their own economic futures into their own hands. So are we to see finally the long predicted Asian century?

Business heads urge Asia to start showing global leadership
Inquirer Business

SINGAPORE -- (UPDATE) Asia must start to take a leading role in tackling pressing global issues including climate change, business chiefs said Sunday at the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

The region's increased economic might has resulted in higher expectations for Asian countries to come together and play a bigger part on the world stage, they said at the start of the two-day forum.

"There is a perception, I think well established in the world, that the 21st century is going to see a growing Asian leadership and one of the objectives of these two days' meeting is talking about the Asian leadership and what does it mean," said Carlos Ghosn, president and chief executive of carmakers Renault and Nissan.

Despite its economic success, Asia is still perceived by the international community as lacking the common ground that would allow it to tackle global challenges, Ghosn said.

"Today there is a perception that when you take Japan, China, India, Korea, Southeast Asia, the common things shared by the different countries are not substantial enough," Ghosn said at a media briefing held on the sidelines of the WEF.

"People would like to know how all these countries are going to be able to establish one agenda, one common agenda, particularly to address some of the common concerns that the world has," he said.

E. Neville Isdell, chairman and chief executive of the Coca-Cola Company, also called for a larger Asian voice on the future of the global trading system that has benefited the region in the last decade.

"The one that I want to focus on is really the world trading system and how that has benefited Asia to such a major degree because we all know the wonderful story of the number of people who have come out of poverty in the last 20 years," said Isdell.

"We sit here today with considerable bad news over the latest discussions around the Doha Round and I think that certainly I would appeal to members of ASEAN to have become more involved for their voices to be heard, and clearly, with regard to the Doha Round," he said, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The Doha round of global trade talks is currently stalled due mainly to deep differences over agricultural subsidies and trade tariffs among the key trading powers.

The multilateral talks, dubbed the Doha Development Round, were launched in the Qatari capital Doha in 2001 with the intention of ensuring that poor countries taste the fruits of freer global trade.

In her opening address to the forum, Philippines President Gloria Arroyo said the region had a number of able leaders as well as institutions such as the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that give it direction.

"The real issue is the rapid economic rise of the region at a time when the global order has undergone enormous swings," she said, citing the rise of China and India as well as the influence of "the global war on terrorism" on the US role in the world.

"The US is the major political and military player. It has been preoccupied in the Middle East, in Iraq, in other crisis areas. This has left the perception of a leadership deficit in Asia," she said.

China and Japan have "stepped up their game," notably over the crisis on the Korean peninsula, she said. China and Japan are among six nations which have held talks aimed at resolving a standoff over North Korea's nuclear program.

"Yet this is the interim game: The real issue is how the region will handle the next 20 or 40 years," Arroyo said, calling for Japan to play a leading role in promoting the integration and security of East Asia.

"We would also like to see Japan playing a leading role in contributing to integration in the region, and maintaining and pursuing international peace and security as we try to forge the East Asia community," she said.

Japan, China and India are active in the East Asia Summit, which promotes community building and a political, economic and security dialogue between ASEAN and its regional partners.

The leadership obligations of China and India will also increase along with their economic might, Arroyo added.

She said the region faced a series of contradictions including increased integration and prosperity that exists alongside the likelihood of greater income disparity.

"Balancing these contradictions will be the test of leadership in the region," she said.
Other delegates also cited income disparities and said key problems faced by the world's fastest-growing region included urban congestion, poor education, and inadequate infrastructure.
Ghosn said the only point at issue was how Asia is going to assume global leadership, and how fast.

"There is no doubt that...this century is going to be the Asian century," Ghosn said. "We are still at the beginning of the century. You still have 92 years to go.

So here's the question, with the economic reforms and developments happening in our country......ARE WE READY FOR THE ASIAN CENTURY?

there's no Asian Century, today it's more to Global Century. I read Dr. M's book he said it's not Asian Century as people had predicted before.

If China and India's current economic growth could be sustained - yes, an "Asian Century". Would the Philippines be ready to take advantage of this? Well, we have to maintain close ties with both China and India. Our Filipino Chinese would play an important role. We also probably have to open up more to India and Indians.

there's no Asian Century, today it's more to Global Century. I read Dr. M's book he said it's not Asian Century as people had predicted before.

Dr. M? as in Mahathir Mohamed?!! I thought he was the one who originally envisioned a united Asia...isn't that a bit conflicting, I always thought he's pro-Asian that's all?!!

The "Global Spotlight" is clearly on Asia, and not even the US can deny that, I reckon in the future, global economic and political policies will be heavily influenced by Asia. China along with India will become huge consumers of raw materials and resources, and the Philippines is in perfect position to take advantage of that. I think the rise of those two Asian Giants will ultimately lift the whole region, SEA in particular (population obviously play a huge part).

he's indeed a pro asian and united asian but he doesnt see this as Asian Century...i forget the title of the book. He said that this century is not asian alone but for the whole world. Which clearly yes, we see united states and its allies policing the world, india with their it genuises and china flexing their economic prowess. when all globalization take place soon, it's not just by asian countries, but for all countries to compete on a level playing field.

a united asian does not necessarily mean that asian conquering the world in economy and military might and political. the world will be balanced by US power and Asia with their emerging and mature economy. and let's not forget europe.

Global century....

Kahit anu pang century yan, Century Tuna, Century egg or whatever, the Philippines should always be prepared to tag along. Kawawa kasi tayo, di tayo makagawa ng sariling wave on our own.

The "Global Spotlight" is clearly on Asia, and not even the US can deny that, I reckon in the future, global economic and political policies will be heavily influenced by Asia. China along with India will become huge consumers of raw materials and resources, and the Philippines is in perfect position to take advantage of that. I think the rise of those two Asian Giants will ultimately lift the whole region, SEA in particular (population obviously play a huge part).

Correct. While our politicians are busy debating about Garci, impeachment, etc. Australia is positioning itself as part of Asia in order to benefit economically from this "Asian century". Australia has successfully captured the Chinese tourist and overseas students market (billions of dollars of export/year). Australia's robust economic growth at the moment has also got a lot to do with their mineral exports to China.
Darwin in the state of Northern Territory is being promoted by the Australian government as the "Asian gateway". Many big time Asian gamblers regularly fly down to Sydney Casino or Crown Casino (Melbourne) for a few days gambling. The money they spend would make our so called big time gamblers here look like beggars.

That's why I said this country got so much potential . We haven't even attracted the well heeled tourists yet.

Kahit anu pang century yan, Century Tuna, Century egg or whatever, the Philippines should always be prepared to tag along. Kawawa kasi tayo, di tayo makagawa ng sariling wave on our own.

century tuna is phil. made :D

Kahit anu pang century yan, Century Tuna, Century egg or whatever, the Philippines should always be prepared to tag along. Kawawa kasi tayo, di tayo makagawa ng sariling wave on our own.

Very good point and I agree 100%. The Philippines and the entire Filipino nation should not worry too much about where it is today economomically as compared to other nations. I think that that is not material at all at this point in the history of the Philippines. Instead the entire country should unite and work as hard as it can, and together, make the difficult political decisions in finding solutions that will improve the living standards of the majority of the people. If the country can do this collectively, there is no doubt in my mind that everthing else will fall into place.

Let us all remember that during the middle of the last century, we we were one of the leaders in Asia but it only took 2 generations to change all that. We can reverse this trend - we already have the right foundations in place - all it is going to take is to gather enough courage for our political leaders to make the difficult political decisions for the good of the many.

century tuna that is
caldereta, i like

century tuna that is
caldereta, i like


hot n spicy century tuna my favs

China and India along with smaller but not much less dynamicand rising economies South Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam the major engines propelling Asian economic growth.

It's just a pity that poor economic management, political instability, ethnic and religious divisions and heavy reliance on foreign remittance has turned the Philippines from being one of the most prosperous post-WW 2 Asian country into the state that it is today. I hope the Philippines will pick up its game for the sake of its people, of which the population growth is rising too rapidly for such a small landmass.

Dunno where to post this, maybe this thread is appropriate. Is this a sign of the Asian century?

BSP to support creation of Asian Monetary Fund
http://gmanews.tv/story/50397/BSP-to-support-creation-of-Asian-Monetary-Fund

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Tuesday said it will support the creation of an Asian Monetary Fund, an idea that has been shot down by the International Monetary Fund, but which has been warmly accepted in the region.

BSP Gov. Amando M. Tetangco Jr told reporters that Asian central banks are already moving in the direction of creating a regional counterpart to the International Monetary Fund. Tetangco said that despite the objection of the IMF, regional central banks have realized the need for greater regional cooperation because economic relations within Asian countries have become even more intertwined.

"What is significant now, aside from financial facilities that could be provided by an AMF, is the regular policy dialogs. If there is any policy that needs to be discussed, it can be taken up for the good of the region as a whole," Tetangco said.

The proposal to create an AMF gained ground as central banks in the region raised fears of future financial shocks similar to the crisis that hit the region in 1997. Regional financial leaders believe that an AMF would be more adept at dealing with crisis the scope of what hit the region ten years ago.

"We will support such an initiative as long as we would avoid duplication. The role of such an organization should be complementary to what other multilateral agencies are already doing," Tetangco said.

"I can not over-emphasize the importance of regional cooperation. This was absent before the 1997 crisis and had it been present, a lot of it would have been avoided," he added.

The IMF was also under fire for prescribing economic and financial measures that affected the political balance in some countries in the region.

The AMF was initially proposed to be formalized out of the Chang Mai Initiative which was an offshoot of the Asean Swap Arrangement to include China, Japan and Korea. The AMF was intended to assisting member countries experiencing difficulties with their balance of payment, a move largely spearheaded by Japan.

Subsequent proposals expanded the AMF to include the US and other countries to form an Asia Pacific Monetary Fund intended to provide a regional complement for the IMF.

When it was first brought up, however, the IMF said it did not support the thinking that any region had unique requirements that would necessitate the creation of a regional monetary fund.

The criticisms against the IMF, especially during the 1997 crisis, on the other hand, stemmed from its inability to anticipate the contagion and wield its gigantic bureaucracy to be able to act quickly.

The AMF was seen as a possible institution that would be more immediately responsive to the region's concerns, especially in the institution of an early warning system.

It's good that the government is moving ahead to promote bilateral relations with ASEAN member-countries despite the present lukewarm participation of rich countries.

With Villar, a shrewd businessman, as the Senate president, I expect better performance from the chamber. Both chambers of Congress should work towards being less confrontational, with each other and with the executive branch. No more derailing important projects, which only frustrates investors - such as the Northrail project which was politicized by Drilon and Co., to the dismay of the Chinese.

I've read somewhere that it's just the start of the century. We still have a long way to go and it's very early to look into this Asian Century when we haven't even finished the first decade of the century. But heck! With all these signs and things falling into place, it's almost attainable. China and India are becoming the world's economic powers. ASEAN is an emerging trade bloc in the world. Most Asian countries befallen by the Asian Financial Crisis have overcome their problems. This is our time. I hope nothing hinders it. Or just yet.

It's good that the government is moving ahead to promote bilateral relations with ASEAN member-countries despite the present lukewarm participation of rich countries.

The movement is not within ASEAN alone. Remember, it's an Asian Monetary Fund that is likely to be established during the century. ASEAN+3 is readily moving to this establishment, with the South Asian trade bloc giving support to this endeavor. I hope this pushes thru, along with the free-trade agreement with ASEAN members. :)

^^

In response to your question the other day (somehow it went missing); Australia is geographically part of Asia hence "Australasia". But this does not guarantee that they could ride on the economic growth of the region. This is why Australia is promoting closer relations with China, India and Asia as a whole (to a slight disappointment of the US). While our politicians are busy about local "issues" (eg. Garci, election cheating, investigations, debates, etc.) Australia has a long term plan on how to capture the Chinese, Indian market. Darwin for example which is much closer to Indonesia than Sydney is being promoted as Australia's Asian gateway.

^^ I don't remember even mentioning Australia in my very single post in this thread. Are you referring to me?? :?

beats me bro...don't stress about it..

