Why Not in the Philippines?

According to an Ibon research, an estimated 3,000 Filipinos leave the country everyday to find jobs abroad. The scarcity of jobs is already a sign that all is not well and that the economy lacks an internal dynamism that is able to productively harness and employ the Filipino workforce. Many talented Pinoys don't have a choice but to be attracted to the "greener pasteur" that major developed countries offer. Due to a higher exchange rate of foreign currencies against Philippine peso, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) have the most purchasing power to acquire properties and put their hard-earned money into a wise investment; something which will give them a higher financial gain.

Many foreigners believe that the Philippines is a great destination and a great place to retire. Filipinos are generally, polite and hospitable. Aside from this, transport is cheap, food is good and shopping is a delight, English is widely spoken so communication is great. According to Yahoo! Travel: "If you believe that the most important living environment and travel experience is to learn about people, make friends and be with great company, then the Philippines is your country."

No matter how many Filipinos leave their country, their values of closer family ties and being so regionalistic remain. They want to be intact and look after their elderlies at home. They buy properties mainly for the benefit of their families to enjoy a bit quality of life. This what makes these people unique compare to other cultures. They don't mind the hardships of life in a foreign land. It is their pleasure to see their loved ones proud of what they do and what they give.

Based on my experience, property investment, with commitment, discipline and preparation to take a bit of risk, will provide a higher return on investment. Housing is always a rewarding investment which gives someone a sense of pride and ownership. Property is tangible and you know it is there, you can see it and you can feel its value. Unlike other form of investments which is unseen and you need a lot of info to know the name of the game.

So why chose property? Why not invest in stocks and shares or start a business? The main reason is that property will not go out of fashion or become obsolete like services and products. Shelter is a basic necessity for survival of us all and the demand for it is always guaranteed.

In economics, if the demand is greater than supply, it dictates prices to go up. If there is a food and mouth disease on poultries, meat vendor will still sell (supply) meat but people won't buy (demand) it. Prices tend to go down due to a lower demand. Should the 'red tide' a sort of toxic in the sea that affect fish occurs, the demand for meat will then increase and so the price. All things are parallel. This is the case on property. Due to a rapid expanding population of Filipinos which estimated to hit the 100 million mark in 2010, fragmenting families, an increasingly mobile workforce and major infrastructure mandated by the government, the demand for properties will always be greater than supply. Property prices keep increasing which give investors something to smile about.

Philippines is still a sound investment to put your money into. It helps your family, our economy and increase your chance to enjoy life. When a property is set up properly, you just sit back and watch the money roll in.

Don Magsino MBA
Ateneo De Manila University
Professional School of Business

Why Outsource in the Philippines?

The reason why the Philippines is an ideal location for business outsourcing is the fact that the Philippine culture has a lot to the west. Historically, the Philippines has been a Spanish, British and American colonies. Moreover, as Western companies tend to deal with the companies in the same principles, they prefer to work with the Philippine companies.
In addition, the Philippines is a multilingual country, taking into account that have been a colony of Spain, Japan, UK and U.S. relatively large number of people can speak Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Indian and English. Advantage of this language jumped the Philippines as one of the top Outsourcing destination.
Moreover, the low cost of living and availability of cheap property make the Philippines hard to resist. Since employees do not have to pay so much labor and overhead, Philippines offer an incredible savings in the cost of operations and a great return on any investment. Simply put, the Philippines remain a cheaper option. In some specific sectors, personnel costs in India have increased to approximately 60% of comparable costs in the U.S., the Philippines, only reached about 30% of these positions.
More importantly, the Philippine labor market got hundreds of technically qualified individuals who can deliver the expected results as well as its Western counterparts at the lowest possible cost. Over 80% of the Philippine labor market is literate, which is another reason why Western companies prefer to work with Philippine companies. With its cost-effectiveness and accessibility of talent and skill, the Philippines is becoming a world leader in the outsourcing industry. In fact, Philippines ranks first in terms of accessibility of knowledge-based jobs, according to the survey-based Meta Group.
For these reasons, the Philippines is obviously quite marketable. Despite its reputation as a third world country, the Philippines continue to take giant steps forward in the business outsourcing



