General Info

[QUOTE=FurryFriend;1225804]My point is that Rodrigo Dutarte's kind of street justice was probably a necessary evil but that, at some point, it has to be replaced by more civilized justice. I just never got the perception that he wanted or cared about civilized justice. For him, he didn't see his policies as necessary evil but a desirable permanent form justice that he controlled with guns.[/QUOTE]Funny. Is this the same family who's brother had a tiff with a foreigner about "who is bigger than who" match, when the latter planted a public safety notice board.

Wonder what Sarah's brother did? He piled his goons into a jeep, drove over to the foreigner's house and told him who is the boss in town, and went on to threaten the foreigner with eviction with proper process done at BI and everywhere.

Law? What Law? AS long as you are in the winning side, it is legal. If you cross over, you are illegal. Kaput.

Over and out.

[QUOTE=Westcoast1;1225878]Furry has been in/out phils for a long time, and has 300+ posts (more than you). To say that he needs to "get an idea" would be incorrect (even if his 'idea' is not to your liking). The beauty of being a lover of freedom (as you are, right?) is the willingness to let others speak their mind, even if you don't agree with them.[/QUOTE]Read the forum before you post too I was reply to his lack of knowledge about local policy enforcement . I do not think a higher post count is relevant to this issue . As for his visit to PI it still no comparison to some who lives here. As he was corrected by another posted who lives here. I not sure why you are posting replies to me about this as he knows he got it wrong. So move on nothing to see here no extra pussy.

[QUOTE=Frenzy3;1226508]As for his visit to PI it still no comparison to some who lives here.[/QUOTE]Everyone's entitled to state their opinion (even you). Doesn't mean he's right.

[QUOTE=Frenzy3;1226508]As he was corrected by another posted who lives here.[/QUOTE]Really? What post? Another gent simply supplied his opinion, which differed from Furry's. Its possible both (or neither) gent is correct.

[QUOTE=Frenzy3;1226508]I not sure why you are posting replies to me about this as he knows he got it wrong. So move on nothing to see here no extra pussy.[/QUOTE]I responded because you attempted to stymie another member from expressing in the general forum.

I don't see Furry saying he got anything wrong.

This is the general forum thread. We talk about whatever we want to talk about. Other threads are for pussy. Feel free to PM me.

Frenzy3 is probably the only posting forum member who actually has been living and working in typical Philippine lower social-economic, (not foreigner enclave) neighborhoods for some years. As such his opinions on many subjects, are IMHO more valid than those of many of the posters on the Philippine threads.

This is a country of dynastic politics; a country in which offices are "owned" by families, and get passed back and forth among family members like a basketball. There are no functional political parties, only personality cults that form and reform as dictated by political exigencies. Thus, the political system is closed; restricted to those whose families have memberships. The effectiveness of municipal or provincial administration then depends largely on the personality and proclivities of whatever dynast happens to be in power, since there are eno viable institutions to perpetuate continuity.

Davao is fortunate in that the dynasty by which it is ruled is committed to peace, security and the wellbeing of the city's residents. Other places aren't so fortunate, and are stuck with rulers interested only in their own aggrandizement and that of their family. Given the absence of a true electoral process, the character of each city is more or less determined by the luck of the draw.

GE

[QUOTE=Barba;1226326]I wonder when the politically correct brain washed zombies of the west world will wake up and understand that a strong leader can mean so much more safety and freedom[/QUOTE]I think it's more zombie-like to entrust one man to dish out punishment behind a closed door.

Even if he has the noblest intent, Rodrigo Duterte is prone to humanly mistakes and biases just like everyone else. While no form of criminal justice is perfect, his brand does not allow his foibles to be checked, challenged and corrected by others. You might be a fan of his methods until you become falsely accused of a crime and you have no recourse but to answer to his thugs.

One reason the Philippines does not attract much foreign investment and tourists is, there's a general perception that the country is lawless. Duterte's brand of cowboy justice reinforces the perception. What you are supporting unintentionally perpetuates poverty in the country. Like it or not, the Philippines exists in a community of nations. What others think about the Philippines matters greatly, particularly those from the West.