By SHEILA CRISOSTOMO
The Philippine Star

More than 6,000 Filipino computer experts based in Singapore will attempt to hack the system to be used by the Commission on Elections to pilot test Internet voting there from July 20 to Aug. 8.

“Filipino IT experts in Singapore have signified they will try to hack the system professionally, not for personal gain or personal upliftment,” COMELEC Commissioner and Overseas Absentee Voting Committee head Florentino Tuazon said.

The COMELEC is holding the mock election to test the technology of Scytl Consortium, a Spain-based company contracted to implement the P23.5-million project. The agency will be using national heroes as senatorial bets and fictitious groups as candidates for the party-list elections.

Tuazon said hackers would be submitting a written report to the COMELEC whether or not they penetrated the Scytl system.

“If, indeed, they are able to do that, they have to show proof. I think even our embassy there, without our knowledge, will allow non-registered voters to try to vote through the Internet,” he added.

Tuazon said Beverly Tacur, who heads the International Foundation for Election System (IFES) in the Philippines, has agreed to send “auditors” that will attempt to hack the system before, during and after the pilot test of Internet voting.

IFES is a non-profit organization funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It is based in Washington.

“The important phase of the pilot testing would be to check the penetration aspect of the system. In other words, to find out if there are hackers that can get into the system,” he said.

He expressed confidence that the Scytl system is secure.

“I am very confident. When I talked to them (Scytl), they were very confident. In fact they have already secured two contracts for the 2008 presidential elections in the US. They will participate in the 2008 presidential elections in certain states involving particular groups of voters,” he added.

After the pilot testing, it will be determined if Internet voting can be implemented for overseas absentee voters in the 2010 presidential elections.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=84934

hmmm... we're all ears... and eyes...

Not yet but soon. I hope we'll get there by 2010! Let's work for it!

Marami pang terms eh like BRICs (BRazil, Russia, India, China) or Chindia (china, india) etc. etc.

Meron ding BRIMC, Mexico being the "M".

all those singaporean or hongkokng based economy related mags. never include Phils in their lineup.

Oo nga. And the news about the Philippines are sooooo few. :ohno:

As far as I know, PNB, Union Bank, and PCI Equitable Bank offers online banking.

BDO, too. BTW, BDO and EPCI Bank have already merged, BDO being the surviving entity. I wonder what bank name will survive if PNB and DBP will be merged. Anyways...

I only thing I can say is you guys should more be proud that The Philippines has achieved this status and not laugh about it.

I agree. It makes those hyena-like people (hyena becuase of the sound it makes, like laughing jackasses) have no identity. Basta. :ohno:

By Manoy Teban

It is sad to think about the condition of the Philippines my mother land. The poor getting poorer and the rich becoming richer.Poverty is everywhere that is far different than what media is showing the world. Crimes are rampant that if you are not used to this kind of life you would think of getting out of there as soon as possible. It also seems that the whole system is a big clump of mess. It is also funny to think that many Filipinos have time in their hands to protest for many unknown reasons. With all these chaos happening, many ask is there hope for the Philippines? My answer would be yes.

You may wonder why my answer is yes, it is so because I believe that there is no impossible thing in this world that cannot be fixed, unless it's totally dead. In the case of the Philippines, the big answer lies in every individual. Every individual has the right to change the course of the country. Voting is a powerful tool, like any other tools if used in the right way can create newer and better outcome. But if used inappropriately, negative results can be expected. In this case, each Filipino who voted should ask themselves, have I done the right thing last election?. Did I sell my precious vote? If the answer is yes, these Filipinos have no right at all to complain. Election in the country thus had become a business. Many unqualified candidates who are for pure profit would jump in the contest and will do all their best to win. They will use the 3 Gs to be able to secure a position where their investment will have a multiple folds return, thanks for those stupid Filipinos who sold their votes. It is apparent that gone are the days that to become a politician or law maker in the Philippines you need to have degree in law or other related courses. At present all you need is a fat wallet to initially fund your campaign. It does not matter if you know anything about the law or the position you wanted to represent for. Money has become the biggest attraction to these positions. With this reason I don't see any reason for these activist and stupid Filipinos to cry about how poor they had become and why they get poor service from these corrupt officials because they are the very persons who placed them in these positions through their irresponsible voting.

Also, I am not fond of watching all these activists marching down the street and causing problems. Their battle cry is like a worn out theme which originated from the pre Marcos era. Is there nothing new that they can use? I was once an activist myself in U.P. But the marches that I join are limited to the ones that I think really has causes like marches against tuition hikes and other local problems. I do not join marches against the U.S. and the government because first of all it's baseless and stupid I guess. I am not a hypocrite which in this case the government is the one that pays for my tuition. I don't bite the hand that feeds me. I may sound confusing but what I am trying to say is that people who join these activities should think first if the cause of the movement is really worth it and can be addressed immediately. I think it's stupid to shout against an enemy miles and miles away and doesn't care at all. And besides it's a fact that these marches are just used as excuse by many to be away from jobs or get some extra cash. I can still remember many of my school mates join the rally against the U.S government and halfway of the march most of them dispersed and went inside McDonalds. Wow! they don't want US capitalism but they also consume US products. Funny to think some of them don't even know what is written in the placards they are holding and most of them are thick faced to admit they are there because they are paid 20-50 pesos. Another example is the State of the nation address by the president; it seems that every time this event occurs it's like a holiday for rallyists. Sona is one activity that is slowly becoming a well known international event in the Philippines, in addition to traditional holidays and festivities we have, no wonder many foreign activists even joined in. Of course who would think it's a serious thing when you're surrounded by loud music, stage plays confetti's and many more “fun” stuff and activities. I think these rallies can be compared to the running of the bulls in Spain, and other mass festivities found in other countries.

Poverty is one thing that makes Philippines famous nowadays. The most common claim is that the government does not provide enough for the poor people. First of all these people are the ones who brought their miserable conditions to themselves. First they went to the big city hoping that they can find money in the streets there. Well sorry for you, the reality is that city life is not for everybody. Second they already know that they cannot even feed themselves, why still create more babies that produce more miserable people when they grow up. If I am the president I will challenge these people crowding the city to go back to their provinces and try to make their lives better there. And also they should stop claiming that the government owes them. First of all are they paying tax that can support the government? Well in the case of the Philippines it just goes to the bulging pockets of corrupt politicians, but that's another topic. As far as my studies had taught me, a good ideal government survives on the taxes paid by its people. And in this type of government the people who pay taxes have all the rights to be supported by the government. In simpler ideas lets put it this way, you harvest what you planted and in the case of the miserable Filipinos who sold their votes, they get what they deserve. I used to feel sorry about these people, but I learned my lesson that only the person can change his life. If I did not learn my lesson and did not apply these in my own personal life, I too maybe had joined these masses of miserable Filipinos. So there goes my reason why I don't pity them anymore.

It is given the Philippine government is considered one of the most corrupt in the whole world, but still there is hope. If all Filipinos unite and initiate the changes amongst themselves first, the power of change will possibly invade the conscience of the corrupt officials. We did it once, when we toppled the Marcos Regime so this is one reason I do not believe Filipinos cannot do it. We are in a modern age now where we all have access to other governments via technology. All we need is learn from these governments and apply the positive things to our own. Filipinos are well known for being good copycats, so why don't we use this towards the good of the whole country. Also, many Filipinos had been to other countries where they experienced how to become a disciplined and responsible citizen. How come they do not share these experiences when they go home?

I am challenging you brothers and sisters to start the changes for good of ourselves and our country, and be authentic in doing it. Our generations have more intelligence now, I challenge all of you to unite and initiate the changes our whole country needs. If we can easily learn how to operate ipods and computers and other gadgets, we can do this too when it comes to our society. Let's all save the Philippines from further misery.

http://www.thenewstoday.info/2007/07/30/the.future.and.well.being.of.the.philippines.lie.on.the.hands.of.its.very.own.people.html

The first thread with an almost similar title was closed because of unnecessary and irrelevant posts which very off the topic of the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Anyway, here's an update of the ARF.

Yesterday, the ASEAN foreign ministers were able to reach consensus on the establishment of a human rights commission for the region. Upon approval of the establishment of said commission, it will be included in the draft of the ASEAN charter. The complaints of several human rights groups in the region lead to the creation of a body that will look onto the undemocratic regimes of the ASEAN countries that lead to human rights violations. Myanmar was reluctant to the proposal, as well as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Nevertheless, the ministers were able to resolve the issue and reach consensus.

The division on this matter was resolved and it is good that the member countries came to an agreement for everybody's benefit.

On another note, the North Korea already decided to shut off its nuclear reactors and it even allowed US inspectors to come. President Arroyo met with the North Korean foreign minister.

^^ That sounds good. I'm just wondering, I've read several articles that Myanmar is very apprehensive of the said rights body and yet, it "succumbed" to the ASEAN will. And quite surprisingly, NoKor shut down its nuclear facilities! Those news are QUITE surprising, really.

Well, let’s hope that the prospect of a stronger relationship and thriving commerce with fellow ASEAN countries has put better sense to the heads of the NoKor officials. NoKor will only be alienating its neighbor countries and the whole world with a pro-nuclear policy.

Yesterday, President Arroyo urged the ASEAN to push for full economic and social integration by 2015.

^^ And what does she mean by economic and social integration. Did she elaborate on it? I think it's kind of vague, especially with the social integration thing.

Final draft of ASEAN Charter completed ahead of Nov deadline

By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 31 July 2007 1727 hrs

MANILA : The final draft of the ASEAN Charter will be submitted to foreign ministers two months earlier than planned.

Initially, a high level task force looking into the charter had planned to submit it in November.

It had also planned to have four more meetings.

But the milestone document is likely to be wrapped up in the first week of September.

That's when a special ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting would take place in Singapore.

This was disclosed by a senior Philippine Foreign Ministry official.

He added that the draft will contain provisions for the human rights body, which was formally announced on July 30.

Singapore takes over the ASEAN chair from the Philippines on August 2 at the close of the ongoing ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila. - CNA /ls

Philippines as newly industrializing country? Why new?? We are industrialized since 1968... imagine when we have the National Steel Corporation? The nickel processing plants, the ATLAS? Remember? The only sad thing we do is we wreck everything.. We are like ship who sail smoothly then suddenly wrecked by our selves. We loss everything.. look!!! We almost got our path ahead of Malaysia or even Singapore if we have a good and strong KAPITAN. It is us who always complain without looking the future. Now everybody know, we are loss. Think of the investment... before we have a very strong investment from WEST because China and Vietnam by that time are inert in world trading. Now it's too late... we have a strong competition with China and Vietnam not counting other south asian countries. The Western investors are looking for a partner who are more reliable and will give them profit. Our loving Philippines is a victim of her people by itself, a strong pride of national interest lead us to the edge of suffering.. (no job, loss job, investors exodus). SAD!!! We are a country of tooooo much complaining... no sacrifice.... no feeling or thinking of the future.. We are now the future.. no job for us in the Philippines.. we loss our most qualified people to run our INDUSTRIAL MIGHT? Why? They left abroad.. the multi-skilled workers are all gone.. then how can we get them back??? SALARY??? Oh nooooo?

^^ ALO, what is this ASEAN charter? any idea? is this something like a prelude to the eventual creation of an ASEAN constitution? just like the EU constitution that is being worked on right now. any idea?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=78758

ASEAN charter: Yes to human rights, no to coups


By Jim Gomez
Associated Press
Last updated 02:35am (Mla time) 07/26/2007


A LANDMARK charter being drafted by Southeast Asian countries calls for promoting human rights and nonaggression, while discouraging coups in a region which has grappled with all three thorny issues.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations' long-overdue charter also would try to shield the region from nuclear arms, other weapons of mass destruction and external interference, according to a draft seen by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Diplomats have been racing against time to resolve contentious issues so the draft is ready for a "legal scrubbing" by lawyers and scrutiny of foreign ministers meeting here next week.

Southeast Asian heads of state hope to sign the covenant, which would accord ASEAN a legal personality, when they gather for their annual summit in Singapore in November, marking the 40th anniversary of the 10-member bloc's 1967 founding.

