Saturday 9 April 2011

a dependent culture, my two cents on the Willie Revillame issue

A lot of intellectuals and elite and movers said their piece of mind already about the Jan-Jan episode on Willing-Willie. Ads were being pulled off the show until finally, Willie announced that the show will be off air in the next couple of weeks. Just before going off live air, Willie Revillame lambasted as well the celebrities who have strongly voiced their opinions on Twitter. The celebrities, I believe, were moved to voice out against Willie in defense of the marginalized, in defense of the poor who for the sake of being given some money, are willing to sacrifice even their well-being, and allow Willie to even humiliate them. Willie's words about the celebrities mirrored how he is as a person. The celebs were defending the poor, while Willie attacked the personhood and individuality of the celebraties; calling out to Aiza to be a man (why should he attack Aiza's lesbianhood?), calling out to Agot that she doesn't even have a child (for a married woman who wants to have a child and then be hurled with this insult must be very hurting), calling out to Bianca "who does she think she is" (okay, Willie probably has much higher salary than Bianca since he is more popular but Willie's statement clearly reflects how HIGH he thinks of himself). Personally, I abhor the guy. But the Philippine masses loved him. Purely because he doles out a lot of money in his TV shows. Easy money. I do believe TV show organizers are intellectuals as well. And I do believe they do realize that their TV shows do breed/propagate a culture of dependence, where the poor wait that fate make them lucky enough to be chanced upon by the host and hence be doled out money or be lucky enough to be a contestant and hence have a chance for bigger bucks. Oh mind you, for one to be able to be a contestant, it entails days of queuing and applications. And one would think, instead of queuing, why not look for a decent job instead, one that would give them a stable salary. But then again, if truth be told, there really is a lack for job openings especially in Greater Manila for the masses. And probably, even if they do land a job, some would think that the money they would earn is very meager as compared to what they would earn in the TV shows if they're lucky enough. Willie Revillame lashed out in his show on April 8 that those celebrities who complained against him are not helping the poor, questioning them if they themselves gave Bantay Bata 1 Million pesos (making you surmise that he gave the charity the very amount). But I don't think he really is helping the poor. He is giving away easy money, making them even more dependent on other people for their survival. He is barely scratching the surface of what really needs to be addressed here. To change the mindset of the poor. To change them from within. To make them their own masters of their own future and not wait on lady luck to bring them good fortune. But then again, it would be good, if we can offer more jobs as well.

Sunday 20 February 2011

The Rise of Philippine EPC: WHEN??

A contact in Twitter retweeted the article below in Arabian Oil and Gas website about the rise of South Korean contractors. True, our company has actually lost a couple or two projects to South Korean contractors where one (or two) was a project owned by our company's long-time Client.

Sure, they pose a threat to other competitors, especially to our company (or at least my husband's, since I have just already recently resigned). But then foremost in my thoughts is the question: When will Philippine EPC have its own rise?

Our engineers and professionals has been highly appraised worldwide. My husband even attended a lecture recently, held by an esteemed Japanese lecturer with international credentials under his belt, where that same lecturer has talked highly of the Filipino people having a lot of potential and being very capable.

And yet, "The Rise of Philippine EPC" is near impossible at the moment. Brain drain does the job. We gather enough experience here at home and when we have enough, our wanderlust, our longing to prove our mettle in the bigger field, our wanting to have better salaries, makes us want to pack our bags and be part of the working force of other countries.

I myself am guilty of this. And if truth be told, I don't want to spend the rest of my life working here in Manila - the city stresses me out (it's not the same story with other cities though). But if each engineer or professional thinks in exactly the same way, give or take a few other reasons besides, then I do think we will not ever witness "the rise of Philippine EPC". Not in our lifetime anyway.

http://www.arabianoilandgas.com/article-8505-the-rise-of-the-south-korean-contractor/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter