There may be negative traits that are common to many Filipinos, such as crab mentality (envy and insecurity), mañana habit (procrastination) and tardiness, that are hindering our country’s progress and human development index. But on the other side, we also have several positive traits that make us one of the most admirable people on Earth. The following good habits make the Filipinos great people and the Philippines a great country. Let us do our best to preserve them. [Read more…]
7 Ways to Overcome Crab Mentality
Crab mentality is a term that describes a way of thinking of a person who always try to pull down other people, not wanting them to succeed while he or she is being left behind. It’s a metaphor that refers to the crabs in a bucket. The crabs try to escape from the bucket but because they grab and pull down each other, they always fail individually and collectively. Crab mentality is also an attitude that clings on the phrase “if I can’t have it, neither can you.”
In my previous article, we’ve identified 10 signs of crab mentality in a person. That article created a buzz, and a lot of Filipinos reacted to it. Many of them liked and shared it, humbly accepting the fact that we are indeed guilty of that mentality and we need to improve as citizens of our nation. On the other hand, there are some who got offended, stating that Filipinos should not be described as such. [Read more…]
10 Reasons Why Many Filipinos Elect Undeserving Politicians
Ask yourself now, honestly, do we have a majority of honest, selfless and competent politicians in the government seats today? Alas, the truth can’t be denied. We cannot deny the realities we hear, feel and see every day. Our former presidents are impeached. Our senators are accused of plunder. Our congress can hardly earn trust from the public. Corruption is definitely not less in our country.
It’s a sad truth that we must face. Most of us elect politicians who are not fit to lead our nation. Of course there are Filipinos who are making the wisest votes. But those votes don’t usually form a majority to win during elections. Of course we also have sincere and responsible public officials. But they are obviously outnumbered by their opposites.
When we talk about unworthy politicians, we aren’t only talking about the corrupt politicians but also the incompetent or feeble ones. So why do a lot of us keep on electing them? Here are 10 reasons why.
1. They vote for money. Unworthy politicians get elected because many Filipinos vote in exchange for money, not for the progress and prosperity of our country. Because of their severe need for money and lack of informed judgment, they choose to prosper for a day with the money they can get from vote selling (buying), without realizing that they’re also giving up the future of our nation.
2. They vote for popularity. They choose the famous personalities, whether they’re popular actors, actresses, athletes or children of former famous politicians. Of course popular personalities can possibly become deserving leaders, but voting based only on popularity is a lame move, isn’t it?
3. They vote for affiliation. They vote for the politicians whom they are most affiliated with. For example, most Filipinos in a certain province vote for a presidential candidate who came from their place because they are expecting that he or she will be the one who can help them the most, without thinking they’re obliged to choose someone who can help the entire nation, not only their province.
4. They vote for their debt. They vote for the sake of paying their debt of gratitude. They elect the political candidates who have sponsored their scholarship, weeding, sports activities, and other events. If these politicians are running for congressional or senatorial seats, do you think they’re making a wise vote, considering that their job is to make laws, not to sponsor things?
5. They vote for probability. They believe and follow the surveys. They don’t fight for their true vote until the end. They give up on the most deserving candidate because he or she has a small chance of winning. They vote for the one who has the biggest chance of winning. If majority of the Filipinos have this mindset, what do you think will happen to the Philippines?
6. They vote for uncertainty. They don’t have any concrete idea who’s deserving and who’s not. They don’t exert efforts to make a research and know all the candidates better. So they just make a wild guess.
7. They vote for the best promises. And because they are uncertain as to who’s the one to vote, they’re basing their votes on the talk of the politicians without knowing how they walk their talk. They believe in the lies of dishonest politicians who are good at convincing people with flowery words.
8. They vote for their faith. They vote for the one who’s endorsed by their leader, idol or influencer. Some of them are also making a religious bloc voting. Although the endorsed politicians can be deserving, voting without knowing the deeds of such politicians can still lead to unjustified vote. What do you think?
9. They vote nothing. They don’t make a vote at all. Not exercising one’s right to make a wise vote can increase the chance of an unworthy politician to win. Whether eligible Filipino voters vote or not, they still form part of the election process. Whether we vote or not, the election continues. Whether you vote or not, you still elect.
10. Their votes are stolen. They’ve actually made the right votes but the cheaters or election fraudster didn’t count them.
The reasons I shared above are problems that we should identify and solve. Although they may sound a bit offensive to some of the Filipinos, these things are happening for real and we cannot deny them. We should face and overcome them. We should not cover them up, rather we should come up with solutions.