Philippine Foreign Assistant Secretary Luis Cruz said the charter would codify many of the principles that ASEAN has observed, including a bedrock rule of noninterference in each other's domestic affairs.

"It'll turn ASEAN into a more rules-based organization," Cruz said.

A touchy issue has been enshrining the protection of human rights in a region where some countries' rights records have been spotty at best.

Burma (Myanmar), for example, has been condemned by Western governments and criticized even by fellow ASEAN members for ignoring calls to free political detainees, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and not implementing a promised roadmap to democracy.

The draft charter calls for the "respect of fundamental freedoms, the promotion and protection of human rights and the promotion of social justice."

Human rights commission
A Southeast Asian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, said a high-level task force drafting the charter had not yet decided whether to include a contentious provision urging the establishment of a human rights commission.

Some ASEAN members fear such a commission could allow scrutiny of rights conditions in one country, possibly violating the group's noninterference policy.

Rosario Manalo, who heads the task force writing the charter, has said a commission would allow ASEAN to deal with its human rights problems in its own way and parry Western criticism of problems in the region.

Ban on nuclear weapons
The charter calls for the continued observance of a 10-year-old treaty banning nuclear weapons in Southeast Asia and prohibits "all other weapons of mass destruction and interference by external powers."

It renounces aggression and threats of force. Members would be prohibited from backing any policy or activity that would threaten a country's sovereignty and political and economic stability.

A provision would reject unconstitutional changes of government. But some diplomats say that proposal was in danger of being stricken because some members, particularly Thailand, have heads of state who rose to power following military or public uprisings.

ASEAN was founded during the Cold War years as an anticommunist coalition, eventually evolving into a trade and political bloc. It consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Yesterday, President Arroyo urged the ASEAN to push for full economic and social integration by 2015.

Kung iyong Tagalog at Kapangpangan o Bisaya ay hindi magkaintidihan at laging walang tiwala sa isa at isa, paano kaya nila magagawa ito? Masarap managinip lalo na at kapanatagan at kaunlaran ng nakararami ang layunin.

ASEAN: Code to avert Spratlys conflict

Southeast Asian countries have reiterated calls for a region-wide code of conduct to avert clashes over the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, as foreign ministers at the ASEAN meetings shifted to security issues such as terrorism and nuclear weapons.

A joint communiqué by the ministerial meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said a 2002 declaration of conduct had helped build trust with China, but an obligatory Regional Code of Conduct in the South China Sea was still needed.

"We encouraged the continued exercise of self-restraint by all the parties concerned and the promotion of confidence-building measures in this area and welcomed their commitment to resolving disputes in the South China Sea by peaceful means in conformity with the spirit of the [declaration] and recognized principles of international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea," the ministers said.

China, Taiwan and Vietnam claim the whole of the Spratlys — a cluster of rocks and reefs in the South China Sea believed to be rich in oil, gas, minerals and fish. The Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim portions of the islands.

The Philippines, China, and Vietnam have agreed on a joint petroleum exploration two years ago in a deal that the Arroyo administration had said would diminish the country’s claims.

ASEAN foreign ministers also agreed to ensure the ratification of the ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism, a framework for counterterrorism cooperation among law enforcement agencies signed at the ASEAN leaders’ summit in Cebu last January. The group is working on a regional extradition treaty.

Indonesia is battling with the Jemaah Islamiyah group, which has ties with the Abu Sayyaf group operating in Basilan and Sulu.

The Philippines is set to host the ASEAN Regional Forum, the only security forum in the region.

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will not be attending the region’s only security meeting because of more pressing problems in the Middle East, but she has promised to visit the Philippines later, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo said.

ASEAN has reviewed its 10-year-old anti-nuclear weapons treaty and said the five nuclear powers in the United Nations Security Council — US, Russia, United Kingdom, France and China — should accede to it to free Southeast Asia of nuclear threats. It also praised North Korea’s decision to start shutting down nuclear facilities.

A total of 27 countries and groups will attend the security forum tomorrow, including Australia, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the US; two observers, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste; as well as North Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are set to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

The nonaggression treaty, described as the "only indigenous regional diplomatic instrument providing a mechanism and processes for the peaceful settlement of disputes," has been signed by France, China, Pakistan and Timor Leste.

The United Kingdom and the EU have expressed a "wish" to accede while the US has yet to make a decision.

Asean mulls fund for regional development


THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministers are discussing a Malaysian proposal to create an infrastructure fund that could sustain infrastructure developments in the region.

“The fund intends to support infrastructure developments in the region but will not solely manage by Asean governments since this will include private investors and fund managers,” Finance Undersecretary Roberto Tan said.

To make disbursements more efficient, participating Asean members are now considering tapping the services of private third-party managers, Tan added, saying, “There are already timeline on deliverables but the ministers haven’t come up with a fixed target.”

Once the fund is in place and starts to generate income, the profit will be reverted back to the member contributions to widen the fund coverage.

Earlier, the finance department reported a similar initiative after foreign investors set up a $1.3-billion infrastructure fund that could be used to finance infrastructure development projects in the Asian region.

The initiative is part of a growing region-wide interest among investors to pour money in infrastructure developments, as Asia experiences robust growth that gives them more confidence in disposing huge capital in the region.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the two investor groups have set up the funds in Japan, one amounting $300 million and the other amounting $500 million.

In the Philippines, a group of investors has pooled $500-million infrastructure fund intended for major development projects, not only in the Philippines but also in other Asian countries.

Teves said the possibility of the Philippines getting some funds would depend on the ability of the country to set up the proper investment environment and assure good rate of return for investing companies.

The government has already identified 10 major projects, which are ready for investments. These are: the Bicol power restoration project, Palawan south road, Panguil Bay Bridge, Biñan-Sucat power transfer project, Light Railway Transit (LRT) North extension project, LRT Line 6 from Baclaran to Cavite, NorthRail-SouthRail linkage project from Alabang to Calamba, Agno River integrated irrigation project, North Luzon Expressway extension project and the Quirino Highway rehabilitation.

The government said the improvement in the government’s fiscal position, low interest rate environment, the downward trend in inflation and strong peso and international reserves provide an encouraging environment for investment.

During the ASEAN Summit early this year, the heads of state of the ASEAN countries have already touched on the idea of social and economic integration in the region. Talks have been started regarding the matter and the leaders have yet to determine if integration is achievable at this point in time.

The ASEAN foreign ministers did not force Myanmar into agreeing with the establishment of a human rights commission. The decision was left to the foreign ministers. Fortunately a resolution was made when they reached consensus.

^^ This is good. We will do away with the endless clash with regard to the Spratlys Island.

The ASEAN integration is not yet clear for us. After all, even the integration of EU was never clear until it really happened. For some irreconcilable issues, they just agree to disagree, as long as it will not harm the economic integration of the EU community.

I guess that's just the same with the ASEAN integration, if ever that becomes possible. It will only be feasible if we open our minds that we need this integration.

question: what do you guys expect from ASEAN?

coz there seem to be different expectations, every country has its own agenda, and different groups have a different view about what ASEAN could be or should be...

did i miss something? 40th or 14th ARF?

@maxxclip

no you did not miss anything, its the ARF is not that old. 14th ARF is correct. ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM, the security forum of the Asia Pacific.

and 40 th AMM, asean misterial meeting.

Well, let’s hope that the prospect of a stronger relationship and thriving commerce with fellow ASEAN countries has put better sense to the heads of the NoKor officials. NoKor will only be alienating its neighbor countries and the whole world with a pro-nuclear policy.

Yesterday, President Arroyo urged the ASEAN to push for full economic and social integration by 2015.

i'm just wondering what pgma means by FULL economic and social integration by 2015. that in terms of economies the ASEAN will act as a single economic bloc? like what? like no tariffs, trade barriers or trade quotas within the ASEAN? i think if ever (and that's a big "if") this full economic integration will be realized, 2015 is too early a timeline!

and how about full social integration? i find it even more complicated! more so by 2015!

did i miss something? 40th or 14th ARF?

Sorry for that. It's the 14th ASEAN Regional Forum on the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting. I cannot edit the title anymore so I left it that way.

@eonyx: GMA is not the proponent of the ASEAN integration. If I am not mistaken the issue on the integration of the ASEAN was already touched during the Summit last December to January. However, it is not clear to all of us what the leaders meant by the social and economic integration. If it's one currency for the region like the EU, one whole bloc, or whatever. Anyways, probably as the ARF ends today we may know what they really mean by social and economic integration.

economic integration means having a asean-wide free trade agreement, same time, freer flow of capital, goods and services. freer flow of skilled labor within the region. the economic integration is quite clear, and does not include a common ASEAN-currency for the foreseeable future.

since greater economic integration can not stand alone, it is accompanied by a socio-cultural and security community.

socio-cultural includes everything like having an ASEAN commemoration day, which they just agreed upon, august 8, having the media covering more ASEAN topics, students exchange, cultural and social work. etc. its a wide field.

security cooperatioin, well, the third leg of the ASEAN community, is all about sharing informations, intelligence data, police forces and defence forces of the region working together. the ASEAN declaration on the south china sea for example among others.

^^ so these freer movement of goods, capital, labor, services, and if i may add, investments possible by 2015? because, correct me if i'm wrong, for all of these free movements to be possible, ASEAN needs to create/enact/laws that would be uniform/common to all ASEAN members to regulate these so-called free movements.

so what do you think guys? can our leaders come up with a common consensus that would culminate in the FULL economic and social integration by 2015?

yes, its a must, they will have that in place by 2015. which is not really a big deal if you look at what they really mean by having a community.

the question remains, are they going to create an ASEAN union. so far, nobody did take it up during the meeting in manila.

Innocent narcissists (http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/editorial/view_article.php?article_id=80059)

It cannot be denied: Filipinos are far from thinking of themselves as ASEAN. UP Political Science professor Natalia Morales, in a commentary published in these pages last Monday, traces this lack of an ASEAN mind-set to what she calls our "innocent narcissism," a self-absorption that stems from our "ongoing search for national identity."

We can debate her premises, but we cannot argue with her conclusion: Belonging to an ASEAN community, much less to "one caring and sharing community," does not seem to figure much in the Filipino consciousness.

The ongoing high-level meetings in Manila among ASEAN officials and their counterparts in some of the world's leading powers have encouraged us yet again to put our best foot forward; but the hype and the hoopla about the meetings cannot cover up, or make up for, their lack of resonance in our daily life.

This is a pity, because this week's meetings have in fact made some remarkable headway. Given the culture of consensus that animates the 40-year-old regional organization, the carefully choreographed initiatives announced in the last several days must be considered to be genuine breakthroughs.

The most important is the decision to include the formation of a human rights commission in the proposed ASEAN Charter. The diplomatic community gathered in Manila was prepared for a rejection of the provision, or at least a postponement of any decision on it. The military rulers of Burma (Myanmar) were expected to object to the provision. (Insider reports suggest that Burmese officials did raise objections, but, regrettably, they were not the only ones.) When the ASEAN foreign ministers ended up agreeing on the basic principle, therefore, and announced that the proposed charter would include a provision on the human rights commission, the unexpected news was greeted enthusiastically.

To be sure, the victory for the democratic cause was less than complete. Crucial details of the human rights commission and the process of forming it were left for future meetings to determine. In other words, it was a typical diplomatic advance, a cautiously worded declaration unburdened by too much specificity.

But Foreign Minister George Yeo of Singapore, the chairman of the next ASEAN Ministerial Meetings, could not contain his optimism. "Myanmar had a positive attitude toward all of this. At the ministerial level, we have reached a consensus," he noted.

Another milestone is the high-profile participation of the North Korean foreign minister, who visited the Philippines for the first time to bask in the applause of regional officials, who praised the isolated nation's decision to shut down its nuclear facilities, and to forge closer links with ASEAN countries. The Philippines, for one, entered into an agreement with the Stalinist regime in North Korea to forge a "bilateral consultation mechanism," one that institutionalizes regular consultations between the two countries.

North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun called the agreement "an important phase in our bilateral relations," and added: "Our cooperation is moving from strength to strength."

