Make More Filipinos Know The Need For Economic Reforms And Why OFWs Aren't Necessarily The "Bagong Bayani"

One of the biggest problems of the 1987 Constitution is that it continued the OFW program instead of helping solve the problem. The problem today is that the Constitution has limited foreign investment to 60/40. Foreigners may own only 40% of the business and Filipinos are entitled to own 60%. This is very different than some countries who actually allow a minimum of 50% and above for foreign investors. 

It's really annoying for any economically literate Filipino to hear from economically illiterate Filipinos that foreign investors are foreign invaders. Whenever it's time to talk about the idea of opening up the economy, it's very expected for anybody to give a lot of stupid excuses and ideas. These ideas may include the idea that only foreigners will get rich or that foreign businesses will put all Filipinos out of business. These are on a case to case basis. If a country doesn't put any reasonable restriction with foreign investors then it'll be chaos. But this is no reason to set up the idiocy of 60/40 to limit foreign investors to only 40% ownership.

There's the need for Filipinos who are fighting for economic liberalization to ask Filipinos who hate economic liberalization this question namely, "So you'd rather remain poor than be open to foreign investments?" This is because the Philippines really needs to open up its economy with reasonable restrictions. Some Filipinos keep telling their fellow Filipinos that foreigners will just rule over the country, Filipinos will become slaves to foreigners in their own country or whatever nonsense they can come up with all the while they may hypocritically be dreaming of having a vacation or are working as OFWs in free trade developed countries in Hong Kong, Japan or Taiwan.

The fight for economic liberalization also means informing more and more Filipinos to wake up from the delusion that all OFWs are the "bagong bayani". The whole phenomenon got sensationalized after Flor Contemplacion got executed in Singapore. A movie was made and the song "Kahit Konting Awa" became a popular hit. For years, many have believed that OFWs are the "bagong bayani" and that foreign investors are foreign invaders. Some people like Neri Colmenares seek to end labor export while refusing to open up the economy. They still want to believe in the deluded fantasy called self-industrialization when it's not achievable. The protectionist lovers tell us to study history but look who needs to study history.

Are OFWs really the new heroes? Some of them are indeed the new heroes but not all of them. Some OFWs are seeking to be OFWs with a plan. Others are just Okay Fine Whatever, Whenever, Wherever. Is it really an act of heroism to be an OFW who earns lots of money abroad, bring balikbayan boxes not just for the family but also for fiends and relathieves, bring in a huge fiesta, become poor again and rinse and repeat? It's not an act of heroism but an act of idiocy that's prevalent in the mindset of some Filipinos. Instead of using the money earned from abroad to get the family out of poverty, they instead keep the cycle going and some aren't even bothered by it. Fortunately some OFWs don't seek to remain in that cycle but they also need to join the fight for economic liberalization so they can help others. 

The solution towards stopping the OFW program and providing more jobs for Filipinos is in correcting the 1987 Constitution's flawed economic policies. These policies start with correcting the whole idiocy of 60/40 instead of advocating over-protectionism. I don't think a lot of Filipino youth today know what's going on and are still brainwashed into believing that the 1987 Constitution isn't the stumbling block of their beloved country. Fortunately, some Filipinos who are taking part in the fight for change against the idiotic policies. This also includes a shift from unitarian to federalism and from presidential to parliamentary (in order to allow competent politicians to stay longer and incompetent ones to have a shorter stay) among other things to create a better Philippines.

I suggest it's time to make more Filipino youths study real history not from the DepEd history books but rather from real, reliable sources based on facts and figures. They could start studying the history of China during Mao Zedong's time and Deng Xiaoping's time, the history of North and South Korea, the history of Venezuela and Chile so they can join in the revolution. When they realize the root cause behind the OFW culture and why the Philippines needs economic liberalization, it's going to make Filipinos a lot better than they were before.