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Sunday, January 20, 2013

Could the death of Filipino workers hostaged in Algeria been prevented?

Could the death of Filipino workers hostaged in Algeria been prevented?
Two Filipino hostages were killed in Algeria today. Chalk two more to the list of Filipinos dying outside their homeland.
The plight of blue collar Filipinos in the Middle East is plain and simple horrible. And that’s not even counting the number of domestic helps who are regularly verbally and physically abused, sexually assaulted, imprisoned, commit suicide, if not executed. It gets even tragic when you add the cost of breaking families apart. Yet, to those who work in these hostile places – the prospect of returning to the joblessness and widespread hunger of the Philippines is even more terrifying.
These disasters could have been easily averted, mitigated, reduced, minimized – if not virtually eliminated if there were good paying jobs at home. Note the emphasis on “good paying”. Sure there are “jobs” in the Philippines – but these are “so -so” jobs. The better paying ones are treated like family heirlooms and job openings are close guarded by insiders for the benefit of buddies and relatives. Still, it is the prerogative of Filipino businesses to hire based on what makes sense to them.

Why aren’t there jobs in the Philippines but lots of jobs overseas?

What doesn’t make sense however is that foreign businesses which can provide jobs to other Filipinos are prevented from doing so. The reason being that Filipino businesses should be protected from “unfair” competition. Since when has competition become fair ever? Businesses, just like individuals, come with their own set of unique assets, skillsets, core competencies and competitive advantages and harness all of these to deliver a service and a value not just to customers but to employees and suppliers as well. Goods and services may have the same sale price but the nuanced processes by which they were produced differ from one company to another. It is the diversity of scale, process, and inputs interacting with the needs of the customer which creates thriving companies – and employees.
Government’s protection of Filipino businesses constitute unfair competition by itself. It’s quite hypocritical that the government and the vested interests hiding under it’s skirt cry unfair competition then proceed to monopolize the deliver of goods and services and availability of jobs – using government contacts, resources and regulations.

Keeping Filipinos jobless, poor and hungry is “taking care of Filipinos“?

With the Aquino administration intent on keeping competition out, because only “Filipinos know how to take care of Filipnos” – Filipinos have been driven to seek for jobs overseas. How do Filipino businesses take care of fellow Filipinos? Ask the dead agricultural workers of Hacienda Luisita who will make the Atimonan rubout look like a weekend picnic. Or ask the graduate of BS Commerce in Accountancy working as a store clerk in the retail outlet – and who will be terminated every five months so that Henry Sy can keep the savings and open more malls in China – while keeping Walmart out of the Philippines. Look at who is practicing unfair competition. The anti-competition policy reflects more of how Filipino businesses operate – sangkatutak ng gulang.
With open competition the old and tired ways that Filipino businesses conduct their affairs will be put to the test. While Filipino job seekers go overseas and compete head to head against foreign jobseekers and succeed – the Philippine government is content on protecting its cronies in retail, telecomm, energy, transportation, agriculture, media, and real estate. As long as this continues, there will be more Filipinos who will be hostaged, raped, murdered, jailed, and executed – but not before the government agencies can extract money for NBI clearances, POEA fees, bogus health services, NAIA fees – so that Enrile and Miriam can duke out on tax money, and possible even have househelp on the payroll.

Is more governance the solution really?

For all the billions of dollar remittances, the Philippine government can’t even get a decent passport machine so that passports can be issued in overseas embassies – and the so-called throngs of “bagong bayani” have to drive long distances to make a personal appearance to embassies – and have to wait 6 to 8 weeks just to get their passports renewed – bloody hell.
It’s amusing how Aquino’s campaign promise that in his administration working overseas will just be an option and not a necessity. Clearly those were empty words – and Filipinos were suckered into voting for the moron into office – and that makes us Filipinos bigger idiots.
The latest lives wasted in Algeria are the outcome of a pathetic president voted into office by a pathetic society that would rather have “free” yellow condoms.
But what really is the value of a couple of OFWs hostaged in Algeria – when there is an entire country already being held hostage by the megalomaniacs in Malacañang?
That’s the EDSA “revolution” for you.

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