The entire region should welcome this "cooperation," because agreements like it strengthen the Six-Party Talks and provide Pyongyang less reason to prefer military action over diplomacy.

But if there is an initiative that will foster greater ASEAN consciousness among Filipinos, it is the agreement on sanctuary.

Under the agreement, classified as a standard operating procedure, citizens of any ASEAN country caught in civil conflicts can seek refuge in the embassy of any other ASEAN country. The SOP provides that, in case of imminent danger, "a citizen of an ASEAN member country may directly seek assistance from the missions of other ASEAN member countries or go directly to shelters or sanctuaries provided by their missions."

This is an initiative as sweeping, and as useful, as the earlier historic agreements to do away with visas for ASEAN citizens travelling to ASEAN destinations. Sanctuary will benefit overseas workers not only from the Philippines, but from neighboring countries, too. Thousands of Filipinos undergo pre-departure orientation programs; if they learn to look at other ASEAN embassies as sanctuaries, too, Filipinos may yet learn to leave their innocent narcissism abroad.

China defends 'peaceful' military build-up
Posted: 02 August 2007 1527 hrs


Photos 1 of 1

People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers stand at attention



MANILA: China took a swipe on Thursday at efforts to counter its dramatic military rise, taking centrestage at Asia's main security forum to insist it would be a force for peace and stability.

At closed-door talks in Manila, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi criticised what he called a "Cold War mentality" aimed at gaining military superiority at the expense of mutual cooperation.

"Under the influence of the Cold War mentality, there is a trend towards building up bilateral military alliances to gain absolute military superiority," he said, according to a copy of his speech obtained by AFP.

"This undermines political mutual trust, causes uncertainty to regional security and has become a source of concern to people," Yang said.

The minister did not refer to specific countries, although China's drive for a bigger and stronger military has jangled nerves in the United States and across Asia.

A budding defence pact between the United States, Japan and Australia has been widely viewed as an attempt at counter-balancing Beijing's growing clout in the region, but Yang said China's ambitions were peaceful.

He said Beijing's role in hosting the North Korea disarmament talks and its thawing relations with Japan were signs that the Asian giant was emerging as a responsible regional negotiator.

"China ... is actively involved in promoting peace, development, cooperation and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region," he told officials from the United States, Europe and Asia at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

"We have consistently acted in the spirit of setting aside differences to expand common ground and call for seeking peaceful and negotiated solutions to historical issues and current disputes," he said.

China has the world's largest armed forces, with 2.3 million men and women in uniform. In March, it approved a 2007 defence budget of 46 billion dollars, a 17.8 percent increase over the year before.

President Hu Jintao, in a speech on Wednesday marking the 80th anniversary of China's People's Liberation Army, promised even more funding for the military.

Yang vowed China would continue to work within bodies such as the ARF and called for deeper international cooperation to address security challenges such as terrorism and infectious diseases.

"Security has acquired new dimensions and security risks are mounting. This has broadened the scope for security cooperation," Yang said.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The ARF, Asia's main security dialogue which meets once a year, adds 17 partners including the United States, China, Russia, India, Pakistan, North and South Korea, and the European Union.

ASEAN defence chiefs agree to address common challenges
By Foo Siew Shyan, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 02 August 2007 2306 hrs


Photos 1 of 1

The ASEAN defence chiefs gather for a photograph with Second Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen (MINDEF)



SINGAPORE: Defence chiefs from the region were in town on Thursday for the 5th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting.

The session, represented by all ten ASEAN militaries for the first time, was chaired by Singapore's Chief of Defence Desmond Kuek.

The defence chiefs also called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Thursday.

The one-day meeting saw the defence chiefs agreeing to work together to address common security challenges which include maritime security, counter-terrorism and infectious diseases management.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation amongst ASEAN militaries through information sharing, intelligence cooperation and capacity-building exercises.

Singapore takes over ASEAN Chairmanship from Philippines
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 02 August 2007 2106 hrs


Singapore takes over ASEAN Chairmanship from Philippines


MANILA: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will deliver an ASEAN lecture next Tuesday to kick off Singapore's tenure as the new ASEAN Chair.

This handover to Singapore was made official at the close of the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila on Thursday.

Singapore said that as Chair, its priority will be the three Cs – Charter, Community and Challenges.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo formally handed over the Chairmanship of ASEAN to his Singapore counterpart at the closing ceremony of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.

Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo said: "I remember telling Bert a year ago – 'You have to cook the dishes in your kitchen, then when it comes to our turn, we will serve the dishes and no one mistakes the waiter for the chef'."

Light moments aside, the new Chair knows there is a lot of serious work to be done, which includes a possible review of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

Mr Yeo said Singapore intends to re-look at ARF's mechanism to ensure better follow-up action.

The November ASEAN Summit in Singapore will also see the leaders endorse three important matters – the ASEAN Charter, the ASEAN's blueprint to forge an economic community by 2015, and a declaration on tackling climate change and global warming.

Mr Yeo said: "At the end of this year, there will be an important meeting of the United Nations in Bali on climate change and leading up to this, climate change will be one of the topic items on the agenda at the ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN Plus Three Summit, the East and the APEC Summit.

"So it was good that at the ARF meeting this morning, there was complete solidarity on this point to confront the problem, which is our collective problem."

Mr Yeo added that the focus of ASEAN's 40th anniversary celebrations, which will be observed in all the ten member countries, will be on young people.

He said: "They may not be quite sure who are all the members of ASEAN, but they know generally that it is something good, something which brings the region together, reduces conflict and creates cooperation.

"They might not be sure how much cooperation there is, they might not know how much it impacts their daily lives. All that we do, boils down to security, making this a safer world for each of us, and about economic development, namely investments, jobs and better lives for people."

And Singapore hopes this cooperation will allow ASEAN to meet the challenges ahead, to become One ASEAN at the heart of a dynamic Asia.

the ASEAN meet ended with the human rights question vis-a-vis myanmmar still unresolved- as expected!

Myanmar's reluctance to the human rights issue is absurd. The creation of a regional body in the ASEAN to take care of human rights issues will be beneficial for the member countries. Anyway, Myanmar would just like to see a consultative body created.

Nevertheless the ASEAN was still able to resolve the issue on the establishment of a human rights commission.

Maybe Myanmar knows iy couldn't keep up with the rules to be laid down if ever there was a Human Rights body created. As such, it would rather not agree on its creation than agree on it now and not be ready with the consequences later on.

At least, the ASEAN Forum continues on its dialogue to other member countries so as to attain a sharing community by 2015. If ever this will be realized soon, I would be very proud to be included as part of the ASEAN nation.

Myanmar's reluctance to the human rights issue is absurd. The creation of a regional body in the ASEAN to take care of human rights issues will be beneficial for the member countries. Anyway, Myanmar would just like to see a consultative body created.

Nevertheless the ASEAN was still able to resolve the issue on the establishment of a human rights commission.

I thought Myanmar already was persuaded with the human rights body? Did they take back their word?

I don't know where should I post this quite interesting story about Singapore, anyhow I will just post it here.


http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070708/070806-1.htm


Straits Times 6 Aug 07

What is our national identity?

National Day is on Thursday and young Singaporeans give their take on how they sum up Singapore's national identity

Nation of hard workers, untiring complainers

SINGAPOREANS are best characterised as hard-working complainers. Day and night, we complain about everything under the sun.

And for some reason, whatever we complain about is ultimately the Government's fault. Whether it be the weather, salaries, taxes, or having to stand inside public buses because there are no seats during peak hours. Never mind, just blame the Government. It is as if Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong can control the rain.

But despite all the complaining, we still get the job done at the end of the day. Perhaps the grumbling helps pass the time at work.

In any case, I think our energies are far better spent on thinking up solutions. Anyone can identify a problem and complain about it.

Instead of waiting for the Government to solve all of our problems, why not stop talking and start doing something about it?

Edward Choy, 27, is a postgraduate theatre studies student at the National University of Singapore (NUS)

Everything revolves around economics

NATIONAL identities are usually defined in cultural or political terms. But in Singapore, it can be defined in economic terms.

Singaporeans are pragmatic. Straw polls before the last General Election suggest that Singaporeans are more concerned about bread-and-butter issues than politics.

Many students choose their field of study in university for its career prospects rather than out of academic interest.

Political mandate is arguably granted based on, above all, a party's ability to manage Singapore's economy.

We even owe our ethnic and cultural diversity to money - immigration in the 19th century brought people from different backgrounds to Singapore, often for purely economic reasons.

Therefore, Singapore is to me an Economic Nation before anything else.

Joel Aw, 19, has a place to read business management at the Singapore Management University

The way we speak makes us special

OUR national identity is our unique ability to mix languages in speech. It is common to hear Singaporeans say: 'I'm hungry, I want to makan now,' (makan is Malay for 'eat'), 'Toilet zai na li?' (Where is the toilet?), and so on.

Our counterparts around the world speak in their own pure languages; few of them speak in these language-dialect mixes. This distinguishes us.

This is perhaps a result of our bilingual education system and dialect-speaking forefathers.

Once, when I was overseas, I heard a mother chiding her son for being overly careless with his belongings. 'Keep properly, if not later kena pah chiorh ah!' (Keep your things properly or you will get robbed!) I smiled to myself as I realised that I had just met another fellow Singaporean in serendipity.

Stephanie Song, 21, is a second-year psychology student at NUS

An identity shaped by growing pains

I WILL never forget how the Dim Sum Dollies' musical comedy, The History Of Singapore, had the audience waving the Singapore flag patriotically at the finale. It achieved what the music videos of National Day songs could never do with an overly sanitised portrayal - it honestly addressed our ugly side and struck an emotional chord.

Others may see us as paternalistic but we have proven our resilience. We have survived colonialism, globalisation, ERP tolls and GST hikes. We may be too vocal about our complaints but it shows we care about how things are run in the country.

These imperfect traits and growing pains shape our identity and make this experience uniquely Singaporean.

Desmond Chan, 25, is a final-year Communication Studies student at Nanyang Technological University.

A multi-coloured, unfinished quiltwork

AN IDENTITY is probably based on one's ancestry. Singapore is primarily a migrant community of mixed parentage, and as a young nation, her identity continues to evolve as she matures.

Singapore's national identity includes a multitude of often unique characteristics - she is a rare case where efficiency and success can be achieved by laws deemed ludicrous by others; her people speak fluent Singlish and her products and services are world-renowned. She boasts low crime, a clean government and a hardworking population.

Ultimately, the Singapore identity is a quiltwork of various characteristics - an unfinished, multi-coloured tapestry that continues to be woven by her people.

Adrienne de Souza, 21, is a second-year biology student at Imperial College London

Too young a nation to have coherent identity

SINGAPORE is the place I grew up in. However, I do not think we have a coherent national identity we can truly call our own. We have had only 42 years to distil a set of authentic Singaporean values from a melting pot of disparate cultures, languages and histories.

Right now, all we have are scattered values that merely make us different from other nationalities. These may include Singlish, 'kiasuism' or even a shared memory of growing up among HDB flats.

So how best should I spend National Day in New York this year? Meet up with other Singaporeans there and reminiscence about life in Singapore - it is the best way for me to 'feel' Singaporean.
Eisen Teo, 22, is a third-year history student at the NUS

News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com

ASEAN Charter being revised to include foreign ministers' views

SINGAPORE: There has been progress in finalising the ASEAN Charter since the recently concluded foreign ministers' meeting in Manila, said ASEAN's Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong.

Speaking at an ASEAN Think Tank Forum in Singapore on Monday, Mr Ong said the first draft is being revised to take into account the ministers' inputs and he expects the final draft to be ready for legal and language scrubbing at the end of September.

The forum, organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, was an opportunity for the ASEAN chief to update regional analysts and members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on what was achieved at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting last week.

Mr Ong said there has been a very good first draft of the milestone ASEAN Charter and the foreign ministers have decided that controversial issues affecting the group's standing and credibility would be sent to the leaders for a decision.