Outsourcing in the Philippines

Neurotic History of the Philippines and the Filipinos

Let me begin by re-inventing a Jungian idea: "If, for a moment, we regard the nation as one individual, we see that it is like a person carried away by unconscious powers; and likes to keep certain problems tucked away in separate drawers." There is of course an idea that rests within the heart of Philippine history-an idea so absurd that one may lead to believe that Jung was right when he said that "our world is, so to speak, dissociated like a neurotic". And the idea is this: change is cruel, so one must reject change for whatever comes from change is just a corruption of the original; for change too has become a problem in Philippine history that one must "tuck it away" in a "separate drawer" in order for the people to see what they only want to see.
Philippine history is filled with myths that are, in a manner of speaking, a step shorter from delusions and hallucinations. As an example, I give two myths and a consequence of these myths. The first myth is that of a Filipino Civilization before the coming of the Spaniards-or to be more accurate, before the coming of Islam. The second myth is that of the True Filipinos who dwell within such a civilization. The combination of both produces the first narrative of the neurotic history of the Filipino people. It appears now that in the beginning there was a civilization and the civilization was good; the early Filipinos (therefore, True Filipinos) were good maritime navigators, already have a form of religion, were able to produce songs, create wares, build small huts, cultivate lands and started agriculture, establish a government system called barangay, establish trade with other Southeast Asian neighbours, etc. etc. It was when the Spaniards came (the second and already expurgated narrative of the neurotic history of the Filipino people) that this civilization was enslaved, exploited, oppressed, raped and ripped to pieces, and of course enslaved, exploited, oppressed, raped and ripped to pieces. (Just read any Philippine history book.)
Here is what it really looked liked-maritime navigation that failed to establish a local folklore on sea adventures (mostly because these maritime experts were pirates and raiders), a religion so primitively pagan and animistic, songs that were never written because writing culture was not yet mainstream, wares that were somewhere between basic and elaborate, small huts and an architectural design that never went beyond primitive, lands cultivated by sticks, rice terraces without the storage facilities in the style of Mohenjo Daro, agriculture so primitive it never went beyond the realm of their minute political consciousness, with politics as minute as a boat, and an ego-centric trade (history tells of neighbours coming to the Philippines and trading with the Filipinos, but never the other way around when they were supposedly expert maritime navigators). If this is what it means to be civilization, then I'm beginning to wonder what civilization really meant the first time it was used. After all, Philippine historians-much more like Philippine politicians-are fond of redefining terms to satisfy their needs. One must reconsider the term "civilization" when we talk about pre-colonial Philippines inasmuch as one must also reconsider the terms "literature" and "history" because of the lack of a writing culture. Besides, those True Filipinos of the pre-colonial period-irony of ironies!-do not have a bit of a concept of what it takes to be Filipino, what is a Filipino, and that Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are island groupings considered as a single political unit called the Philippines.
One may wonder if one can call the Celts in primeval Britain the True English (horrendous!), or the Ainus of ancient Japan as the True Japanese (unbelievable!), or the Goths of early Iberia as the True Spaniards and the True Portuguese (intoxicating!). This will lead us to the consequence of our neurotic history: the idea of ancestral domain, that is the presumption that those who settled on the land first are its original owners. Is it not true that the Celts settled the British plain far too long than the Philippine indigenous peoples have settled wherever-they-were before? I wonder if the Japanese government will surrender the Yamato plain to the Ainus and move the Japanese capital far to the frozen north. Will the European Union give to the Italians-descendants of the Romans-the ancestral domain which was once under the jurisdiction of the Roman Senate? Pure folly that can only come from the Filipinos.
The neurotic history of the Filipino people can be summarized in this manner:
(1) they had civilization;

(2) the Spaniards came and arrested further developments of that civilization;

(3) the Americans came and also contributed to the destruction of whatever remained from that civilization;

(4) such that until now they are confused of what and who they are because they have lost so much of their former innocence;

(5) that they emerged as, and still are, Limited Filipinos of the contemporary world.
The changes that have occurred in the past 443 years (even more) are to be considered as a corruption of their pre-1521 culture. They criticize themselves for being fakes and having colonial mentality, and praise their distant past for their innocence-for being "original" (whatever that means).
So, if we-in Jungian terms-translate the nation as an individual, what do we have on the Filipinos is this:
(1) an innocent child filled with so much curiosity and freedom that what matters with him was only playing and eating;

