Everything is such a huge drama in the Philippines. The coming Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) is no exception. It promises to effect immense disruption across a vast swath of Philippine society — which makes the very hosting of this forum by the Philippine government quite ironic. Economies rise and fall on the back of efficiency and productivity. And in that context, the manner with which the Philippines will be bending over to assume the position it’s been quite familiar with throughout its history in order to host this circus demonstrates the stupidity of it all.
Indeed, it is hardly surprising that there are no specific Tagalog words for those two pillars of excellent economies respectively. Productivity is all but alien to the Filipino mind and efficiency is anathema to all things Filipino. So it does make sense that the Philippines’ dominant national dialect utterly fails to articulate these concepts succinctly.
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For example, domestic travel via the country’s premiere airport at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will be virtually shut down to make way for this event. But that is not where it will end. We are certainly soon going to be watching with bemusement as the Philippine government scrambles to whitewash the Philippines’ wretched in-your-face poverty lest thine eyes of the APEC delegates be offended by what they see as they motor through Manila’s rutted streets. Indeed, early this year when Pope Francis visited Manila, the Manila street society was treated to P6,000-per-night resort vacations (courtesy of honest Filipino taxpayers) just so they don’t infest the pontiff’s view of Manila with their shabby lot.
You wonder then, shouldn’t the victims of those Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific flights cancelled for the APEC meet demand that they be compensated in the same way? Personally, I’d settle for five nights at El Nido resort in Palawan for my trouble. Throw in a contingent of marines stationed there to protect us from Abu Sayyaf kidnapping and it’s a deal.
That’s Filipino hospitality for you.
Filipinos, after all, are famous for thier martyresque brand of “hospitality” — where hosts would gladly give up their personal space to ensure their appreciative guests are comfy beyond reasonable expectations.
Ordinary Filipinos don’t seem to really mind even if their faces are used as welcome mats. They will just sit back passively and quietly endure the massive traffic jams that will paralyse the metropolis when road closures are implemented, will stew in their characteristically ineffectual outrage as long-planned vacations and business meetings are postponed, will suck it up while long-anticipated business windfalls don’t materialise thanks to a barrage of cancelled bookings, and watch aghast while their government officials banter with foreign dignitaries before the TV cameras about the benefits of “globalisation” on a pathetically capitalised economy such as that of the Philippines’.
Suffice to say, the Philippines, quite simply, is not fit to host these sorts of things. Interestingly enough, there is one specific Tagalog word that single-handedly describes the overall way the Philippines is going about hosting this international convention: pilit.
Google Translate the term, Joe.
Everything about the APEC Manila 2015 is pilit. And ordinary Filipinos will be suffering because of yet another instance of their habitual entering into commitments they are inherently incapble of honouring. That’s GRP’s seminally brilliant definition of poverty, if we recall.
If I were a foreign delegate to the Manila APEC summit, I’d be cautious about posing in a barong tagalog before the cameras. Stupidity is known to be contagious.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Why they don’t hold the Economic Conference in Clark baffles understanding and cannot be explained. It would be easy to secure the place, there is zero traffic and they could drive around their stupid motorcades all day long on well paved roads. The runway of the airport is better and bigger then Manila, it’s clean on base and there are no squatters.
I mean come on now!
Another idiotic dysfunctional fucking fuck-up by this moronic government. …..aside from the fact that hosting this does not give ANYTHING to the Philippines. What a joke!
Former pres. Fidel Ramos already hosted APEC in the Subic-Clark area back in 1996. PNoy wouldn’t want to be called a copycat with no originality would he?
But yeah total common sense – Subic-Clark is the best place to host these kinds of events. Easier to secure without disrupting the capital.
Do these people even calculate how much is lost in stalling major arteries critical to business in the country?
Well this reminds me of how Pinoys love to block an entire road so they can have their lamay for a deceased loved one. followed by huge traffic on their procession to the cemetery.
sana wala nang mamatay dahil sobrang perwisyo!
What do you expect from the Republic of Manila, where Manila is the center for everything?
There are two other words in Filipino that can be described the APEC hosting by the Philippines this year:
pakitang-tao, and
walang-katuturan.
You missed another word, which me and Miriam Santiago really like to use:
KAGAGUHAN.
It’s mostly their semenillay brilliant activities that create commitments they are inherently incapable of honouring
If one is talking about a vile thing it is better to talk of it in coarse language; one is less likely to be seduced into excusing it.
Aquino will be discussing on the plight of our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). There are no jobs in the Philippines. So, its people go to foreign countries to earn money as domestic helppers and manual laborers.
Unfortunaterly, they cannot climb over the U.S. border fences, like the Mexicans do.
What will other topics, Aquino can discuss in the economic forum? “Laglag Bala”, to earn money ?
Actually, the Phil does stand to gain something in hosting these big ticket events like APEC.
We are trying to prove to the whole world that we can ensure the security of the top heads of state of key nations around the world. Merely sending their delegation here is a sign of confidence in our ability to keep guests, tourists, investors, and visiting officials safe from any form of threat.
Hindi lang nila alam: just look at this pathetic picture of PHILIPPINE SECURITY!!!
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/10/abu-sayyaf-group-shows-western-hostages-in-new-video.php
Really – there’s more PUN intended in the FAIL-ippines!
Send your deletes and presidents here at your own risk.
PNoy will make no apologies if anything goes wrong in the land where Murphy’s Law reigns supreme!!!
I won’t be surprised if Barak Obama is thrown in detention for carrying a bullet as he goes though airport security checks in NAIA!!!
Yes PHIL – keep us entertained… HOHOHO (malapit na pasko – maligayang bati pala sa inyong lahat)
-ZAXX
Hosting APEC in Manila is a security and logistical nightmare no matter what action the gov’t takes. How can the police and/or military the secure the entry/exit points where the motorcade will happen. It is more logical to host APEC in Clark Pampanga.
They want to show off the fancy malls that litter the city. It’s really that simple.