Poverty and lack of formal education can contribute to these problems, but they are not the absolute reasons why we keep on electing unworthy politicians. Poor and uneducated people can still make a vote with dignity. It’s actually the lack of love for our entire country that is the root of all these.
So what do you think are the solutions to stop this trend? What can you do to encourage our countrymen to vote and elect the right leaders of our country? Feel free to make a comment below.
Where did the Billion-Dollar Foreign Aid for Haiyan Survivors Go?
(The tents at San Jose, Tacloban City where some survivors are still getting temporary shelters as of August 9, 2014)
Not only Haiyan (Yolanda) survivors but all the concerned Filipinos and foreign nationals are asking… where did all the international donations for Yolanda victims go? Did the funds reach the Haiyan survivors or not?
As a Haiyan Survivor myself, I’m also curious to the answer of those questions above. But with our government where Freedom of Information (FOI) is not a law yet, getting clear answers is like getting information that can only be found on another planet.
Nevertheless, let’s try to get some ideas that can somehow satisfy our curios minds.
If you’re also wondering where did those funds go, here are 10 things you should know: [Read more…]
Haiyan Update and the Lives of Survivors (See Pictures 9 Months After Yolanda)
Nine months after Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) devastated the central part of the Philippines, there are already changes that we can see. I went to Basey Samar, Tacloban City and Palo Leyte on August 9 and 10 to take pictures and update the Filipinos and the world nine months after Haiyan struck us on November 8 last year.
After nine months, I have observed and realized the following while I was touring the areas affected by Haiyan and having conversations with the survivors. [Read more…]
What if there’s Less Corruption in the Philippines: 20 Things We could Achieve
“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France
Stopping corruption in the Philippines is like an impossible dream. However, every achievement starts with a dream. And if we will put steps, procedures, actions and deadline on that dream, it becomes a plan or a strategy that can actually be reached. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming. If we can put our dreams in our hearts, they become our strong and burning desires that make us eager to fulfill them.
Therefore, rather than be a prisoner forever of hopelessness and extreme negativity, let’s start a dream. Let’s have a vision. What if there’s less corruption in the Philippines? Join me in taking a glimpse of what will happen to us if there’s less corrupt politicians in our country. [Read more…]
14 Qualities of an Effective President of a Country: #14 is the Greatest of Them All
Under Article 7, Section 2 of the Philippine Constitution, in order to serve as President, one must be at least 40 years old, a registered voter, able to read and write, a natural-born Filipino citizen, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding election. But those are only basic qualifications. We, the voters, must also set our own qualifications in choosing the right President to make sure that our country will have continuous progress and our children will have a brighter future.
The following qualities of an effective leader of our nation may be too idealistic, but I believe that we can still find some (if not all) of these traits in a person who is or who will be worthy to become the leader of our government. [Read more…]
15 Things Only Haiyan Survivors will Completely Understand
Having experienced Haiyan’s gusting wind, deadly storm surge, and the horror it brought to our region, several realizations came in to my life, and I know that other Haiyan survivors also share the same sentiments as I do. The havoc caused by Haiyan (local name Yolanda) was not only felt by the locals who actually witnessed it, but also by the people all over the world who kept their eyes on that terrible and heartbreaking news.
However, there are still many things about Haiyan that only us, the survivors, will fully realize. In order to let the world understand us deeper on what we had been through, here are some things that I want to share to everyone. [Read more…]
How much Money do Filipinos Lose Due to a Slow Internet Connection?
I’m not a professional statistician. I’m just an ordinary concerned citizen who wonders how much money do Filipinos lose because of a slow Internet connection. A reliable Internet connection is vital for accomplishing many important tasks, such as booking a flight, getting a reservation on a hotel, shopping for gadgets and apparels, researching for a school homework, and doing transactions with online costumers. With a sluggish Internet connection, we lose our precious time. And if we lose time, we also lose money. This is what’s happening in our country, and it’s just hard to swallow why our government and the telcos are not actively doing something to solve that problem. [Read more…]
How to Train Your Crooks: 7 Ways to Teach Corrupt Politicians a Lesson
We will not be training here dragons that breath fire or actual crocodiles that can give you a death roll. They’re definitely dangerous. However, the crook politicians can actually be more dangerous than those reptiles, and they can be harder to train too. Truth be told, we cannot directly train those greedy people in the government as if they are our students and we are their sensei, but at least we can make an influence to teach them a lesson for lessening their monstrous behaviors and actions. [Read more…]
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