(2) the first wave of changes came when his parents started pressuring him over many things and he started thinking that life is not as simple as before;

(3) the second wave came through peer pressure as he entered into a confusing age of adolescence and really started to bicker that being a child is much more fun;

(4) he emerged as a confused adult despising himself for having been corrupted by all the changes that happened to his life;

(5) fear of the present made him long for his innocent past-at this stage, the individual represses his own history as a history of pain and suffering, tucks it in a drawer, and creates substitute stories to cover the pain and suffering.
Nostalgia for the past is manifested in continuously summoning the past to appear critical of the present. To cover the hysteria produced by the very changes that occurred to him, he creates myths. Philippine history is neurotic so far.
But, in the Freudian, Adlerian, and Jungian way, these myths-this neurotic history of the Filipino people-cannot avoid to manifest what was tucked away in the subconscious. Thus, Philippine history so far is describable in the common neurotic symptoms of depression, anxiety, and the inability to adapt through the resulting changes of life and time. What we indeed have in Philippine history is the documentation of their own fears and tragedies and the longing to go back to a time when the Spaniards were not there yet to ruin everything. The product of such a history is a massive collective inferiority complex that can only feel pride in the punches of a Pacquiao, in the strokes of billiard players, on the top of Mt. Everest, on the passing of a bar exam, and on the little things that other nations find not so much of a significance but are in the Philippines considered big time. What their history is producing is not a historical people that can find something to be proud of in their history-for Philippine history is not a history of changes and accomplishments but of struggles and sacrifices-no, not a historical people; for as long as their history is like a Philippine tele-novela, just like its media counterpart, it is doomed to mean nothing. What it is producing are a hysterical people afraid and dissociated of its history-a neurotic race from its neurotic stories.



Alejandro Villanueva finished his Bachelor and Masters degree on History from the Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology. He was also a former columnist of the Philippine Post and presently a contributor to the university textbooks on Philippine history. He is currently a History Instructor in the said university and specializes on the life and works of Jose Rizal, general Philippine history, Asian Civilization, Philosophy of History, and History of England.

On the Incumbency of the Philippine Fifth President - The Beginning of the World Catastrophe

The End of the World

When I was still young I had a dream. As I was sleeping I tranced into a revealing vision. Initially, I didn't care about this revelation as I considered it as one of those ordinary nightmares, until such time that I was able to recall it anew and tried to evaluate the general essence of that message.

Sometime in 1972 in a Police Headquarters of one of Laguna's chartered cities, two police patrolmen were casually exchanging views as to who would be the next President of the Philippines after the term of Mr. Marcos. Both were anxious to know who could really beat Marcos should he ever allow the government to hold presidential election. The policeman who seemed to be a pro-Marcos believer insisted that Marcos shall remain forever, considering his enormous political power and martial law rules. In the middle of the discussion, an old man in the late 70's who was keeping an ear on the discussion politely cut in and delivered his dialogue: "It is imminent that President Marcos shall step down from the power comes few years ahead.

As a matter of fact, there would still be four more Philippine Presidents after him. To include the surname initial of Mr. Marcos, four more presidential initials would follow which shall compose the particular word "MARIA". The fifth initial which stands for "A" is a lady who would be the last president of the Republic. During the lady president's incumbency, the Philippines shall be the starting place of the world catastrophe which may eventually turn to the end of the world. But several more years prior to its catastrophic occurrence, the Philippines shall first soar into a great nation and shall be considered as one of the richest countries in the world. The fact is, there would still be three more presidents under the lady president's administration".

In my younger mind of 21 (now I'm over 50's), I was there wondering whether this old man was telling the truth or not considering that it was still Mr. Marcos' incumbency and nobody ever knew whether there would really be another election. There were also some lingering questions that I set aside at that time:

1. What does the abbreviation "M.A.R.I.A." stand for;?

2. How is it possible for the Philippines to become one of the richest countries in the world considering the present economic crisis;

3. Why should there be three more presidents under Ms. A's presidency?

4. And why of all countries should the small Philippines be the source of the world catastrophe which may eventually turn to the end of the world?

