Happy Independence Day anyone? Today is June 12 and the I prefer to call it Liberation from Spain Day. The Philippines didn't become truly independent until July 4, 1948, when the Americans finally gave us our sovereignty. I decided to think about another issue. A few years ago - I remembered I wrote about how economic protectionism or Filipino "first" made the Philippines MORE dependent on other countries. Now, I decided to focus on the OFW phenomenon AGAIN this June 12. It's more than time to ask if the OFW phenomenon has truly made the Philippines more independent economically.
The concept of raising economic protectionism is to supposedly protect national interests and the national industry. The whole concept is built on these two blatant lies still replayed ALL OVER AGAIN. The first lie is that FDIs will affect our sovereignty. The second lie is that only FDIs will get rich. They say that FDIs will destroy the local environment. So the "solution" is to "conquer" other countries through OFWs. Maybe, some idiots are thinking that the OFW phenomenon and remittances are better than FDIs because they're doing it in the name of "OFWs are conquering the world!" Are the imported items and remittances "proof of conquest". Maybe, some will treat Edz Ello (the nurse who got deported from Singapore) like he was some kind of war hero. Maybe for some, they will say that sacrifices must be made in the game of conquest.
I guess for certain ECONOMICALLY IGNORANT Filipinos - they think that trade relations or the Game of Trades are actually the Game of Thrones. The tagline of the TV series Game of Thrones as stated earlier is, "When you play the Game of Thrones - you win or you die. There is no middle ground." They don't see that the Game of Trades is not the Game of Thrones. I'd probably call it the Game of International Marketing. They think that either foreigner invade the Philippines or Filipinos invade other countries. So, their "best decision" is probably through OFWs thinking that they will conquer the world. Some even say that all the separation is "just drama". It would be worth it (daw) to be separated from their loved ones because they're doing it in the name of conquest. What conquest? Instead, the OFW phenomenon has caused the Philippines to be more dependent economically.
How is the OFW phenomenon making the Philippines more dependent economically?
It's becuase OFWs are sent to other countries - the OFWs are not there to CONQUER IT. Instead, they are there as workers and not warriors. I remembered watching the film Hello Love Goodbye on Netflix which was about OFW life in Hong Kong. I also remembered watching the film Anak during my remedial Filipino class in college. The OFW characters are subjected to separation from families, to the rules of their new workplace, and that all for the Hong Kong Dollar or HKD. I didn't really think much back then when I saw Anak except that, "One day the kids will understand." What I ignored was that Carla's wayward behavior in Anak was also a result of an absentee mother and a negligent father.
In the real-life setting, OFWs are bound to the rules of the country. If they do anything stupid (like Ello) then they can expect to be deported. Ello got deported after a series of seditious posts in Singapore. Some OFWs do get deported due to their failure to FOLLOW simple guidelines in another country. In the end, the Philippines (as a country) becomes dependent on the countries where OFWs are sent. The countries where OFWs are sent may or may not need OFWs. Instead, it's the OFWs that need those countries. Ironically, those countries where OFWs are sent are GREATLY BENEFITED by FDI.
Meanwhile, how does FDI actually make the Philippines more independent economically?
The very notion that welcoming FDIs ignore the local industry is stupid. Instead, one must realize that FDIs are also the cause as to why countries once poorer than the Philippines are now richer. The great, late communist leader Deng Xiaoping said, "I don't care if it's a black cat or a white cat as long as it catches mice!" The late Lee Kuan Yew also emphasized the importance of international trade. It's because FDI is not an act of conquest but an act of healthy competition. It's competition between the local businessmen and the foreign businessmen. It's like how inter-school competition happens. The home players don't surrender their school to the winning visitor players. The visitor players don't conquer the school. The only thing the school that housed the intervarsity sports gives is the trophy to the winning visitor. Both schools still keep their sovereignty. In business, foreign investors may beat out local players but they still have to pay taxes to the Philippine government after hitting a huge profit.
Having FDI in the Philippines is equivalent to a tenant's relationship with a commercial building owner. FDIs are welcome to invest in the Philippines as long as they agree to pay rent (to Filipino landlords), pay income taxes, and all the necessary bills such as tax declaration and land taxes. Any good Filipino landlord will say, "It doesn't matter if my tenant is a foreigner or Filipino as long as they give me good income." In short, FDI doesn't defeat the idea of developing the local economy BECAUSE it helps develop the local economy. Any good businessman will see FDIs not only as threats but as opportunities. Any competitor of your service provider is another service provider. Any competitor of your customer can be your next potential customer.
With FDI, the independence is pretty much like this. The Philippines doesn't have to keep sending workers abroad and getting approval. The only time the Philippines starts to do business abroad is when Filipino businessmen decide to do so to expand their territories abroad with either a foreign business partner or a foreign landlord. Instead, the Philippines now operates as a huge commercial space and FDIs are like tenants. FDIs will still be UNDER the control of the Philippines. In short, FDIs either agree to play by the rules (such as fair trade act and paying income taxes) or risk getting deported.
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