is Philippines for sale?
By arnoldream
@arnoldream (1332)
Philippines
November 9, 2011 7:27pm CST
i do really like the documentary of GMA 7 about the issue of mining here in the philippines. it talks about the thousand and thousand of tons of dearth and mine ore deposits being shipped to other countries for further processing. of course this will not happen without the permit of the government who is making profit about this mining deals. my question is why in the world do we sell this ores in a price so very low compared to the idea that if the government could enter into this kind of business could make hundredfold of profit from this ores, compare when they were sold as ores or dearth. i happen to read a book from a known japanese businessman who happen to indulge in mining industry. He quoted from his book that if only the philippines should have the capacity and the technology to process these metals found on these ores, Philippines will be a rich country not like what she is today. according to his experience, during the gold mining in Benguet these mining firms did able to produce 9 tons of good per year since 1927 before the known japanese occupation in world war 2. not to mention the amount of chrome, silver, nickel, iron and tin derived from these mining industry.
as the expert said, philippines is rich in natural and mineral resources but sadly we don't know how to make riches out of them..unlike Japan who is number one importer of our metals, they buy the ores in hundreds of dollars, they will process it, the gold and silver into fine jewelries, then the metal like iron, chrome is used in amking utensils and tools and for car manufacturing and presto those ores turn into Toyota cars, mitsubishi, Honda and the price is more than a tenth fold of the actual ore cost.
when are we going to learn from this, when are we going to shift from being a consumer to producer or manufacturer? is it when every mines in the Philippines is sold already?
8 responses
@grecychunny26 (9483)
• Philippines
10 Nov 11
It alarmed me after reading this discussion of yours. I think Philippines is not for sale but the dearth and mine ore that are shipped to other countries. Sadly we do not know how we can enrich our natural resources. Maybe there are people who knows how but the government do not support it because they are engaged on someone else's funds and they can get more money out of it. I believe governors of certain cities have a big participation of this. We are rich in natural resources and there are people that willing to help to develop it, but our government have a problem because they are not doing their real job. This is so sad.
@arnoldream (1332)
• Philippines
10 Nov 11
of course its not Philippine itself is for sale, just a metaphor in this kind of issue which our country is facing right now in this mining activities in which the people is not directly the beneficiary but some politician and influential people. so sad to be in this kind of situation, there must be something we could do about this issue and hopefully the government should act accordingly for the good of our country.
@romymjrose06 (91)
• Philippines
10 Nov 11
Corrupt Fiiipino are characterized as corrupt politicians, thus we should not just put the responsibility on the government's shoulder but ours to. WE should act. even in simple ways.
@grecychunny26 (9483)
• Philippines
10 Nov 11
@ arnolddream, do you think the government itself will act on it knowing they are the ones who benefited from this. Although it is bad to think negative, and I am still hopeful that it will stop, we need a campaign regarding this but we need someone from the government to support the regular people. Or is there an investigation regarding this because it is already in the news. I hope there will be no under the table transaction just the stop the media from making noise.
@romymjrose we still need a support of a politician with clear conscience so that there will someone as our voice. We need to have campaign in the net to gather attention of people online and the media too.
@andy4pinoy (298)
• Philippines
10 Nov 11
If you will examine in depth the standing of Philippines compare to other Asian countries, Philippines is moving backwards.
With the outrageous attitude of the politicians no doubt Philippines will no longer go forward. Too much politicking has brought the economy down. If only the Philippine government focus on those sustainable development and upgrading of the technology we could be competitive like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Sad to say, we are only better as manpower exporter of the world, nothing much to be proud of. But there is still hope, cut those politicking agenda, corruption and those its my turn attitude. We should be wise to elect candidates who will serve the government for the better of the whole country.
@arnoldream (1332)
• Philippines
11 Nov 11
one thing these politician have perfected and that is the craft of corruption, they were expert in these you know, but in doing what is good for the country just like enriching tapping the potential of our natural resources, they really find it hard to do it, these people are used to amke an easy money rather than these big effort in mining industry.
