Why do Filipinos Succeed Overseas But Fail in PHL? It’s The Free-er Market Stupid

I was skimming through the headlines this Sunday and noted the recent spike of stories in the Philippine Mainstream Media about the many successes of Filipinos overseas.

The recent one being a couple who made it in Hong Kong.

Of course that’s just one of many stories of Filipinos succeeding overseas.

Yes, there are also sob stories overseas – but the risk of staying in the Philippines insures your sob story for good.

Now, each of these successful stories are being painted by the Philippine media as samples of the resiliency, innovation, and competitiveness of Filipinos.

The thing is how come these same attributes have not delivered the same success in the Philippines?

Here’s why – those same talents and skill sets need a flourishing market – a market that’s not slowed down by inutile and moronic regulations set by government and its lackeys. The role of government is not to be a big nanny of the market. Consumers do not need a moronic leviathan with a pea-size brain who dictates on people what they can or cannot buy or make because it will reduce the profitability of the vested interests.

Filipinos in the Overseas Economy

The successes of overseas Filipinos tell us a couple of things:

1. The Filipinos workers are competing overseas – and not only succeeding in their careers but also transitioning into entrepreneurship – which generates jobs for the jobless in their adopted country.

2. The Filipino workers are not averse to working for companies that are 100% owned by foreigners.

3.Filipino workers and businesses don’t just survive – but thrive and compete overseas.

Filipinos in the Philippines Economy

Now, when it comes to “the left behinds” of the Philippines – or in PBA parlance, “local”:

1. Local Filipino businesses are not competitive – and just want regulations that protect them from competition.

2. The attitude of Filipino workers is lousy,have a sense of entitlement, and have low productivity.

Same Filipinos, Different Economic Setup, Different Results

The overseas economies are unforgiving – and yet, Filipinos thrive.

The Philippine economy is protected and supposedly puts Filipinos first – and yet Filipinos are still voting with their feet.

Sure the OFWs from Syria have returned – but they are just waiting for the dust to settle down – and make another go for it. The alternative, staying in the Philippines – with all its nominal increase in competitiveness, improved credit ratings, good governance bullshit – is still a cesspool of unemployment, underemployment, poverty, and corruption – with no signs of abating.

A Filipino worker in the Philippines protected economy, does not have work. And whatever work they can get comes with a measly pay – the same old business model of the Filipino businessman.

The Philippine economy treats its workers like shit because there’s just too many workers for the taking – and only too few businesses with absorptive capacity for the glut of workers. But that’s not possible when the “Filipino First” economic restrictions put Filipino businesses first – with the unintended consequence of Filipino workers being put last in practice.

A Filipino worker in the overseas economy, will find good paying work compared to their current Philippine setting . The foreign companies they work for have re-engineered their business models, their processes, their supply chains – and retained their most valuable assets and pay them well too – the workers.

You see all things being equal – technology, capital – the companies core competitive advantage will be its people. Oh yes, overseas markets are attracting the Philippines best and brightest workers – and are the better for it – and so are the workers.

Low Levels of Innovation

I also read that the Philippines has a low rate of innovation. That is expected because the Philippines collectivist culture emphasizes conformity and submission to authority.

Innovation by its very nature does not conform – nor does it submit to “authority” – innovation is a game changer, and a disruptor, even.

A disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology. The term is used in business and technology literature to describe innovations that improve a product or service in ways that the market does not expect, typically first by designing for a different set of consumers in the new market and later by lowering prices in the existing market.

Innovation goes against the collective and conventional wisdom – that’s not something that’s looked at favorably in the Philippines. You see, anyone who differed in the Philippines will be hammered down so it will just become like all the other nails in the plank.

This pakikisama thing which Pinoys brag about – I’d say is one of the major if not the root cause of a lack of innovation – after all how can one innovate if one has to stay with a pack or morons.

The thing is – under an open economy – competition motivates individuals to innovate or lose market share.

Innovation creates new uses of things, new markets, new lifestyles, new jobs, and new wealth. And that’s what the Filipinos overseas have been availing of – the sweet smell of economic freedom and free markets which has yet to reach the Philippine economy that is reeking with the stench of the same o same o oligarch goods and services.

What can we make out of this? Do we send more workers overseas? Or, do we adopt the same economic policies which unleash the power of markets and innovation?

Well, if it were up to the RH bill folks, you will just be eating condoms for breakfast, IUD for lunch, and vasectomy for supper.

About the Author

BongV has written 429 stories on this site.