Do Filipinos Think They Are Third World?

I was rather surprised last week as I engaged with the CPMers at Raissa Robles' Top blog. The subject was a new law passed by the Congress and sent to President Aquino for signature. The new law amends  RA 8293 which deals with protection of copyrights and importation of pirated goods and similar matters.

The amendment and the law confuse me, frankly. It seems like a matter of whom to believe, Raissa Robles or the Intellectual Properties Office (IPO). The IPO claims the amendments actually liberalize what can be brought into country. But Raissa is not buying it, and has issued a series of blogs on the matter.

The readers were freaking out when the first blog dropped, figuring they would have their computers and cell phones torn apart upon entering the Philippines from abroad, or CD's ripped from their luggage by rabid, red-eyed Customs extortionists.

Well, I confess, the subject doesn't fire me up because I don't have that much music. My Bob Seger, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bonnie Raitt songs will ride with me to the grave. Oh, my wife is into the newer stuff, that blond weirdo with the sex fetish and a lot of Filipino music that seems to me to be a lot of pining for guys lost or gained, or girls. I like my thump, frankly.  I find that the quality of an album diminishes after the best three songs and after that you might as well be listening to the Holy Roller Choir singing "Rock of Ages" over and over again. So I don't buy albums, just spot grab a new i-tune every once in a while.

But I digress mightily.

The Raissa Robles Top Blog readership was in a panic, inspired by Raissa's fine panicky headline: "Congress erased every Filipino’s right to bring home music, movies and books from abroad ".  Blog readers were moaning and groaning and condemning the legislators and ready to vote for a whole new pack of Senate Candidates.

Normally, I see this kind of out-of-control passion when America is in the headlines because one of her boats has run into a reef or a private has been unkind to a Filipina.

I popped into the discussion and got into a brief impolite exchange with one guy who termed the Philippines "Third World". He was serious. I responded that I had written several blogs about the "First Class" Philippines.

So here I am, the American who rants and raves, along with a volcanic cousin, about this or that. And I am not as down on the Philippines as the CPMers seem to be. I see more uplift in the sails than they do.

What's with this?

Is this a transactional nation or what, with one's judgment swinging this way or that depending on the latest incident?

Indeed, the CPMers seem to be drifting into the anti mode that frustrated people like BongV at Anti-Pinoy or beningo at Get Real migrate to. A relentless condemning of the structures and people of the democratic Philippines. They couldn't find joy if angels descended from heaven to sing hallelujiahs in their ears. 

My observation is that Philippine senators are actually rational and bright people if compared to the idiots who inhabit the US Senate and House of Representatives. There you have truly malicious, dark-scheming people who would throw the nation under the economic bus or good people under a tank for some minor political advantage. Or, even worse, half the Congress wants to destroy the President of their nation. Now THAT is a dysfunctional government.

Compared to that, the Philippines is earnest and sincere and dedicated to improving the nation. And the President's cabinet stacks up well to any American cabinet. Secretary Del Rosario and Hillary Clinton interacted as true peers. The greater part of the rest of President Aquino's cabinet is also, from what I observe, dedicated to achieving specific things and building a better nation.

Do the top Philippine government officials have personality? Of course they do. What, everyone is supposed to be a Piolo Pascual, cut to perfection? Can you imagine how boring it would be if that were the case? Hey, one thing I DO admire Senator Santiago for is her character, her high falutin' legal linguistics delivered as hot lava from the mouth of Pinatubo. She is unpredictable and worth listening to. I aspire to those ends myself.

So I think this blog explosion at Raissa's house is reflective of two qualities of Filipino culture that deserve being noted.

• One, as I have already said, is the transactional character of emotion and act that goes up or down, left or right, incident to incident.

• The other is what seems to be a weak ability of so many even intelligent people to strike compromise. To bend, to give, or to lose once in a while for the good of a group.

So we all get yanked by titillating headlines from incident to incident where people are busy insulting each other because that is one way they at least APPEAR to win.

And, as it seems from reading CPM arguments on this particular incident, if laws are not tailored to the BIG ME, my personal interests, the laws  are obviously wrong.

Mmmm, I don't think so.

That's the deal about democracy. It welcomes different ideas and sometimes solves problems the way OTHERS want them solved. And if the OTHERS are insurance companies or media giants with a direct role to play in who gets elected, they might have a little more clout that a group of rabble-rousing bloggers at figuring out how problems get "solved".

That is the system. It is a good system. And the trick is not to whine and spit and cry, and rag on your nation. It is to band together, to organize, to get loud and effective at promoting your own agenda . . . and remain proud of your nation and its leaders.

Without question, the Philippines has a weak infrastructure of voices for citizens. No Civil Liberties Union or Consumers Union. No attorneys dealing up class action lawsuits. The outspoken voices that do exist tend to collect around specific bills or issues, have their say, and die. On the other hand, it does seem like these voices are getting louder and starting to have impact. The Cybercrime Law may be a dead duck.

Raissa's blog is one of the important voices, and kudos to her for riling the roost of the Intellectual Properties Office. But one needs to keep things in some kind of positive perspective.

And I suppose that overall the national debate, if I think about it, is mostly constructive.  It is not riots in the street or duels at sunset. So consider my complaint one of "take care" rather than "you idiots!".

I personally think President Aquino has calmed the Philippines is ways we don't totally comprehend.

And for sure, I don't believe the Philippines is Third World. I don't care what economists think, or even world poverty experts. I no longer even think it is "under-developed". I prefer to think it is "young". And First Class in many respects. The gap between rich and poor is huge, no doubt. It is that gap that gives the Philippines the commercially competitive momentum it now enjoys, the ability to do things at low cost. Like call centers and tourism and, soon, casinos. Another competitive advantage is the OFW remittances. Perhaps it is a sweet and sour advantage, but it is an advantage.

The modern Philippines was born in 1987. This "Fifth Republic" has suffered through a series of unfortunate presidencies. Now it has a superb President.  From 1987 to 2010, the Philippines was like a drunk in the alley, not quite sure which is the way home.

President Aquino is sober and the walk is as if through a park, refreshing. With muggers here and there to be taken into account, for sure. But refreshing.

Central Park in New York and The Mall in Washington D.C. are little different.

So what is my takeaway from these observations:

1. Philippine culture is transactional. (I'll write more about this in tomorrow's blog.)
2. Philippine culture is rigid. Right and wrong are held fixed and unbendable by individuals with little interest in finding compromise or demonstrating consideration of others.
3. Consumer voices are still being formed and are transactional themselves, not adhering to any longer term vision or mission or staying power.
4. The Philippine democratic government is very young. It  is not underdeveloped; it has character. There is no dysfunctional ideological conflict as there is in the U.S.

The Philippines is an exciting and rich place to live and there is a lot of work to be done.

What? You want some boring, mundane place of no notable character? 

Move to Iowa.