He said: "We removed the original draft where leaders should also make (a) decision based on consensus. We just (put it as) ASEAN Summit will be asked to make a decision and that's it. If you have a good chairman, he or she can go around the table and say 'Do you agree? Why do you not agree? Can we find a way to address your concern?' That is the kind of approach we are advocating and that is what I call statesmanship."

Debbie Stothard, Founder of Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, posed these questions at the forum: "What about Myanmar or Burma being the millstone at ASEAN's milestone? How do you address a country like Burma? How do you deal with something like that when you are watering down the ASEAN Charter, which basically means you are a member of a club where members can blatantly break the rules without any fear of pressure?"

Mr Ong revealed there were members more vocal than Myanmar about the human rights provisions in the Charter.

He said: "When we talk about human rights, don't get away with the impression that the only guy who objects to whatever provisions we want in the ASEAN Charter is Myanmar.

"From my perspective as the secretary-general for the last four and a half years, Myanmar is not an issue for me with regards to human rights. You know why? Because they say, 'I have democracy, I have human rights. You can put anything in the Charter as long as you put it in a balanced way'.

"In our discussion on drafting the human rights provision, it was not Burma, as you call it, that caused all the trouble. There were four other countries that had reservations about how this paragraph was drafted and two of them were most vocal and they did not include Burma."

Participants at the forum also highlighted some of the problems within ASEAN which could hamper its integration.

One of them is the existence of visa restrictions for travel in countries like Cambodia and Myanmar.

ASEAN's secretary-general said the aim is to remove all visa restrictions for travel by 2010 so as to achieve the vision of ASEAN economic integration by 2015.

ASEAN's foreign ministers have also emphasised the need to keep firmly to the timelines drawn up and to prepare all targets for endorsement by the leaders at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore in November.

Philippines as newly industrializing country? Why new?? We are industrialized since 1968... imagine when we have the National Steel Corporation? The nickel processing plants, the ATLAS? Remember? The only sad thing we do is we wreck everything.. We are like ship who sail smoothly then suddenly wrecked by our selves. We loss everything.. look!!! We almost got our path ahead of Malaysia or even Singapore if we have a good and strong KAPITAN. It is us who always complain without looking the future. Now everybody know, we are loss. Think of the investment... before we have a very strong investment from WEST because China and Vietnam by that time are inert in world trading. Now it's too late... we have a strong competition with China and Vietnam not counting other south asian countries. The Western investors are looking for a partner who are more reliable and will give them profit. Our loving Philippines is a victim of her people by itself, a strong pride of national interest lead us to the edge of suffering.. (no job, loss job, investors exodus). SAD!!! We are a country of tooooo much complaining... no sacrifice.... no feeling or thinking of the future.. We are now the future.. no job for us in the Philippines.. we loss our most qualified people to run our INDUSTRIAL MIGHT? Why? They left abroad.. the multi-skilled workers are all gone.. then how can we get them back??? SALARY??? Oh nooooo?


Yes, a newly industrializing country due to foreigners, not us. :lol:
Mahilig kasi tau sa " aasa sa iba." :ohno:

Well, the term "industrialized" is often assimilated to the meaning of a "first world" or developed country. I don't think that if a country already has a large scale amount of big, notable and well developed industires it should already be considered as industrialized. For sure, we di have a lot of industry. But so does India, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Kenya. Take note that we still have backward technology (having to depend on foreign acquired machinese, foreign aid for manufacturies and building), bad infrastructure and national connection to conduct macroeconomic activities. And there are many places in the country that are still considered "far-flung", backward (barrio style), isolated, separated from civilization and still very agricultural in nature & development, believe me.

But the point is that historically, we've missed our chances...like A LOT. For thousands of years, we have been considered as a trading center in the region stating the fact that we have a centralized geographic advantage/ attractivity in terms of location, we are in the center (not isolated in one corner like Korea, New Zealand, Iceland, Portugal etc. if you get what I mean). And the Philippines has already patricipated in globalization since the 16th Century through the Galleon Trade linking travel, products and migration between China and Mexico! The fist steel railway and modern bridge in Asia was built in Luzon (17th century!), first publishing house in Cebu(1593) Asia's 1st university (UST), Asia's 1st airline (PAL), etc, we have pioneered in so many things....Philippine ports (Manila, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga, Puetro Gallera) and commercial activities have been opened up to the whole world in the 1850's, long before Japan and Korea opened up to the world and were actually still backward and poor with their national isolation back then! The Phils really could have developed as an industrial center a loong time ago, like aaaages!!!! It's just that we've never took the opportunity to strive for greatness. In the 16th century, when Bankok, Jakarta, Osaka, Singapore, Kuala Lumpure were only poor and tiny villages with no development...MANILA was already a highly developed cosmopolitan city with decent infrastructur, canalization, transportation system and well-developed industries....

SAYANG TALAGA, MGA SELFISH AT TANGA YUNG MGA TAO, HINDI NAGIISIP, MGA WALANG PAKE ALAM, MGA TANGA AT BOBO NA WALANG PANGARAP KUNDI MANGURAKOT< MAGTAMBAY AT MAGPAKASARAP SA BUHAY NA PARANG JUAN TAMAD, BABOY! MGA WALANG PANGARAP...

WHat we actually have today is nothing compared to the greatness that we once were in the past. Now all we can do is hope and strive, have ambition to save this country. For me, we are not yet newly industrializing but we are sure getting there. We just have to play our cards right in the next few years. The competition of globalization is actually giving our generation a choice, what we want to do with this country is up to us.

RP proposal on ASEAN parliament approved (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2007/08/28/rp.proposal.on.asean.parliament.approved.html)

MANILA -- The creation of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Parliament--a major Philippine proposal introduced at the 28th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA)--was unanimously approved for inclusion in the Asean Charter.

The region's leading parliamentarians approved for adoption three other major Philippine initiatives, representing a major leap forward in turning AIPA into a relevant force in regional cooperation and eventual economic and political integration.

Other endorsements by AIPA as reported by Cebu City Representative Antonio Cuenco, chairman of the House foreign relations committee, included the multi-lateral extradition treaty jointly sponsored with Indonesia; feasibility studies for the creation of an ASEAN Monetary Fund; and a 10 billion trees program to reforest the region's bald mountains and help fight global warming.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia, who suggested the creation of ASEAN Parliament, said the move is "part of the vision of an ASEAN community" in line with the examples of Europe, Latin America and Africa, which have long created their regional parliaments.

In his report to de Venecia, Cuenco said AIPA authorized the conduct of region-wide consultations and feasibility studies on the creation of an ASEAN Monetary Fund, which de Venecia earlier proposed, and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, (formerly the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace) already endorsed in Islamabad, Pakistan and Tehran, Iran.

The proposal is now under consideration in feasibility studies by various central banks in the region.

De Venecia said he expanded his one billion trees program in the Philippines to cover the 10 ASEAN states and a reforestation program involving the planting of 10 billion trees over a specific period of time.

The Southeast Asia program could reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help in the fight against drought and floods, de Venecia said. The program can also have benefits that would lead to solutions to drinking water and irrigation water problems of ASEAN countries while moving to restore ecological balance and raising employment.

He said Malaysian Prime Minister Badawi supported the idea of planting trees in the coastal areas as first line of defense against a tsunami.

De Venecia said the 10 billion trees reforestation program could be funded partly by the carbon credits embodied in the Kyoto Protocol.

"It is time that Asia - cradle of the great civilizations, religions and cultures - finally take a decisive step toward creating its own regional legislature led by ASEAN," de Venecia said.

The AIPA also approved the transmittal of the watershed debt-for-equity program, which de Venecia launched two years ago to the Paris Club and the G-8 nations following its endorsement by the UN General Assembly in December last year.

The program, which could help some 100 debt-strapped countries worldwide to achieve the UN millennium development goals by 2015, is focused on debt-for- equity in reforestation, clean water, food production, irrigation, health care, and education.

"We have a bumper crop of initiatives approved by the assembly. And these initiatives are serious programs intended to address the most pressing economic and environmental concerns of countries in the region-and those in other continents," de Venecia said.

The Philippine delegation to the AIPA was composed of Representatives Roque Ablan Jr., Lorna Silverio, Abraham Mitra, Mitos Magsaysay, Vincent Garcia, Victor Ortega, and Sharee Ann Tan.

to those of you like me born between 1980-1990, have you ever took some time to ponder on where our generation would be in about 20 years from now? to us living in the age of call centers, the nursing boom, online forums and blogging, where do you think would we be--and Philippine society, in general, which we would be running soon--in the year 2030?

^^Still a perpetual emerging and developing Nation.

Gurang na tayo niyan! Anyway - Third World country with around 130 million people!

Well, with a electronic balloting with a much cleaner and credible election... hmmm.... a much better position pobably. Well, with the political stability comes with the contiuous economic growth and stability also.

In 2030:

1. A More Peaceful, United Nation
2. Strong Economy, on the verge of becoming First World Nation (in another 10-15 years) with diversified industries
3. Educated Population
4. Less Politicking
5. A Different, Positive Mentality

Your generation (and succeeding ones) will be scattered to the the four corners of the globe. :okay:

Your generation (and succeeding ones) will be scattered to the the four corners of the globe. :okay:

I agree....

Gurang na tayo niyan! Anyway - Third World country with around 130 million people!

Everyone's free to voice out their opinions but hope you don't mind... napansin ko lang, a lot of your postings dwell on negative things... Wala lang... I respect your opinion but I understand that you are part of an institution that promotes an orchidarium in Manila, tama ba? Iba lang siguro expectation ko from people who promote tourism. :dunno:

I want to add 130 million and STRONG!

somehow ASEAN integrated

It will no longer be called "Generation" ~ you will belong to a "Tribo". Yikes!

para maganda --- "Tropang Pinoy" sa iba-ibang lupalop ng kamunduhan. :lol:




"kamunduhan sounds sexy" - :nuts:

to those of you like me born between 1980-1990, have you ever took some time to ponder on where our generation would be in about 20 years from now? to us living in the age of call centers, the nursing boom, online forums and blogging, where do you think would we be--and Philippine society, in general, which we would be running soon--in the year 2030?

We'd become dirtier and dirtier if we don't begin to clean up now. Mactan Channel is starting to become a Pasig River of its own :bash:

It will no longer be called "Generation" ~ you will belong to a "Tribo". Yikes!

para maganda --- "Tropang Pinoy" sa iba-ibang lupalop ng kamunduhan. :lol:




"kamunduhan sounds sexy" - :nuts:

You crack me up all the time Tsinoy! :rofl:

It will no longer be called "Generation" ~ you will belong to a "Tribo". Yikes!

para maganda --- "Tropang Pinoy" sa iba-ibang lupalop ng kamunduhan. :lol:




"kamunduhan sounds sexy" - :nuts:

Makamundo nga ba ang mga Pinoy? :lol:

^^hello?! magiging 89 million ba tayo kung hindi? wahahaha...:lol:

Ok lets compare our country's progress from our asian neighbors.

Continental Asian links:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=95


Our first neighbor to examine is VIETNAM.

Economy - overview:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vm.html#Econ
Vietnam is a densely-populated, developing country that in the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1997 in moving forward from an extremely low level of development and significantly reducing poverty. Growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy and temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress toward a market-oriented economy. GDP growth averaged 6.8% per year from 1997 to 2004 even against the background of the Asian financial crisis and a global recession, and growth hit 8% in 2005 and 7.8% in 2006. Since 2001, however, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and international integration. They have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. Vietnam's membership in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and entry into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in December 2001 have led to even more rapid changes in Vietnam's trade and economic regime. Vietnam's exports to the US doubled in 2002 and again in 2003. Vietnam joined the WTO in January 2007, following over a decade long negotiation process. This should provide an important boost to the economy and should help to ensure the continuation of liberalizing reforms. Among other benefits, accession allows Vietnam to take advantage of the phase-out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, which eliminated quotas on textiles and clothing for WTO partners on 1 January 2005. Agriculture's share of economic output has continued to shrink, from about 25% in 2000 to 20% in 2006. Deep poverty, defined as a percent of the population living under $1 per day, has declined significantly and is now smaller than that of China, India, and the Philippines. Vietnam is working to create jobs to meet the challenge of a labor force that is growing by more than one million people every year. Vietnamese authorities have tightened monetary and fiscal policies to stem high inflation. Hanoi is targeting an economic growth rate of 7.5-8% during the next five years.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$262.5 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$48.43 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,100 (2006 est.)