Other Asian countries once poorer and more corrupt than the Philippines have developed into first-world status without resorting to his methods.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1226622]This is a country of dynastic politics; a country in which offices are "owned" by families, and get passed back and forth among family members like a basketball. There are no functional political parties, only personality cults that form and reform as dictated by political exigencies. Thus, the political system is closed;[/QUOTE]The only thing I have to add to your correct assessment is, the voting public supports this type of political fiefdom. I'd bet a vast majority of people who voted for Benigno Aquino couldn't describe his political philosophy. They voted for his bloodline and a few catchy campaign slogans. Philippine democracy is all style and no substance designed to perpetuate wealth amongst a small group of dynasties and the Catholic Church.

Filipinos in general are not sophisticated enough to cast an informed vote and the country is not ready for liberal democracy. If I were a politician in the Philippines, I'd run on a platform to return the country to American colonial rule.

In the end I guess it is mostly opinions, and perhaps more worth for our dented egos than anything else, but I will respond anyway. There are no intentions to flame anyone in my post and I do not feel I have to convince or "win" over anyone. This is just my own opinions, based on my narrow life experience. So here I go;

[QUOTE=FurryFriend;1226703]I think it's more zombie-like to entrust one man to dish out punishment behind a closed door.[/QUOTE]You are maybe right, but looking at Belgium today sure makes the grass look green in Davao. How many times was this guy in jail before he killed and harmed all those families? Such a tragedy. But, sure it is a huge simplification to say that the elderly of Europe would feel and be safer, if we only had a Duterte here. Maybe somewhere in between what we have today, and Davao or Singapore would be good. As someone wrote, a system as Duterte's is good as long as your on the winning team. And then when suddenly you are not, your "tax" will take a huge jump, for sure. Or worse (just look at Solemo and Sederholm who where ignorant enough not to pay that tax). I remember how safe I always felt in Iran, but for my female employees the reality looked quite different with constant harassments and abuse from the monkeys in uniform. So yea, it is all about your current perspective.

Speaking of monkeys in uniform, I just returned from Venezuela (where I also had production in the past but closed due to the unpredictable economy and lack of work ethics) and perhaps that totally f*cked up country is the best evidence against my previous claim. They did absolutely not get a good draw in the dictator lottery. Extremely insecure and unpredictable country to do anything in (but pretty and curvy females, as well as beautiful nature). I guess my cry for a hard leader is just frustration over the slap on the fingers-punishments that are handed out over and over again in the civilized Europe. We need a clean up here. Desperately.

I have been running a company in the Davao for some years now and we feed at times way over 100 people including the families, according to my staff. I ship money into the country, so I do not compete with the local market. I would not be in Davao if it was not for the stability created by Duterte.

Sure the idea that a country is lawless will demotivate some types of investors from setting up manufacturing / production, but the argumentation is a simplification of both the poverty of the Philippines and the mechanisms of any kind of business. All partners and / or friends I have, will focus on several parameters, and the security parameter is often not so hard to handle. Government stability, education systems, work ethics / culture, inflation, (labor) laws, union, infrastructure, suppliers, taxation amongst others, are much more crucial in that choice, according to my perspective. China and not the Philippines is the choice for production of plastic and electrical gizmos for very obvious reasons, and they are not related to the security of the owners of the companies (and even less so when the staff is considered). The same goes for Bangladesh, Paki, India, etc. IMHO it is not so hard to run a company in the Philippines. It is actually quite strait forward, as long as you do not take bread out of some pinoys mouth. But to find well educated people is a real challenge. And even once you do find them, you will have a challenge to simply get them to perform an honest days work. This is the "as if"-country. Even "highly educated" engineers often totally lack self motivation and will pretend as if they are working 100% many times, when they in fact will stop at 60-80% in just about anything relating to their work (including work hours). This is according to my experience not the mentality I found when I engaged in similar setups in China, Vietnam or Thailand. (Pakistan was however just as bad when it came to self motivation and work ethics, but I was only running a setup there for less than a year, so I have not so much general experience.)

As humans we can feel extremely exposed in a lawless society, as well as totally safe if your one of the temporary winners. This will affect our judgment of how important we consider personal safety in various matters, but I am not so sure that financial development of a country is lead by crime rate to any particular extent. Maybe I am wrong and will stand corrected if any of our statistics gurus can show some numbers on this (needless to say to many here, correlation is not cause).