I have my own answers:

1. What does the abbreviation "M.A.R.I.A." stand for;?

Today in the year 2009, I now am able to analyze what are all those things meant. The word "MARIA" stands for "Marcos", "Aquino", "Ramos", "Estrada", "Arroyo". Why? Estrada does not have initial of "I". Well, the answer is simple, in the countryside the word that spells "MAREA" is spoken and sounded as "MARIA", that is self-explanatory.

2. How is it possible for the Philippines to become one of the richest countries in the world considering the present economic crisis;

The Philippines, as a small third country which is indulged in serious economic and political crisis, can still have a chance to prove that it can possibly be one of the richest countries in the world considering its great volumes of precious reserves and mineral deposits particularly, the so-called "Deuterium: The White Gold of the Philippines".

According to Major Tom/June 17, 2008, (Deuterium: The White Gold of the Philippines, The Economy Science and Technology), "the Philippines is identified to hold the greatest amount of deuterium deposit, somewhere in the area known as Mindanao Trench, the part of the Pacific Ocean just off the shores of Surigao. Deuterium is most prevalent in an area more widely known in the whole world as The Philipppine Deep. In the Freeman news article (dated August 2004), Dr. Anthony B. Halog, the Filipino scientist working at the Sustainable Technology Office of the Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology, and the National Research Council of Canada described the Philippine deuterium wealth in this manner:

"A big deposit of 868 miles long, 52 miles at widest point, and 3 miles at deepest point, replenished by nature 24 hours a day after deuterium travels more than 12,000 kilometers from Central America to the Philippines through the span of the Pacific Ocean when Planet Earth turns on its axis from West to East in unending perpetual motion."

And it's potential in this breathe: "At 12 million barrels per day capacity priced at US$7.00 per barrel, this is US$84 million per day or US$30.66 billion per year, enough to wipe out all existing foreign debts of the Government in one year, revenue-wise in foreign exchange."

3. Why should there be three more presidents under Ms. A's presidency?

Under the present territorial setting, federalism issue and the conversion into state (just like in America) of the three major island groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, is presently being raised for debate in the Philippine Congress/Senate? (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) What is Federalism by the way?

It is a system of government in which a written constitution divides the powers of government on a territorial basis. The division is made between a central, or national, government and several regional or local governments. Each level of government has its own area of powers. Neither level, acting alone, can change the basic division of powers the constitution makes between them. Each level operates through its own agencies and acts directly on the people through its own officials and laws. (Reference: http://firstclass.rfsd.k12.co.us/~mschneiter/Fad/legislative_1_federalism.htm)

Now we see picture. There can be three more presidents under one over-all president should there be a conversion of these three major island groups of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao into the so-called state. As in the U.S., a state is headed by the Governor and as in the case of the Visayas island in the Philippines, it would be headed by the Visayas President, and so with Luzon and Mindanao for that matter.

4. And why of all countries should the small Philippines be the source of the world catastrophe?

Ever realized that the late movie actor Fernando Poe, Jr. did not make it to the Presidency despite his popularity? It may be a will of doom to let President Arroyo stay in power and experience the end of the world. Since the Philippines is set to become one of the richest countries in the world for its sky-rocketing deuterium production, there is an imminent danger of resentment among other countries, focusing enviously on the Philippine healthy economy while the others experience economic global crisis. Such perspective may eventually generate conflict among four big nations. With the use of modern and sophisticated military hardware, regardless of leveling themselves into an offensive-and-defensive position, but with one particular aspect - and that is to defend and destroy, this may become catastrophic situation and may eventually trigger to the end of the world. Just an opinion.

Author - Onofre Poonin

More than twenty years in the investigative jobs. Twelve years of which were spent as Consular Investigator of the U.S. Embassy's Anti-Fraud Unit, Philippines. The rest were spent as Security Investigator/Manager of different security agencies in Metro Manila. As a BS Criminologist, I spend my time between essay article writings and security management job. I have published my first five articles in different websites and I'm currently working on my sixth essay article.

I value my co-writers' thoughts, opinions, ideas, and their passion towards what they want to achieve. My philosophy revolves around the simple premise that I exist to turn my dreams into something real, and then shape that reality into an exceptional product, one which exceeds all of our expectations.