The way this country look at this time:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2302/1516027322_00c0f894d8_b_d.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2142/2154589862_49f3e8e117_b_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2211/2157552907_c63e9454f2_b_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2223/1542935005_c4ae2a71b9_b_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2396/1729134657_4266255179_o_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2156/2063052284_6625981b43_b_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2131/2063053052_029e5cb572_b_d.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1025/1351843442_a2021bd67c_o_d.jpg

More photos from Vietnam:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2002/2155092496_8e342c19ff_b_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2006/2154593020_402c879814_b_d.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1318/1462915908_11faf444c4_b_d.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1077/1462046705_9a4930941c_b_d.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1193/1462103755_233a269ef1_b_d.jpg

[IMG]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1312/1462051281_bce053278e_b_d.jpg[/IMG

Ho Chi Minh's subway dreams
By David M Lenard

http://img124.exs.cx/img124/8126/hcmc-metro-map.gif

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTjCZc11u-c


HO CHI MINH CITY - In the past five years, with the outside world paying little attention, Vietnam has made major progress in building key infrastructure facilities that will, in the not too distant future, help the nation to shed its reputation as one of Asia's least developed countries. For example, the My Thuan Bridge, a spectacular pre-stressed concrete suspension bridge, now connects 10 Mekong Delta provinces with Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). The Ho Chi Minh Highway, an expressway that will link Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh much further west than the current National Highway 1, is slowly snaking its way south from the capital. In central Vietnam, workers are steadily digging the Hai Van Pass tunnel, which will cut hours from the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh road route by allowing truckers to pass under, rather than over, the immense mountains separating Danang from Hue. Hanoi itself boasts a spanking-new airport.

It is now Ho Chi Minh City's turn. Some time in 2005, the government has confirmed, ground will be broken in the southern commercial metropolis for Vietnam's first subway system. Rumors that a metro was planned for Ho Chi Minh City have circulated for years; the Vietnam edition of the Lonely Planet travel guide has been mentioning it since the mid-1990s. But gossip became official reality this June, when Prime Minister Phan Van Khai approved plans for the first two underground lines.

The need for better public transport is indisputable. Ho Chi Minh City's streets are choked with traffic, mostly motorbikes, which are packed handlebar-to-handlebar in rush hour. Economic development has only exacerbated congestion and its accompanying problems of air pollution, respiratory illnesses and vehicle accidents - all three of which are getting worse by the day.

In spite of horrendous traffic conditions, Ho Chi Minh has had one of the lowest public-transit usage rates of any Asian city. According to official studies, less than 5% of intra-city trips have used public transportation in recent years. During the late 1990s, nearly empty buses could frequently be seen trundling down the city's streets. In a kind of self-fulfilling spiral, these low passenger numbers persuaded government officials not to invest further in mass transit. In reality, the number of bus routes was so meager and the quality of the buses was so low (1950s-era buses could still be seen until just two years ago) that people living in Ho Chi Minh City simply preferred motorcycles as a more convenient and comfortable alternative.

In 2003, a brand-new, air-conditioned bus fleet suddenly materialized, and passenger numbers soared overnight. Prosperity in Ho Chi Minh City has also increased to the point where, for the first time in the country's history, significant numbers of Vietnamese are contemplating purchases of private cars. National auto-sales figures are low but heading rapidly upward. Because cars are so much less efficient than motorbikes, it is clear that the colonial-era street network simply cannot handle a substantial uptake of private cars. The looming transportation crisis seems to have spurred Hanoi into approving the metro project much sooner than many observers expected.

Lines 1 and 2
Construction is expected to begin next year on lines 1 and 2, which will both terminate on Ham Nghi Boulevard near Ben Thanh Market, a tourist landmark and transportation hub. Line 1, 10.6 kilometers in length with 11 stations, will head northwest from Ben Thanh on Cach Mang Thang Tam boulevard, skirting the western edge of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, before terminating at the Tham Luong bus terminal. Line 2, 10.4km with 11 stations, will also head northwest, sharing stations and track with Line 1 up to the Tao Dan station, before turning southwest on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Tran Phu streets, and continuing west into District 5, Ho Chi Minh City's historically Chinese district, known as Cholon. The line will continue west all the way through Cholon, into District 6, before terminating at the An Lac bus terminal in Binh Chanh district.

Surprisingly, it appears that Tan Son Nhat Airport will not be directly served even though Line 1 will travel at surface level so close to the runways that passengers will be able to see taxiing aircraft from the trains. According to Le Hong Ha, vice chairman of the DoCPW's (Department of Communications and Public Works) urban metro preparation unit, there are plans for an airport station eventually. However, the Vietnamese government also intends to build a new international airport on Ho Chi Minh City's outskirts and downgrade Tan Son Nhat to a domestic-only airport, so it is possible that officials simply do not see an airport station as a high priority right now.

Other lines
There are ambitious plans to expand the system further. Line 3 will travel from the intersection of Hung Vuong and Ly Thuong Kiet streets, in District 5, north to the Hoang Van Thu station of Line 1, ending at the Lang Cha Ca traffic circle in Tan Binh district. Line 4 (which, from the look of it, may turn out to be continuous with Line 3) will start at the Lang Cha Ca traffic circle and continue east under Hoang Van Thu Boulevard through Phu Nhuan district, along Phan Dang Luu and Bach Dang streets, before ending at Van Thanh Park in the eastern part of Binh Thanh district.

The exact route of Line 5 is unclear, especially in the downtown area; the route shown on the map is an educated guess. Published sources have said it will start at the Ben Thanh Market hub and proceed south/southeast from downtown, probably under Nguyen Tat Thanh street in District 4, before ending in the Ho Chi Minh City South new development area in District 7. However, an unpublished DoCPW planning map acquired by Asia Times appears to show this line also continuing northwest from downtown along Hai Ba Trung, Phan Dinh Phung and Nguyen Kiem streets, heading north into Go Vap district along Nguyen Oanh and Le Duc Tho streets, before terminating at National Highway 1A in the far north of the city. Finally, Line 6 will travel from the already mentioned Tao Dan station in District 1, northeast along Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Xo Viet Nghe Tinh (Soviet Union) streets, before ending at the Mien Dong bus terminal in northern Binh Thanh district. The planning map appears to show that all six lines will ultimately be extended to distant suburbs of the city.

Planners also intend to eventually construct a staggering total of four ring roads to augment the two already built or under construction, additional axial roads, container ports, surface rail lines, and other facilities. Amazingly, a monorail system by Marubeni-Hitachi Corp is also under serious consideration. It is unclear where the monorail will run or to what extent it will be integrated with the subway system.

Construction timeline
The planning process for Lines 1 and 2 is much more advanced than for the rest of the system. Pre-feasibility studies were completed last year and more detailed full feasibility studies are now under way. According to Vietnamese news services, the government has already acquired 53 hectares in Tham Luong and Binh Chanh districts for the terminal depots of these two lines. A full technical survey, the last step before construction can begin, will follow. Several Vietnamese sources have stated that construction will begin in 2005. Vice chairman Le told Asia Times that construction would probably start by March.

Reports about completion dates have varied. Numerous reports have given 2010 as the target date. However, a more recent Vietnam News Service (VNS) story said the completion date for the first two lines had been moved up to 2007. Given the bureaucratic, financial and technical hurdles that remain, to say nothing of Vietnamese contractors' lack of experience with subway construction, meeting this more ambitious deadline while maintaining international standards of quality will be difficult.

For Lines 3-6, the picture is murkier. Le said the next four lines are still in the pre-feasibility study stage. However, when asked whether it would be wise to wait before Lines 1 and 2 are completed before initiating construction of other lines, he indicated that work may, in fact, begin on additional lines before the first two lines are complete, provided financing is found. The state media have avoided specific predictions about starting dates for Lines 3-6. However, given the five-year planning calendar used by Hanoi and the high level of foreign investment interest in these projects, it seems safe to assume that at least some work will be under way before 2015.

Foreign players
The Vietnamese press has mentioned many foreign companies in connection with the project. At the moment, the most important player appears to be Siemens, the German multinational conglomerate. In mid-2002, Siemens signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Le Thanh Hai, chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City (a position equivalent to mayor), and is now considered the front-runner to become the prime contractor for Lines 1 and 2.

A Siemens source confirmed to Asia Times Online that the company intends to become a major contractor. However, final agreement has not yet been reached. The firm helped to arrange the completion of a pre-feasibility study for the two lines, which was conducted by the German government agency CEDIS and submitted to city officials this July. Siemens is now coordinating with the German government to arrange project financing since the Ho Chi Minh City government's budget will only cover 30% of the two lines' estimated US$876 million cost. Press reports have said that additional financing will be provided by the German and Austrian governments, a Chinese railway-construction group, and German banks, although financing arrangements are not finalized yet.

Russian firms, including Moskovski Metrostroy (Moscow Metro) Co and Jobrus Ltd, are also interested. Both companies have had extensive project-related dealings with Vietnamese officials and have signed MoUs for pre-feasibility studies, design and project financing. Vice chairman Le stated that the Russian firms probably would not be involved in Lines 1 and 2 but may become contractors for Lines 3-6. At the moment, they are conducting feasibility studies for other lines, which must be submitted by the end of 2005 for them to be considered for the construction of these lines.

Other foreign companies said to be interested in the project include Mitsui, Hitachi and Nissho Iwai (Japan), Systra and LOHR (France), Louis Berger (USA) and Samsung and Rotem (South Korea). Samsung intends to join forces with Rotem, a rolling-stock manufacturer, for at least one line and is now seeking Korean government loans to that end. Mitsui has met with Le Thanh Hai to discuss the subway project, and a Hitachi source said his company is interested in becoming a subcontractor in the future.

Construction plans
Ho Chi Minh City's location on a river delta has led to concerns about soft soil and potential flooding problems. But these concerns seem unfounded. Numerous expert sources, including vice chairman Le and Dr Mikhail Krestmein, leader of the Transportation Design Institute of Moscow, have said the city's geology will not present a problem. "The soil here is harder than the soil in Shanghai and San Francisco," according to Le, and both of those cities have built successful metro systems.

The lines themselves will be constructed about 20 meters underground using tunneling methods instead of the cheaper, but more disruptive, cut-and-cover technique. It appears that virtually all tracks will be laid under (or, in a few cases, over) major streets. Ho Chi Minh City's many wide, diagonal boulevards, which mostly follow the same routes laid out by colonial city planners in the 19th century, seem purpose-built for subway construction and the proposed lines will take full advantage of this. By tunneling under streets, contractors will avoid the need to condemn buildings above ground level; this will save both time and money since property owners will not have to be compensated.

System design
Little is known about the likely physical appearance of the system. Concept sketches, for example, have not been released. However, Le did say that the system "will conform to international standards". The lines will be color-coded, as with most subway systems, although the actual colors have not been decided upon and may differ from those on the Asia Times Online map. Le also stated that a special transit police force, as exists in the New York City system, might be put in place.

Certain other features of the metro are now known. For example, many reports have said that fares will be set at VND2,500 (about 16 cents). But Le said the fare amount remains to be determined though it will definitely be set low to attract riders, even if the system loses money as a result. The trains, which will run at 80km/h, will have a capacity of 700-1,000 passengers and will arrive every five minutes during peak hours. A common transit farecard, which can be used in buses as well, will be available; metro officials are said to be paying close attention to the issue of integration with the bus system.

Staff training
Since Vietnam lacks a pool of workers with metro-related skills and experience, training engineers and managers for the metro will present a significant challenge. In March, a training course by foreign experts was organized for 40 engineers and officials in Ho Chi Minh City. According to Le, Vietnamese universities such as the University of Transportation in Hanoi will have special departments dedicated to metro training in future. Officials have observed subway training institutions in Bangkok and in Russia and will presumably set up the Vietnamese system along the same lines. The government also intends to send students overseas to study rail engineering. Finally, some workers with the Vietnamese National Railroad will be retrained for metro duties.