When it comes to tourists I am neither so sure. Just look at Rome or Barcelona. I think the fact that the food sucks and that you can not walk down the beach more than 50-100 meters in the Philippines is a much bigger deal breaker, when it comes to attracting people from for example the much more expensive LOS.

American colonial rule is in my belief not such a great idea at the moment. Neither would I let Greece handle the show. And Silvio does not get my vote either. I read somewhere once that if Hillary Clinton was elected President, the White House would have been occupied by a Bush or a Clinton for 24/28 years. Add to this these family senators, as well and other families that have been / are in political power. Did the Kennedy's have anyone that was NOT a politician! One of them even married Arnold, the steroid senator. LOL.

What a relief that we are so sophisticated in the civilized west.

[url]https://sites.google.com/site/bushclintonforever/[/url]

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_political_families[/url]

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_noted_U.S._presidential_relatives[/url] (did you by the way know that Bill's half brother Roger was a coke smuggler? At least he was not a politician that got the ball.)

B.

"The only thing I have to add to your correct assessment is, the voting public supports this type of political fiefdom. I'd bet a vast majority of people who voted for Benigno Aquino couldn't describe his political philosophy. They voted for his bloodline and a few catchy campaign slogans. Philippine democracy is all style and no substance designed to perpetuate wealth amongst a small group of dynasties and the Catholic Church."

There's lots of truth in this statement. Remember, this is a largely uneducated, ill-informed electorate that is, for the most part, used to following orders of the "big man (or woman)" be he (or she) datu, mayor, barangay captain or clan leader. This isn't going to change any time soon. It's a system consciously perpetuated by the institutions of government, including the church, because in the end, it's all about how much you can steal, how much power you can usurp and retain, and how solidly you can spin your web of key connections. This is a failed state and, while not immutable, it's not going to mutate into anything else anytime soon.

It's only within this context that the Duterte "rule" of Davao can be understood. He cannot create viable national institutions. He cannot create a viable justice system, nor can he eliminate, or even much affect the extent of corruption throughout the country. Therefore, I believe, he's seized the only practical option available, and tried to create a viable city. And as I said, he's largely succeeded in this quest. As a citizen of a functional liberal democracy you may be appalled at the "strong man" rule, but again, it has to be put into the context of this place at this time. Speaking as an expat who lives here, appreciates the security and safety that he feels, and revels in the total lack of fear, I don't mind it at all.

GE

"The rule of law only works when the laws are enforced".

"This is a country of dynastic politics; a country in which offices are "owned" by families, and get passed back and forth among family members like a basketball".

Surely this must be referring to my country, where the law is that honour killings are illegal. But they happen, and not one person has been arrested. Where genital mutilation of young girls is iillegal, but it is rife, without a single arrest. Where thousands of breaches of the law are ignored, where political correctness is far more powerful than the system of "civilised" law.

Where the government of the day hands out ministries to mates in the unions, and siphons off billions of dollars of taxpayers money into union coffers, and union leaders' bank accounts. Where the "Climate Change Commissioner" is paid $50 million in so-called research contracts, and then the government boasts that he is speaking independently.

The difference between the Australian system and the Filipino system is purely one of scale and numbers. Australia has a lot more money, corruption is on a far grander scale than the Phils, but it goes to many fewer people.

B

I decided to get a Nokia phone repaired after it lay in a drawer for the past 6 months with some minor malfunction. I use a Blackberry these days but thought I could get the Nokia repaired.

Silly decision.

Place: Nokia Service Center. 4th Floor SM Megamall in Ortigas.

Time: 3pm on the busiest Sunday of the whole year (1 week before Christmas)

I dutifully took my number tag (37) from the guard as I entered so I could wait on the "repairs" line. I noticed that all seats were occupied by waiting clients (30 or so) , and the number currently being attended to was 23. There were about 20 more people waiting to PICK UP repaired phones (and that's another number set).

Then I noticed that there were only 2 (TWO) service agents dealing with customers. The other 4 (FOUR) desks available in the shop were unoccupied.

