Tag Archives: Philippines

Economy, Government, International, Politics

PRESIDENT AQUINO: “PHILIPPINES IS NOW OFFICIALLY A RICH COUNTRY”

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imageMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – President NoyNoy Aquino will have a lasting legacy to leave behind when his term as president expires in 2016.

Today, Aquino announced that the Philippines is now officially a “rich country,” thanks to his administration’s economic and social programs over the last five years. “We’re now at par with first world countries in the West,” he said.

Aquino made the announcement after receiving a report from the Japanese Cooperation Agency (JICA) confirming that the Philippines is losing 2.4 Billion pesos daily because of the traffic situation in Metro Manila.

The JICA report noted that because of daily congested traffic, workers report late to work, business meetings are cancelled, commercial transactions are  jeopardized, and delivery of goods and services come to a stand still. In other words, productivity is cut by more than half, which is costing both government and private enterprises huge revenue losses.

But Aquino and his technocrat advisers are looking at the positive side to this loss of revenue. The president said that the fact that “our country can afford to lose billions of pesos every single day means we have the money to spare, and only rich  countries have that capability.”

Is it any wonder then that the government seems disinterested in solving the nightmarish transportation and traffic problems of the country, especially in Metro Manila?

Business, Economy, Local News

AS PESO LOSES VALUE, PHILIPPINE CITY REINSTATES BARTER SYSTEM

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imageBAGUIO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Baguio City, with its San Francisco-like weather, is known as the summer capital of the Philippines. Soon it will also be named “Barter Capital.” Yes, barter as in exchanging goods for goods.

Already, one can go into a boutique shop and pay for a nice blue dress with a leather handbag. Parking tickets can now be paid with a basket of fresh strawberries. Live chicken can now  be used to bribe politicians. No money for your jeepney fare? No worries, just hand the driver a fresh banana.

The city is leading the way for the return of the centuries-old barter system, the method of commerce before currency was invented.

Other cities throughout the country are now also looking to follow in Baguio’s footsteps, especially with recent developments in which the Philippine peso is losing value against the U.S dollar.

Even some members of congress are proposing that school education be provided free to all Filipino citizens in exchange for an unpaid employment in one of the call centers after they graduate.

Dollar remittances from overseas Filipinos are rapidly declining, while shipment of goods via balikbayan boxes are on the rise.

So who needs money when you have goods and services that you can use to maintain a happy, stress-free and comfortable lifestyle?

Thank you, Baguio City!

Government, Law Enforcement, Religion

HEEDING POPE FRANCIS’ ADVICE, PHILIPPINES PROPOSES THREE-DAY WORK WEEK FOR EMPLOYEES

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Workers at a call center in the Philippines
Workers at a call center in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – In the Philippines — a predominantly Catholic country — the Pope’s word is treated as law, even when it comes to political, economic and social matters. Like work hours.

Pope Francis told the faithful at his weekly general audience at the Vatican that “millions of men and women, even children, are slaves to work,” and that this “is against God and against the dignity of the human person.”

“Moments of rest, he said,”give people time to enjoy the fruits of their labor.”

Heeding the pope’s advice, a bipartisan group of Philippine legislators proposed that the country adopt a three-day work week for all employees, so that they would have more time to rest and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

The draft bill mandates that although workers will be required to report for work just three days each week, they will be paid the equivalent of five days of work.

If passed by Congress, President NoyNoy Aquino, a devout Catholic, promised to sign the proposed bill into law.

Labor unions praised the proposal, but companies operating call centers are strongly against it, saying they will lose huge contracts from foreign companies that expect the centers to be staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Senator Nancy Binay has introduced an amendment which would exempt call centers from the proposed three-day work week.  Binay’s amendment would also grant a similar exemption for workers in vital services such as doctors & nurses, police officers and firefighters.

Political analysts are saying that a three-day work week –if staggered — could finally solve the country’s nagging traffic problems since it would cut by almost half the number of employees trying to get to work in any given day of the week.