@andy4pinoy (298)
• Philippines
12 Nov 11
arnoldream,
you are right! nothing that this politicians perfect but corruption. Well, nothing to be blame on this but the whole voting population. If only majority of the population were wise and educated voters we can turn our government into a big instrument tool of hope and progress.
This traditional politicians were only seating on government positions not to be public servant but to protect their own interest( business and money making agenda). Too back the ordinary Filipinos were suffering from this greediness.
@rog0322 (2829)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
11 Nov 11
Maybe this is one reason for the inherent dissatisfaction and unrest among the poor in the countryside. Some are so frustrated that they fall prey to the propaganda of armed rebellion and terrorism.
As we see it, the big companies are being attacked if they do not pay revolutionary taxes. The question is: do the revolutionary taxes go back to the people in form of development programs? You are right to say that we have the capability to manufacture our own products but try as we might,we could not still compete with the foreign companies that manufacture state of the art technology and machinery.
If the politician sold us out to foreign investors, it would be worse if the terrorist take over.
@arnoldream (1332)
• Philippines
11 Nov 11
there are many reason why there are revolutionary and rebels among us. one reason of course is the dissatisfaction of the system of government we have, including the kind of people we have in the government in which instead of using the wealth of the nation to improve the lives of the masses by bringing the most needed services and care, unfortunately these government leaders and politicians are the one corruptly enjoying massive wealth and power which should be for the people. if we only open our eyes to see this great corruption going on and the misgovern of these so called politicians, no wonder these people who have seen it has no choice but go the left to show their disgust on the system.
@arnoldream (1332)
• Philippines
11 Nov 11
if not for sale, why do the government doing in letting these mining firm to extract ores and dearth from us. and that is for money.
@vexxus (712)
• Philippines
10 Nov 11
That's definitely a big lost to the Philippines, but who will start caring for our country if we can't help ourselves, yes there are lots of natural resources here in the Philippines which are being abused by other people, only few are actually benefiting to this resources. As a fellow citizen do we really have the capabilities to take part, and the motivation for such growth? are we ready to take the big leap to prosperity?
@arnoldream (1332)
• Philippines
11 Nov 11
really big lost, and will continue till we start making good out of this natural resources. if you're going to examine the mining business here, this industry are all foreign endeavors and Filipinos are merely on the side ways about this great business. meaning it's not the filipino who are there to exploit our own rich natural mining resources but other people with enough knowledge and capabilities in this kind of industry. we're really left behind by other countries as to the technology even in this mining factor, that's why we're selling the ores rather than using them to whatever they were profitably fitted.
@goggles213 (735)
• Philippines
14 Nov 11
If the Filipino mentality does not change, I don't think we'll ever earn from our Natural Resources. The first thing that politicians would think when you tell them to process our natural resources is that it is expensive to do so and we do not have the budget for it. Well, the fact is, we do have the budget for it, its just that the budget is in the pockets of the politicians. This worsening problem with corruption on our country is the cause why we are still a 3rd world country.
@romymjrose06 (91)
• Philippines
10 Nov 11
It is not the Philippines that is being sold here... it is the natural resources that these abusive people trying to sell outside the country. Nobody could sell our motherland to anybody. No one can and no one should. Regarding those thousands and thousands of minerals that are being transported and processed in the other country that are being sold for low prices, these things happens since it is not the whole the government that give them permit to do so. Only those corrupt officials that has personal interest that is why they are simply BARGAINING these minerals. They want easy cash. But please take consider that not all Filipinos are doing these things. We don't even take these for granted. In fact we are trying to promote the naturalism and virginity of some part of our country for it to be preserve for the future of our little ones.
@arnoldream (1332)
• Philippines
10 Nov 11
i even said to myself when i happen to see the preview, "is it a joke?" but in reality these people are selling part of our country and in a great magnitude. we're letting those wealth to be shipped for others to enjoy while we remain destitute of these blessing the mother nature has given us, what we should only do is learn the craft to make and convert them like the JApanese and other country is doing.