David M Lenard is a freelance writer now working in Ho Chi Minh City.

(Copyright 2004 David Lenard)


Ho Chi Minh City readies for building of metro rail 03/01/2008 HCM City (VNA)

Construction of route No. 1 of the city’s underground rail system will begin this month, an official from the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Project Management Unit has said. Tran Thi Anh Nguyet, deputy director of the city’s URPMU, said it would involve construction of the first station on the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien line in District 9’s Long Binh ward.

The 19.7 km route will run from Ben Thanh Market in District 1, along Dien Bien Phu street in Binh Thanh district and the Ha Noi Highway , to Long Binh station. The first 2.6 km from Ben Thanh market in the downtown area would be built underground, she said.Nguyet said construction of the actual line would begin next year and the work would be completed in mid-2013.

According to the official, test runs were scheduled between July and December 2013 with the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien route becoming operational in early 2014. She revealed that district agencies had begun paying compensation for houses and land taken over for the project, and the process would be completed this year.

The city’s Department of Transport and Public Works has said the lack of mass transport like metro was the reason for the worsening traffic congestion. With public transport meeting just five percent of the city’s transport needs, private transport, mainly private cars and motorbikes which account for the rest of the traffic, is not only blocking roads but also causing environmental problems.

Ha Noi Highways, which connects HCM City with Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces, faces serious traffic problems. Without a subway system, 5,000 buses are required daily to meet the rising demand for transportation on this route by 2010. This would mean a bus departing every 10 seconds.

Meanwhile, the metro will be able to carry some 526,000 passengers daily.

Nguyet said the metro would only cost a passenger 6,000 VND compared with 9,500 VND (at the current petrol price of 13,000 VND per litre) to travel the 20km between Ben Thanh and Suoi Tien by motorbike.

In April last year the city People’s Committee approved construction of the country’s first metro route between Ben Thanh and Suoi Tien at a cost of 1.1 billion USD, with 83 percent of it coming from Japanese aid.

The Japan Bank of International Cooperation will provide 904.7 million USD, and the city the rest. The city’s transport development master plan for the period until 2020 envisages developing three monorail lines totally measuring 37 km and six metro routes of a total length of 107 km at a cost of 5 to 6 billion USD. The city administration hopes the public transportation system will carry a quarter of the commuters by 2010 and 50 percent by 2020.-Enditem

More vietnamese progress infos here:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1003

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=588

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=568965

Vietnamese Highway & Toll:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2711703219807887029

Do you guys think this thread appropriates to put it here? I just do not want you guys to get any trouble from some sensitive nations.

what's the point of this thread? just coz we monitor it, doesnt mean we can change the fact that they're getting better than us. and if that's not the point of this thread, then it's in the wrong place because it's noting about the philippines.

Do you guys think this thread appropriates to put it here? I just do not want you guys to get any trouble from some sensitive nations.Certainly not. In this case, the Philippines is in the bad light not the nations you were talking about.

what's the point of this thread? just coz we monitor it, doesnt mean we can change the fact that they're getting better than us. and if that's not the point of this thread, then it's in the wrong place because it's noting about the philippines.No. I think I know what the thread starter has in his mind. It should not only be to monitor what other countries have but also to compare their policies and programs that made their country more prosperous than us. I hope that would be the case. I'm not interested about where these countries are now. I'm more interested on how they were able to achieve their goals.

I agree with XP. It doesn't always have to end in a bloody cvc. I think this thread is a good venue to to know how our neighbors are working, highlight the positive ones, and improve on the negative.

:lol: This thread should be renamed The Envy (Why Can't We Do That Too) Thread. Also, the word "monitor" conjures up an image of Big Brother watching, but we all know that we're not that in terms of our standing in Asia.

This is just my opinion and I'm entitled to it. :colgate:

^^hahaha... I agree. wahahah...

ako nagseselos na rin :lol:

^^nagseselos o baka naman naiinggit?

whoa. akala ko envy and jelousy pareho lang. nice. hehe.

anyway. now i dont know what i am. i may be envious.

Ok. Actually, I've been wracking my brain for several years now, thinking how these nations specifically Korea and Taiwan in the 70's, Thailand and Singapore in the 80's have surpassed us. They say we were the "2nd richest" in Asia in the 50's and 60's just behind Japan. And now, Viet Nam is poised to take over us by at least 10 years! What happened? Some say it is because of our protectionist policy that deters foreign investment. I've read something before about Import Substitution and Export Oriented growth policies. So what are those? Let the discussions begin!

envy [en-vee]
Noun A feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.

jeal·ous [jel-uhs]
Adjective Feeling resentment against someone because of that person's rivalry, success, or advantages.




www.dictionary.com

What's the point of reposting stuff from other countries here to "monitor" them. Just check out their branches and threads. You can discuss comparisons here if that's what you really want.

envy [en-vee]
Noun A feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.

jeal·ous [jel-uhs]
Adjective Feeling resentment against someone because of that person's rivalry, success, or advantages.




www.dictionary.com

way ahead of you. thanks tho. hehe. i use either one when i'm feeling either one.

I'm not interested about where these countries are now. I'm more interested on how they were able to achieve their goals.

^^ exactly.. this should be the scope and limitation of the thread. and i love how you put this issue into perspective. apir! :)

compared to our other Asian neighbors, i feel what we failed to accomplish and maintain is still the good standing of our educational system.. it abhors me that some people pass high school without even having a good backbone of our country's history, as well as having a verbose understanding of languages to play with.. but that is another story..

now, i agree that the budget for 2008 must be focused on infrastructure development, but i feel that the educational system must be secondary to the top priority. our asian neighbors have invested heavily on R&D, yet still we have failed to accomplish this... we must take a good look into positioning the philippines as the hub for education again..

I'm not sure if this thread should go on, we'll just post progress of our neighbors, whine about the depressing inefficiency and corruption of our government, and then back to step one. This thread will go absolutely nowhere fast.

@JP: hmmm... apir! hahaha... mahilig ka sa appear huh.. :jk:

Yes. We need to do something about our education. But I think the government is in the right track now with regards to arresting budget deficits so there would be more money to spend for social services and infrastructures.

@lou: Well, if we will just keep on whining then perhaps we should just close this thread. BUT if we would discuss something about programs and policies, then we would see something constructive. ;)

I am jealous, I should marry a Vietnamese. hehehe

I am jealous, I should marry a Vietnamese. hehehe

^^ Tama si AH-Raja, for putting up his post... Aminin na kasi natin na we're down, "System of the fuckin down".... Sa totoo lang inis na inis me magsusurf sa Vietnam thread. Afterwards, I admit it already and now I am enjoying their famous economic boom....

Ang gusto ko sana, wag po natin gamitin ang sobrang talino ng mga Pilipino. It's really too hard to think that we're too much intelligent peoples in SE Asia and yet we're suffering. Guys these people are just quiet and they are working.

My goodness, bawasan kaya natin ang sobrang yabang. We have to work it by heart and now is the best time.

Pag punta ko lang ng Japan, ang yayabang ng mga Pilipino doon. Akala mo kong sino. Shit! they don't even have a legal papers.

We're doing good now... Please naman, we have to help each other. Especially church people, they can save us not by pointing and blaming each other but helping government programs....

"Action speaks louder than voice..."

^^baka masyado mo lang iniisip na mayabang sila.
minsan kailangan ng konteng yabang hindi lang sobra. thin line between confidence and arrogance i guess.

i think it's a useless thread ,just creates cvc atmoshpere.
especially these other SE asian countries are so competitive and obsessed about rankings of SE asian GDP or who's gonna take over whom 10 , 20 years from now. they have countless threads about that.
besides you can just read about respective countries progress in their own forum, if you're really interested, why bother reposting it.

Sa totoo lang, medyo mababa ang pagtinging ng mga Pilipino sa mga Vietnamese... I guess it's time to change that...

Actually if you ask someone about Vietnamese, sagot nila mga mahihirap na nabiktima na gyerna ng Amerika at patuloy na naghihirap ngayon kasabay ng Cambodia at Laos... Tssskkkk....

Tingnan muna natin sarili siguro bago humusga sa iba...

$20b 2007 Foreign Investment sa Vietnam, nakakaingit di ba.... $2.1b lang for RP... Houston we have a problem... he he he.....

yeah that's true. at sinasabe pa nila na refugee. marami bang pinoy na mahilig manglait at mangmata, pero hindi naman lahat.

^^ That's true guys, but we can take advantages from them by learning economic process that's makes a stable economy...

Someday I'll be dreaming about the Philippines being a rich nation with approximately no family in the under poverty level.

Ang sarap gumising sa kinabukasan na ang lahat ay masaya...

mabilis kasi silang kumilos at gumawa, yun lang ang diprensyia. pag sinabeng gagawen, gagawen , kaya napapaniwala nila ang mga foreign investors. tayo unsad pagong.

Someday I'll be dreaming about the Philippines being a rich nation with approximately no family in the under poverty level.

Even rich industrialized nations deals with their own impoverished segment of the population. No nation is exempt from that.

isasarado ko na ba ang thread? ay, feeling mod ako. hehehe

^^ eh anong oras na ba ? bukas pa ang mga malls di ba?

isasarado ko na ba ang thread? ay, feeling mod ako. hehehe

If only you could, right? ;)

Vietnam grew about 8% in 2007, Philippines grew about 7% so really were not that far behind. In fact, we are still ahead of them in terms of GDP. So as of now, the Philippines still has the better economy but if we don't keep up with our infrastructure and anti-poverty plans, they will surely catch up to us and surpass us in the near future.

MOD, yeah i guess you can modify the title of this thread in anyway that should make it more appropriate, sorry i just couldn't find any better terms, so if u have something in ur mind which u think is better, pls. Thanks.

My thread is for studying how they were able to sustain their economic progress, and comparing the strategies that our neighbors have been doing for the last 20 yrs, hoping that our country can learn some lesson from them too. Because there are things that we might have been missing something that we should have been doing in the past.

Therefore, dont be envy with them, instead learn something and approach it with positive attitude. Be happy for our asian friends and appreciate their hard works, and they deserve an economic miracles.

^^ Tama si AH-Raja, for putting up his post... Aminin na kasi natin na we're down, "System of the fuckin down".... Sa totoo lang inis na inis me magsusurf sa Vietnam thread. Afterwards, I admit it already and now I am enjoying their famous economic boom....

Ang gusto ko sana, wag po natin gamitin ang sobrang talino ng mga Pilipino. It's really too hard to think that we're too much intelligent peoples in SE Asia and yet we're suffering. Guys these people are just quiet and they are working.

My goodness, bawasan kaya natin ang sobrang yabang. We have to work it by heart and now is the best time.

Pag punta ko lang ng Japan, ang yayabang ng mga Pilipino doon. Akala mo kong sino. Shit! they don't even have a legal papers.

We're doing good now... Please naman, we have to help each other. Especially church people, they can save us not by pointing and blaming each other but helping government programs....

"Action speaks louder than voice..."

Thanks for ur supportive attitude. I dont mean any harm here in any against our asian friends or to our fellow countrymen.

We cant just blame ourselves though for being too proud, because i believe this is just a hangover since we used to have something to be proud of before. Well that attitude is due to be changed though, kasi nagbabago na talaga ang tadhana. Its true, the vietnamese people are very humble and friendly, this is based on my experience, since i got a couple of vietnamese friends myself. So we should always respect our asian friends and be courteous to them. They earned it and they deserve it.

:cheers:

What's the point of reposting stuff from other countries here to "monitor" them. Just check out their branches and threads. You can discuss comparisons here if that's what you really want.

Thats one of the reason why im bringing their positive threads here for us to watch their progress, and not to insult us or make us envy (its up to us though) but for us to learn something. Anyway, there are no much pinoys who were regularly checking their threads, cuz we are too focused in here, so why not brining it closer to us? They have something that are considered as a good example to follow, such the likes of disciplines.

