One can question this- WHY IS BANGLADESH WORSE THAN THE PHILIPPINES? Looking at the abundance of squatting, it results to squatter related problems. These problems are like improper waste disposal, bad attitude, invasion of space and crime. One may consider that Bangladesh is indeed a nation that's even more behind the Philippines. The Philippines may have not reached its level but it must work itself to avoid becoming a place like Bangladesh.
I am not going to elaborate in detail to what goes on considering I'm trying to attract foreigners to visit the Philippines in its best areas. At the same time, I want to warn tourists planning to enter the Philippines that the slums are better stayed away from. They are NOT tourist spots, they are nuisances for everyone. One problem with some areas of Manila is that they wouldn't really attract foreigners because of the abundance of squatting.
Taglines are important but testimonials can derail them if results don't match. Just think, would you want to be in Tondo, Manila? Having passed through a slum myself, it really stinks in there. Every step is disgusting... and I don't want to elaborate it further. From what I hear from decent Pinoys, slum people are lazy and believe that they are entitled to that lot just because they are poor. That's just one of the many garbage idiotologies (ideologies) that we may want to get rid of. Tourism in the Philippines can be killed all because of nasty slums. However tourists can be warned ahead of time of slum-infested areas to avoid while they tour the Philippines.
Why are these slums dirty? Again, the keyword is "lazy". They are too lazy to clean up the place. They are too lazy to even get things organized. They are too lazy to look for a job. Just think, why do they dispose of their waste just ANYWHERE? It's their norm to throw away dirty stuff anywhere and not get caught. It's no wonder why toilet humor is very common among squatters. It's no wonder bacteria there is so rampant and people get easily sick. What is worse is that they breed like rabbits which is a major problem. Plus, the so-called "human rights" movement is actually a tourism killer in itself whenever it does not deal with squatters properly.
Please note that pagpag is not a Filipino delicacy either. For those foreigners who have no idea about Filipino food, pagpag is food from the garbage pail plain and simple. No matter how much you wrap it in colorful cloth or market it as a delicacy, it's still garbage. It has high bacterial content considering it has been in the trash can for so long. Even frying it would not kill all the harmful bacteria... it will still continue to decay. Such food is meant to be decomposed and forgotten. You cannot eat it.
This one raises an issue. The Philippines has its tourist spots but it also has its non-tourist spots. If China won't endorse its slum areas as tourist spots, neither should any country. The Philippines is not an exception to the rule either. Endorsing Tondo, Manila would ruin the tagline, "It's More Fun in the Philippines". In what way? I'll discuss in the next paragraph to elaborate.
A slum is no better anywhere else. Whether it's the Philippines, Bangladesh or even highly developed countries, it's a nuisance to the max. Tondo, Manila is not only slum infested but crime rate is very high. A tourist may experience a lot of incidents. These incidents can go from snatching, robbery, injuries or EVEN death. It would be worse to tell an offended tourist, "Well being (insert unfortunate incident) is more fun in the Philippines." which deserves its epic facepalm. To make a dirty place a tourist spot is also dirty business.
Certainly a short-term scam can enter money but what about long term? A good model for business is this. If your tagline is true to its word, more people will return. If I offer prime properties that are well-developed even with a modest tagline like "We Serve You Quality Prime Properties" without claiming to be the best, certainly more people would want to rent there right? If I served quality steaks with a tagline like "Serving You High Quality Juicy Steaks Fresh, Hot and Delicious" more people would want to eat the steak right? But a scam can easily earn money for now but its reputation is more damaged than a miscommunication. You can always mend a minor miscommunication BUT you cannot easily make a person forget a scam. Miscommunication can be fixed like, "I'm sorry... I got it all wrong." but a scam has a malicious intent from the very beginning.
The same can go for promoting Tondo as a paradise. It might sucker in gullible foreigners but later, they can testify that something was out-of-place. Such deceptive agenda would ruin the Philippines, giving a wrong picture that the country is not worth going to. On the other hand, if foreigners were told of what is good and true and what to avoid, they will certainly make their stay more fun in the Philippines.
Comments
Post a Comment