Quezon Memorial Circle

It has been a long while since I visited Memorial Circle park in Quezon City. Renovation is still going on when I visited last Saturday. Well, renovations to me means constant improvement. You see Metro Manila is a big metropolis but you can only count a few parks for rest and recreation. And to think that some of these parks are not even well maintained! Thanks to Mayor Belmonte and other officials of this city for taking into consideration the need for open and spaces in their governance.

Here are some photos I was able to capture with my Canon Camera:

View of Commonwealth Avenue approaching the Circle

Decorations are being put up such as this artificial flower

Flags from all countries are raised in one corner of the vast Park

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Agriculture VS Manufacturing

There is a debate whether the government should prioritize agriculture rather than manufacturing. In a way, this is true. But in the long run, the development of manufacturing must go hand in hand with agricultural modernization.

Think about this. To modernize agriculture, you must have post-harvest facilities, packing or repacking plants, cold storage plants, low-cost fertilizer, feeds, and farm implements. And of course, farm products must be transported to the nearest market as soon as possible because they are perishables. So we need trucks and modern roads. Why are we not building and producing all of these? This question must be addressed before we can have a modern agriculture. In short, develop industries related to agriculture. Would that remove the debate?

This is where the government, big business, and cooperative should focus in. If agriculture is modernized through the development of agri-related industries, farmers and fishermen will have more income which will lead to a more robust domestic economy. And why not produce high value added crops for export? Less dependence on traditional crops such as coconut, sugar, and pineapple will shield our economy from the seasonal ups and downs of the world economy.

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Ford Phils. To Supply Indon Police

Great News for the Filipino Manufacturers. Ford Group Philippines is exporting 577 Philippine-made Ford Focus to Indonesia for the use of its police force. So who says Philippine manufacturing is uncompetitive? That we can be able export cars prove otherwise.

According to the Manila Bulletin, as of August this year, Ford Philippines has exported 62,500 vehicles so far with an export value of $899 million. The company has its assembly plant at Sta. Rosa City in Laguna. Aside from Indonesia, it also export Ford and Mazda vehicles to Thailand and Malaysia.

Amidst the global economic difficulties when most countries have seen its export values dropped by as much as 40%, the export of Philippine-made cars is quite a feat.

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Produce Or Else...

Ano bang gusto natin? Magtrabaho sa ibang bansa at lumayo sa ating mga mahal sa buhay? Bakit nga ba hindi tayo makahanap ng disenting trabaho dito sa ating sariling bayan? Ilan lamang ito sa mga katanungan na gusto kong magkaroon ng kasagutan.

Alam ko na mas nakararami sa ating kababayan ang mas gugustuhing dito rin sa Pilipinas magtrabaho at manirahan. Kaya lang mahirap talaga makahanap ng trabaho dito. May iilang bakante pero napakarami ang aplikante. At kung mayroong mang bakante napakaliit naman ang sweldo. Kaya apply na lang abroad and magtiis doon. At least may maipapadala kang pera sa iyong pamilyang naiwan.

Pero ganon lang ba? Shall we just fold our arms, surrender hopelessly and accept our tragic fate as a "nation of servants"? No, there must be a way to provide decent jobs for many Filipinos. The answer is put up as many factories as we can. We cannot rely on foreign investments. We have been doing that for a long long time and still they are not coming in droves. They are going to other countries like China and Thailand.

Of course putting up factories is not easy. But it can be done! Let us find out how.

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