Thread renamed. :colgate:

south vietnam, like the philippines, had a culture of corruption. But it's likely that the corrupt vietnam war era officials have gone to the US or have been executed by now :lol:

What we can learn from our Asian neighbors: their economies, infrastructures, and other developments?

united states of souteast asia, one currency, open policy even to singapore etc etc in order to go head to head w/ humongous united states of a and united states of europe

Kahit dito sa amin sa Portland, very simple lang ang observation ko dito about Vietnamese and Filipinos.

Filipinos here would rather eat at a Vietnamese soup ("Pho") place than in a Pinoy restaurant. :D

Bakit? Kasi mura na, mas masarap pa ang luto ng mga Vietnamese restaurants. :lol:


Seriously, what we see on our neighbors are usually the things that we don't have. But those things that we have are not seen by our neighbors.....

King makita man nila kung ano meron tayo, puro kayabangan at kapalpakan ang sa atin.. :bash:

Nasa diyaryo pa at telebisyon minsan... :lol:

^^haha... hindi lang minsan, palagi kamo.

anyway, I love the new title of this thread.

So, ano ba talaga ang ginawa ng mga neighbors natin kaya sila umunlad? Ano yung mga major factr? Is it culture, politics, religion, etc? Any economist in the house?

^^ Economically beat your neighbors...

Honestly, not a single program of the church and private medias now really helps Filipino people. Infact they have participated so much in the downfall of the Philippines. tsskkk!!!!

Kahit Presidente, direktang minumura ng mga media men sa aire... :ohno:

Kahit dito sa amin sa Portland, very simple lang ang observation ko dito about Vietnamese and Filipinos.

Filipinos here would rather eat at a Vietnamese soup ("Pho") place than in a Pinoy restaurant. :D

Bakit? Kasi mura na, mas masarap pa ang luto ng mga Vietnamese restaurants. :lol:


masarap talaga ang pho. pag nakakakita nga ako ng pho bac lagi kong pinapasok :lol:

in fairness, talagang mas masarap magluto ang vietnamese dahil sa french culinary heritage nila. tayo naman spanish, which my book is not as sophisticated.

I also love their spring rolls! At saka yung beef spicy noodles nila! yum yum... their version of bbq is also good :)

Here's how I see it. Vietnam still has a long way to go before they overtake The Philippines economically. But their pace is rapidly growing.

Vietnam has the advantage of low labour costs. Also, they work without complaints. Another advantage is they don't have labour unions unlike The Philippines.

Labour unions is a problem in the Philippine industry especially with groups such as KMU. Once they enter, they can cause problems. That's what happened with Mattel when they decided to move their factory from The Philippines to Thailand when labour groups moved in and caused a strike, demanding higher wages.

One advantage though with The Philippines are the Special Economic Zones. Industries located there are much harder to be infiltrated by union groups.

thats very sad of how you think about the union :no: whygrudge against the common worker?

thats very sad of how you think about the union :no: whygrudge against the common worker?

That's because some of these unions have communist principles and can get abusive.

And you know how much I hate communism!

no i dont know you and your communist idea
maybe youre thinking the other way around w/out unions, the company's management can misrepresent, be very abusive and, some occurrences, wont even pay its employee.

^^haha... hindi lang minsan, palagi kamo.

anyway, I love the new title of this thread.

So, ano ba talaga ang ginawa ng mga neighbors natin kaya sila umunlad? Ano yung mga major factr? Is it culture, politics, religion, etc? Any economist in the house?

First of all, lets thank our one and only moderator, kiretoce.

AS for our topic, yes you got valid questions there ms. marientoinette (meron ka bang mas maikling nick? ang haba kasi hehe). I think its mostly by our religion and culture, and then thats when the politics comes because they are just the result of those 2. IF you notice that most catholic dominated nations in the 3rd and 2nd world class, they have similar difficulties and problems. And there are dozens of different bad and good politics in the world, depending who are running it. For me, we are both good and bad in politics, and bad politicians made us look like the asian losers because they are too good in twisting the politics in the philippines. Somehow these bad politicians were just too greedy to keep the Pork Barrel in our government! Hehehe yan nanaman ako sa sistema...

Anyway, i think our christian faith has something to do with our economy, well not much though. Somehow, we dont have discipline. Just take a look at these hypocrite jeepney drivers, they display their goddess and saints but the way they drive is like a road killer! What more of those thousands who do the same way? With all their rosary displayed and hanged at their front windshield, and what? Nantututok sila ng baril at tatakutin ka kapag na-cut mo sila? Oh well.... How about our corrupt politicians? Aren't they came from the catholic faith? Im talking about our bad fellow christians. I mean if you are a christian, and caims to be one of the true christian, then why not show and demonstrate it?

TAke a look at UK, Canada, and the USA. They are dominated by christians too, well mostly by protestant christians, but they do have good culture and they are indeed good in politics.

Am i right?

Plus our culture, tapon dito tapon doon.... Wala na tayong batas na nasusunod... :bash:

tsinoy, yes its true. When it comes to lunch time, i mostly go to vietnamese restaurants, because they are not only delicious, they are more healthy as well, compared to our local filipino stores that sell pinoy cholesterol-rich food! Yuuckyyy! Too much mantika! Tsaka di sila consistent sa pagtimpla! Kung magiging patriotic din ako eh, ayokong suportahan ang kanilang unhealthy food! Gusto ko na ngang magreklamo eh kaya lng wala kasi silang "Suggestion Boxes" at ayoko naman silang sabihan, tsaka di ako magaling mambola... Oh well, ayaw naman ng misis kong sya na ang magsalita hehehehehe.....

Here's how I see it. Vietnam still has a long way to go before they overtake The Philippines economically. But their pace is rapidly growing.

Vietnam has the advantage of low labour costs. Also, they work without complaints. Another advantage is they don't have labour unions unlike The Philippines.

Labour unions is a problem in the Philippine industry especially with groups such as KMU. Once they enter, they can cause problems. That's what happened with Mattel when they decided to move their factory from The Philippines to Thailand when labour groups moved in and caused a strike, demanding higher wages.

One advantage though with The Philippines are the Special Economic Zones. Industries located there are much harder to be infiltrated by union groups.

Unions are for lazy people as well. Indeed you are right and i totally agree with you! :cheers:

First of all, lets thank our one and only moderator, kiretoce.

AS for our topic, yes you got valid questions there ms. marientoinette (meron ka bang mas maikling nick? ang haba kasi hehe). I think its mostly by our religion and culture, and then thats when the politics comes because they are just the result of those 2. IF you notice that most catholic dominated nations in the 3rd and 2nd world class, they have similar difficulties and problems. And there are dozens of different bad and good politics in the world, depending who are running it. For me, we are both good and bad in politics, and bad politicians made us look like the asian losers because they are too good in twisting the politics in the philippines. Somehow these bad politicians were just too greedy to keep the Pork Barrel in our government! Hehehe yan nanaman ako sa sistema...

Anyway, i think our christian faith has something to do with our economy, well not much though. Somehow, we dont have discipline. Just take a look at these hypocrite jeepney drivers, they display their goddess and saints but the way they drive is like a road killer! What more of those thousands who do the same way? With all their rosary displayed and hanged at their front windshield, and what? Nantututok sila ng baril at tatakutin ka kapag na-cut mo sila? Oh well.... How about our corrupt politicians? Aren't they came from the catholic faith? Im talking about our bad fellow christians. I mean if you are a christian, and caims to be one of the true christian, then why not show and demonstrate it?

TAke a look at UK, Canada, and the USA. They are dominated by christians too, well mostly by protestant christians, but they do have good culture and they are indeed good in politics.

Am i right?

Plus our culture, tapon dito tapon doon.... Wala na tayong batas na nasusunod... :bash:Just call me XP. ;)

no i dont know you and your communist idea
maybe youre thinking the other way around w/out unions, the company's management can misrepresent, be very abusive and, some occurrences, wont even pay its employee.

You dont have to have a union in your workplace. What we really need are laws and enforcers of the laws. Example, in canada we have the Ministry of Labor, who are watching our employers here and making sure they are abiding the laws and give the benefits of the workers who are entitled to. So if a problem occurs in the workplace, one of your option is to go to the ministry of labor, and im telling you, they are really quick to respond, and penalize any employers who are proved of wrong doings and any violations of labor codes here. I dont know about the philippines, but im sure agree with Wanch, unions can be really bad and abusive! That's why its always better to have no union. Anyway, its only for the lazy workers!

Just call me XP. ;)

Ok XP. :)

no i dont know you and your communist idea
maybe youre thinking the other way around w/out unions, the company's management can misrepresent, be very abusive and, some occurrences, wont even pay its employee.

We're talking about the Philippines here. The abuse more come to the labour unions.

If people's dwellings are indicators of development... then one can glean Vietnam's vibrant economy from these. These were all taken from my sister's album from a recent visit... I especially like the house in the last 4 pictures...

http://inlinethumb13.webshots.com/39436/2924912370101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/30681/2173067400101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb62.webshots.com/23293/2326287620101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/27063/2512559100101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb09.webshots.com/40328/2240608030101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/38721/2317771750101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb14.webshots.com/15181/2765548390101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/39400/2165294480101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

^^If those are their best, mas mayaman pala tayo!!! :)

I am amazed at how well-preserved these colonial structures and monuments are... even as new ones rise to challenge their dominance...

http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/20069/2963369220101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/30667/2057519360101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/34539/2194251840101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/42289/2579090270101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/36070/2391166280101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/29487/2757744920101994864S600x600Q85.jpg


The streets are wide and clean... The parks are green and well-manicured...

http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/40489/2587293850101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb33.webshots.com/24160/2344916720101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

^^If those are their best, mas mayaman pala tayo!!! :)

I can't answer that. Though the disparity between rich and poor must be greater in our country since a foreigner friend who had lived there for more than a year commented that he was surprised to see vagrants in Manila which he never chanced upon in Saigon or Ho Chi Minh...

Vietnam is a communist country, remember?

Vietnam is a communist country, remember?

Yes, it's a socialist republic.

The streets are wide and clean... The parks are green and well-manicured...

http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/40489/2587293850101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb33.webshots.com/24160/2344916720101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

Probably because it isn't choked by cars and buses, the motorcycle still is the transportation of the masses in Vietnam. Although, with an ever increasing middle class with money to spend, I predict that those once wide and clean streets will be crammed full with smoke belching vehicles soon.

They are also suffering from heavy traffic. I read numbers of vietnamese complaints on their threads.

Anyway, technically speaking, we are still ahead of them, but they are a serious threat to overcome us in the near future, if we dont fix our political, poverty, insurgency, and governance problems. You know we dont wanna end up competing with cambodia next time after vietnam.... Its gonna be too much na!

BTW, check this out, a french-vietnamese hospital:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LL6WdFoZIBg&feature=related

Aren't we done yet about vietnam? Who wants to move on here and examine our next asian neighbor, Cambidia?

Here is a couple of preview (walang tatawa huh):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gEZEYSF7H7A

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xG982cT9sCI&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2H7qSNDvGcE&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tvyIY7SNvm0&feature=related

Look at their traffic, its even worst:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GYXWpYChpYA&feature=related

^^ Yeah, let's move on. Cambodia seems nice. :colgate:

I am amazed at how well-preserved these colonial structures and monuments are... even as new ones rise to challenge their dominance...

http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/20069/2963369220101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/30667/2057519360101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/34539/2194251840101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/42289/2579090270101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/36070/2391166280101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/29487/2757744920101994864S600x600Q85.jpg


The streets are wide and clean... The parks are green and well-manicured...

http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/40489/2587293850101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb33.webshots.com/24160/2344916720101994864S600x600Q85.jpg

I envy these places for our "supposed" heritage sites in the Philippines, especially those in Manila. A lot, and I mean A LOT, of our colonial infrastructures are not well taken care of, must I say neglected. Just look at the Manila City Hall, it looks like crap! (Well, not architecture-wise, but how the building looks. It looks SOOOO old when it could be kept immaculately clean.) I just can't keep thinking why that structure and its environs should be neglected that way. I mean, it's so pretty and it could be a monument itself. It has stood time and all but it's treated that way. I pity it. :no:

why just Vietnam? What we can learn from Singapore perhaps?