...except for that ONE exception mentioned earlier - PS3 games. I guess the hackers and crackers in Asia don't have easy access to Blu-Ray writers yet, but it's only a matter of time.
But there's a flip side to the coin of easy access to perfectly functional bootleg software — since the Philippines doesn't have a truly reliable system of collecting income and sales tax, they have to collect their taxes by other means...which means that imported products - including cars and especially electronics - usually cost twice what we'd pay here.
As much as the fiscal conservatives reading this may shake their head in pity for the poor Filipino people who don't have the 'free-trade' advantages that we do here, consider this - the Philippines are largely untouched by the global economic meltdown. Sure, thanks to the layoffs worldwide many OFW's ('overseas Filipino workers', the largest source of income for the country) lost their jobs...but they're a canny, crafty people who have a knack for finding jobs, and for starting businesses when jobs aren't available. It's not unusual for a Pinoy to have a job and still do two or more jobs on the side - they're called 'sidelines'. I guess this is one of the advantages of growing up in a poor country - one learns how to make things happen even in bad times...and as a result, the country's economy has proven to be far more resiliant than those of the 'developed' world. If I were to compare them to a people in Europe, I'd say that their ability to adapt, bargain, connive, and thrive would stand them in good stead with those legendary businessmen, the Scots...who, as we all know, also came from poor, downtrodden stock.
....
I guess the Filipinos aren't too crazy about Singapore. I saw several traffic signs - and these signs certainly looked like regular road signs - and unlike almost all other signs I saw, they were not written in English. They said "Likuan U" - which, I was told, means "U-turn". But right below "Likuan U" was "Lee Kuan Yew", the former Singaporean strongman who is credited with much of Singapore's success. The traffic notice and the name are pronounced similarly. Whether this was a joke or not I cannot tell.
I noticed something similar along the roads - workers here and there wearing a torso cover that said, "Pulis Oyster". It took me a while to get my family to tell me what it meant, but the "Pulis Oysters" are apparently cleaners. It seems they work for the police, but the shells of oysters are seen as clean, and the job of these workers is to clean the streets.
Article comments
1 - Clarence Yu
Great article. Though I beg to disagree on the system of collecting income and sales tax --- oh, the Bureau of Internal Revenue can be quite creative.
2 - Ruvy
Bang up article Glenn! Your writing reminds me of a less bitter version of Moshe Saperstein. An Israeli humor writer who once wrote for the Jerusalem Post, who wrote essays on life in Nevé Dekalim in Gush Qatif, where he and Rachel had retired to live - and who wrote bitterly of being expelled from his home there by a criminal Israeli regime led by Ariel Sharon.
He too, lives in a slum. Not by choice, or to be near relatives, but because his home was stolen from him.
3 - Glenn Contrarian
Thank you both for the encouragement - it really does help. Maybe this is the better way to become published, by writing about experiences and ironies most Americans don't see - instead of writing long, fictional epics on a grand scale and then watch the torrid pace of technology outdate everything one has written in a matter of months.
Again, thanks!
4 - Jordan Richardson
Nice article, Glenn. I've passed this over to my wife's family (she's Filipino). Very unique, fresh perspective with great lively tone and sharp punches of humour. Well done!
5 - Joanne Huspek
I'm going to have to bookmark this to read again, it was that enjoyable. Nicely done!