Philippine Airlines - A Story of Attitude and Determination

The history of the Philippine Airlines often feels like something you would see in a movie. We're serious. PAL has amazing character. They've been operating for more than 60 years. During those (more than) sixty years, PAL has seen quite a lot of political unrest in its country and has had more than its share of difficult times. They lived through the Asian financial crisis and are still in business. Continue reading this article to learn more about just how remarkably resilient this company is.

So much has been going on for PAL this past year, 2010. In January they took ownership of their second Boeing 777-300ER airliner which is one of the most advanced airline aircraft in the world. To add to their already impressive number of international destinations, in March they announced more flights bringing the total to 26 flights abroad. Just last month, November, Philippine Airlines announced a seat selection system that is even more advanced than their previous system. This upgraded seat selection system is exclusively for those who decide to purchase tickets on the net.

Philippine Airlines, along with several other major airlines, offers a wide range of hotel and tour packages to their passengers. Great effort was invested in choosing programs and packages that will offer the greatest variety for PAL's customers. This helps PAL ensure that they can provide for your tastes regardless of your preferences. This works well with PAL's exclusive catering to corporate frequent fliers. A special department was created to provide custom business frequent flier packages. The end result is their corporate business customers will be totally accommodated.

In case you have never heard of Mabuhay Miles, that is the name for Philippine Airlines' frequent flyer program. Mabuhay Miles has existed since 2002 when PAL put all their various programs for frequent flyers under one umbrella. It was a good move for PAL because it helped consolidate certain departments within the company. They made that move because it helped to make their business a bit more efficient. The Asian crisis in the financial markets was a difficult time, but PAL survived even if they needed financial assistance. What is so unique about Philippine Airlines is it continues to operate with a social conscience which is important in their sphere of operations. Given the difficult social problems chronically extant within the Philippines, their overall attitude and stance is not surprising. The day to day business of Philippine Airlines seems to reflect their attunement with their country's problems. One such response by Philippine Airlines was to build a world class aviation training school and facility in their homeland. What that means is future opportunities for generations to come, plus it adds a much needed boost to the local economy.

Neil Rischall is a CPA who besides being a Top Author in many EzineArticles categories also has web sites with IRS W2 Form information at IRS W2, and sites that also deals with the IRS Form 1040 which is also called a IRS 1040 Form which is filed with the Internal Revenue Service. To find out more details about how, when and where must be filed and prepared please click on the links.

Philippine Airlines 1

The Philippine airlines are one that is also known as PAL and does service worldwide destinations. The Philippine airline is one of the oldest airlines that remain after the global changes in fuel costs, and in the rising safety concerns. The Philippines airlines services over fifty different destinations, some internationally. Manila is the home of the Philippine airlines. Direct competitors for the Philippine airlines are those from Japan and from China. Thousands fly the Philippine airlines weekly, making this one of the larger competitors in the worldwide market when you are thinking about airline travel.

Philippine airlines has been servicing flying needs since the early 1940's making it Asia's oldest airlines and one of the oldest in the world as well. There was a group of businessmen who started this airline, to service their own business traveling needs, and then as the needs increased to make a profit, the Philippine airline opened transportation to the paying public.

The Philippine airlines continually services the public needs. In history, the Philippine airlines had faced interruptions and shut downs during World War II. The first planes that were used in the Philippine airline company where the Beech Model 18 and the Douglas DC 3's. These were some of the oldest airplanes, and are not used today. The Philippines airlines were the first to cross the Pacific. They did this by transporting a few Americans to California in the late 1940's. Philippine airlines was the first to transport people between Manila and San Francisco, which was a very big accomplishment in that time of history when flying was still young compared to what we have today.

During the late 1970's, the plane was redesigned and Philippines airlines expanded with the use of the Boeing 727, and the Boeing 747. The plane that was also known as the love bus was introduced into the fleet of the Philippine airlines, which was the Airbus A300. Airlines in Singapore always seemed to be just one step behind in attaining the planes and in expanding fleet services.