I stood for 5 mins and then asked the guard who was the manager. He pointed to a guy leaning against a wall in the corner texting on his phone.

I went over and asked him, politely of course, why he had only 2 agents on the desk when anyone with half a brain would know that today, the last Sunday before Christmas, would be busy. I suggested, politely again, that he should have rostered his staff to have all 6 desks going.

His reply. "Sir. It is Sunday, and this is their day off. They are entitled to it".

My reply (made after I had shaken my head back and forth 10 times was "Here is your #37 back. I will return my damaged Nokia back to my cabinet. If this is Nokia Service, then thank God I use Blackberry".

He shrugged, and went back to his texting.

The flash flooding calamity was centered around Cagayan de Oro and Iligan to the west. Heavy rains resulted in torrents of water and debris smashing into neighbourhoods in the middle of the night. Death toll presently stands at 1400 and is likely to climb. Most dwellings of the poor are incredibly flimsy due to cheap or cast off materials, weak or non-existent foundations, and general construction often displaying minimal building skills, if that. There are a number of villages between CDO and Iligan that cluster around local streams and rivers. They also will have suffered catastrophic damage. Storm warnings were often ignored as Mindanao lies beneath the traditional seasonal storm tracks. It's a reality that poverty implies living life on the edge. The daily balancing act leaves no margin. Therefore, events that would cause minor inconvenience in The First World Nations, frequently have devastating results here in The Philippines.

Red kit pay a pino to wait for you they need the money and love doing nothing.

I love this place I have gf's and never see a que I always have a Pino or pina with me and they do all the boring and dumb stuff so I can do other stuff like time with other girls etc

[QUOTE=Questor55;1228112]The flash flooding calamity was centered around Cagayan de Oro and Iligan to the west. Heavy rains resulted in torrents of water and debris smashing into neighbourhoods in the middle of the night. Death toll presently stands at 1400 and is likely to climb. Most dwellings of the poor are incredibly flimsy due to cheap or cast off materials, weak or non-existent foundations, and general construction often displaying minimal building skills, if that. There are a number of villages between CDO and Iligan that cluster around local streams and rivers. They also will have suffered catastrophic damage. Storm warnings were often ignored as Mindanao lies beneath the traditional seasonal storm tracks. It's a reality that poverty implies living life on the edge. The daily balancing act leaves no margin. Therefore, events that would cause minor inconvenience in The First World Nations, frequently have devastating results here in The Philippines.[/QUOTE]The news stations and the newspapers here are reporting a figure of somehwere around 500 dead. I'm not sure where you got the 1, 400 number, but if true, it's an even bigger calamity than I thought. Mindanao rarely experiences typhoons or tropical storms, and I suppose that's one of the reasons that so many ignored the evacuation orders broadcast by Pagasa begining three days before the storm hit.

GE

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1228175]The news stations and the newspapers here are reporting a figure of somehwere around 500 dead. I'm not sure where you got the 1, 400 number, but if true, it's an even bigger calamity than I thought.[/QUOTE]Unfortunately the updates are nearer to the 1400 figure.

"The death toll has risen to 652 with around 800 others still missing.

346 people killed in Cagayan de Oro city and 206 in nearby Iligan city.

447 reported missing in Iligan and 347 in Cagayan de Oro.

[quote=frenzy3; 1228174]red kit pay a pino to wait for you they need the money and love doing nothing.

i love this place i have gf's and never see a que i always have a pino or pina with me and they do all the boring and dumb stuff so i can do other stuff like time with other girls etc[/quote]yes frenzy. getting others to line up for me is a possible solution but it misses the point i was making. any manager with ability to plan and organize (manage) would have rostered additional staff to work on the busiest day of the year. there were 2 overworked staff; he was doing nothing and the line of people waiting stretched out side his shop. it was the sheer indifference to it that was so bewildering to me.

note that i also love living here too because the positives outweigh the negatives, but occasionally some of these negatives are so frustrating because they can be very very very easily improved by the simplest of solutions.

btw, you should use pinoys and pinays when you are referring to filipinos and filipinas (and not pinos and pinas).

pinas are actually "pineapples". pinos are probably a variety of grape although usually spelled "pinot".