The Philippines Is Stuck In The "Pwede Na Yan" Mentality Because Of The CURRENT SYSTEM

I was reading across through Benign0's posts at Get Real Philippines and I'm amazed the guy somehow doesn't get it. One of his latest posts is about the Pwede Na Yan mentality. I'm still amazed at Benign0's logic but he does have this a bit of the point though he may once again miss the point:

Even if the best of them COVID-19 vaccine options were actually available in the Philippines, it is unlikely that the way they will be distributed will do justice to them. Using the Philippines’ public transport situation as an example again, it is like how importing the most modern buses and trains in the world won’t matter if the system that they will be put into service within sucks. Think of it for a minute — modern buses that cost 200 thousand dollars a piece deployed to jeepney routes. It’ll be an utter waste!

So clueless Benign0 manages to talk about the yes, the F*CKING SYSTEM. Sorry if I have to put some foul words but there are times you need to do so. The issue is that importing modern buses and trains wouldn't matter if the SYSTEM will still suck. Now, it's time to discuss the SYSTEM once more and how the Philippines got stuck into the Pwede Na Yan or "That will do!" mentality for a very long time. The Philippines has been stuck with the Pwede Na Yan mentality not because it's exclusively embedded in the Filipino mind. Rather, it's all about the CURRENT SYSTEM that has caused Filipinos to be stuck in the Pwede Na Yan mindset. I wonder if Benign0 has ever bothered to analyze things like Orion Perez Dumdum of CoRRECT Movement did when it came to the current SYSTEM? I doubt it since Benign0 has still remained FREAKING CLUELESS even in this COVID-19 pandemic.

A good start to talk about is how Pwede Na Yan Mentality in businesses is a result of protectionism

The call for protectionism is always nothing more than built on crybaby mentality. There are many reasons behind protectionism. Most of them can now be easily debunked with some knowledge of BASIC history and economics. Reasons such as "But only foreigners will get rich!" can now be refuted if you try to Google the economic history of Singapore, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia for a start. What I find so funny was that Benign0 even suggested that the Philippines should first learn to self-industrialize to cope up with COVID-19. After some argument, Benign0 decided to reply that it didn't matter if foreign direct investment (FDI) flowed freely in the Philippines because Filipinos lack a culture of achievement. What Benign0 gets wrong (for way too many times) is that Filipinos lack that sense of tradition because of ECONOMIC PROTECTIONISM.

How did economic protectionism (starting with Carlos P. Garcia's STUPID Filipino First Policy) cause this problem? People during the Marcos dictatorship were probably too focused on the Nutribun project rather than learn to make their own nutritious bread. The Marcos Years focused on crony capitalism where Marcos seized properties that he wanted and awarded them to his cronies. The Cory Years may have given back the businesses to the rightful owners. However, CONTINUED economic protectionism made the same people who got their businesses back complacent. A lack of competition caused the same business owners to be complacent. The slow Internet isn't just an issue of two telcos (PLDT and Globe) vs. 7,107 islands. UIt's also a problem that they hardly have any competition so it ends up with one over the other. The same goes for any services that when there's NOT enough competition then lousy services with high costs happen. The high costs are a result of supply and demand. There are too many Filipinos vs. too few businesses to cater to that demand in the Philippines.

However, let FDIs start to run freely with reasonable restrictions then local businesses will be forced to innovate. What most of them don't get is that FDIs can benefit the local businesses to assist in their growth. If your customers have competitors then doesn't that mean you should go out there and LOOK FOR MORE CUSTOMERS? If your service providers have competitors then doesn't that mean you have more than one service provider to help make your services better? It's too bad not too many people look at the free market system with reasonable restrictions in that angle. All they think is a threat to their businesses. Such mentality has been too easy to exploit by greedy Filipino communists who only want power

The current presidential system is pretty much "Pwede Na Yan" which won't sit well in the parliamentary system 

The presidential system has tried to warn voters to "vote wisely". However, the same problem happens all over again. People just keep voting for athletes and actors into places of power. How can athletes and actors even do anything in the legislative functions? Who can remember when Robert Jaworski became a senator? Now, we've got Manny Pacquiao as a senator. The presidential system bases everything more on popularity than credibility. The mentality of voters is pretty much "We voted! Pwede na yan!" then they start complaining about why the same problem goes all over again. The problem that some voters refuse to acknowledge is well-embedded in the SYSTEM in itself. 

How does the presidential system become Pwede Na Yan? It's because the presidential system doesn't really hold people accountable. You can blah blah blah all you want about impeachments but have they been really effective? Right now, the USA is even doing the absurd by impeaching former president Donald J. Trumped. Back then, we also had former president Joseph "Erap" Estrada who ended up resigning after the long tedious process. Erap's resignation just simply allowed him to re-run for office, even to re-run as president (which is a JOKE), and it's really a mockery. 

Meanwhile, the parliamentary system is really not about popularity but credibility. What does the parliamentary system have that the presidential system doesn't? These functions are the weekly question hour, a REAL formal opposition that holds the majority accountable LIVE (which is possible because elections are by parties rather than by personalities), and the dreaded vote of no confidence. Having a weekly question hour would have the Government and Opposition (or Shadow Government) duke it out in a formal debate. The vote of no confidence would be called whenever someone in the Parliament is already losing the ability to lead. It doesn't have to wait for a member of the Parliament to commit a crime. All he or she has to do is to lose the confidence of the whole Parliament in order to be voted out. Worse, getting voted out happens on live television which forces Members of the Parliament to think twice before doing anything stupid. 

Comments