In the 1990's the Philippine airlines was moved and sold to a company. Previously the Philippine airlines were a company, an airline that was controlled by the government. In the later years of 1990's the first Airbus A340 was put into action in the Philippine airlines, and would expand that airlines ability in flying even further. During the early years of 2000, Philippine airlines had faced hard times, and were facing shut down. But, the company has rebounded, and continued to fly the skies every since as passengers were able to book flights online, and find tickets that were competitive on the Philippine airlines compared to other airlines that service the same areas.

During the early years of 2000, the Philippine airlines began servicing additional locations in the US, such as in Las Vegas. This allowed travelers additional choices in flying and making Philippine airlines one of the favorites, known more locally as PAL instead of the long name of Philippine airlines.

Written by Reidar Aas, webmaster and author of [http://www.airlinebest.biz] This article may be reproduced as long as a Live link back to [http://www.airlinebest.biz] is present.

Philippine Call Centers - The "Sunshine Industry"

Call centers in the Philippines became the answer to the rising unemployment rate in the mid 1990's. Today, new graduates and other new entrants to the labor force are rushing to apply to various Philippine call center their is. Every week, Philippine Call Centers take in thousands under their wing to be trained and eventually be gainfully employed.

To answer the needs of the various call centers in the Philippines, some schools have upgraded their English and communications subjects up to the next level. There are even electives to study American geography and English proficiency to ensure that when they graduate they would get hired right away.

At this time more and more call center aspirants rush to file their applications and regardless of what course they have taken. Thousands of fresh and old graduates are being hired by Philippine Call Centers every week. Needless to say, call centers became an option of many Filipinos for a lucrative employment.

What made Philippines an attractive place for off shoring?

Indebtedness and the need to cut back on costs brought about by the troubled stock market, declining expenditure on Information and Technology and unstable economic conditions made off shoring very appealing to many U.S. companies. This prompted some U.S. companies to decentralize their operations, particularly the handling of outbound and inbound calls.

Years ago, The Philippines was an unknown country in the field of e-services in the world. Now, it has has an approximately 50 or more call centers listed by the Department of Trade and Industry and the numbers are still escalating.

Edge of the Filipinos

The call center industry caters to markets from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia which means that it requires a labor force proficient in the English language. What makes Philippines rise above the rest is the fact that we offer quality but cheaper office spaces and labor, better power and telecommunications infrastructure and a very supportive government. Being the third largest English speaking country in the world and with a high literacy rate, the Philippines is considered as one of the most competitive call center destinations in the world.

The basic pay for call center agents ranges from P12, 000 to P14, 000 a month (200 USD to 250 USD). In ICT Philippines, a call center that operates in the Philippines, agents enjoy a monthly P2, 500 food and transportation allowance and a performance appraisal bonus amounting to P4, 000. Often, they are also offered spiffs like appliances, cellular phone loads and gift checks to boost the sales per hour capacity of the employees. An agent who hits the target quota sales gets an additional P11, 500 commission plus a 30-50 percent night differential. All in all, a well-performing agent gets a gross monthly income of more than P31, 000. This, as opposed to the P8, 000-p9, 000 entry level salary generally offered in other sectors.

Call center agents receive benefits like SSS, health insurance, Pag-ibig and salary loans. It is not a dead-end job either. Agents get the chance to climb the corporate ladder in just a matter of three months. Some call centers offer perks like free shuttle rides, free meals and coffee and sleeping rooms and even karaoke rooms.

"Sunshine Industry"

The Philippine Call Center is regarded as the "sunshine industry" by the government because of its vast expansion that has generated thousands of employment. It is sprouting not only in Metro Manila but also in Cebu, Bacolod, Davao and Pampanga. There are also other call center spots all throughout the country that can accommodate thousands of call center agents and numerous accounts and companies as well.

This prompted the Arroyo government to put the ICT in a huge pedestal in hopes of placing the Philippines in the call center map of the world. The government designated more than 96 special economic zones that offer tax breaks and other incentives to foreign investors and is improving the telecommunications and other basic infrastructure. This vision has already been laid out in her State of the Nation address and is presently in the works.

With the positive things that is in stored for the Philippine call centers, this industry is booming and is here to stay for awhile, keeping both the companies and the call center agents happy and satisfied.

Virginia Magallanes, 25, works as company writer for Call Center Philippines Unique Interaction