Investing Will Be More Fun in the Philippines If Economic Protectionism is Removed!

While President Noynoy "Nobita" Aquino claims that the economy is growing, IMF has claimed that Philippine GDP is growing but there's one problem... ECONOMIC PROTECTIONISM. The mistake of the 1987 Constitution did not include the removal of cronyism and oligarchy. The problem of the late Ferdinand Marcos' cronyism DID NOT end. Although Marcos was deposed from power, you cannot deny that 60/40 is a ridiculous rule. It continued the cronyism structure, only under different names.

Now I am not saying that removing 60/40 is 100% a guarantee for foreign investment. If you think of it, it would be better invest in the Philippines with 60/40 than to invest in Bangladesh or any country worse than the Philippines. But 60/40 is a very unfair rule for trade law which... joint venture ownership in other countries is more flexible. There are foreign investors who love the Philippines but remember, ONLY CERTAIN AREAS of the Philippines.

What the Philippines can do is to learn from China's economic changes. Investing became more fun in China when the country relaxed its protectionism. The firms allow a minimum of 50% ownership for foreign firms and higher. While some foreign investors may want a joint venture but a 50% and above allowance is far better than a restricted 40%. Even 10% makes a difference in attracting investors. Just think - isn't it ridiculous that a Communist country like China has learned to be economically open while the Philippines has been stuck with economic protectionism?

Economic protectionism is only a blessing for the cronies... just like why the Ferdinand E. Marcos cronies would say that the Marcos years were the best. However it creates a state of misery that may soon reach the level of North Korea or Maoist China. When China closed its doors to the world, only Mao and his cronies had the power. When Deng Xiaopeng opened it, China became a major economic power. In the Philippines, you do have the blessing of protectionism towards the oligarchs but it also creates social and economic consequences in the long run.

Just think of the law of supply and demand. When supply is up, prices go down. When supply is down, prices go up when demand is high. It doesn't take a rocket economist to figure that out... even a person who has studied Economics 101 will understand what's wrong with the Philippines. This results to high priced services of trash value because there is a lack of competition. While I do not endorse too much competition or unrestrained acceptance of investors but, supply must increase. If there is competition, people will be forced to perform better.

What happens when there are not enough jobs? One may think of not only the Philippines but also other developing countries. Why do the South Americans end up illegally migrating towards the United States? It's because of a lack of jobs. Overseas Filipinos and other people from developing and third world countries fly around the world looking for jobs because the country is scarce with jobs. Many former Spanish colonies are so poor that people must fly to another country to look for jobs, keeping families apart from each other. The Philippines if it will open up, it doesn't have to be like other former Spanish colonies which are worse than it.

Sad to say but the government and a lot of Filipinos refuse to accept competition. There are the problems of leftists EVEN IN THE GOVERNMENT. Why are the nuisances like Bayan Muna, Gabriela and Migrante EVEN ALLOWED to run? They should not be allowed to run for office. Their candidates should be removed from power, economic protectionism removed and the Philippines will be a country where it's more fun to invest in!