A lot of Filipinos look at our proud tradition of rice production, scratch their heads, and wonder why the Philippines has to import rice. It is easy to assume that corruption, government incompetence, and a poor economic environment are to blame. I know I have.

But, consider these statements:

• …countries that have been consistently importing rice for more than 100 years… [like] the Philippines… are all islands or narrow peninsulas.
• …the Philippines bears the brunt of numerous typhoons, making rice production more difficult…
• …Filipino farmers receive much higher prices for their palay (rice at harvest before the husk is removed) than do farmers in neighboring developing countries.

These were all found in an IRRI publication entitled “Tricks of the Trade“, which discusses the effects of liberalizing the rice trade in the Philippines. It’s a good read for anyone who wants an in-depth look into our rice problem.

It’s too bad that PhotoKees chose to focus only on the “ugly” side of the Philippines:

The photo post’s title, “So Very Manila”, is very indicative of his generalization. It seems that the blogger actually visited the Philippines, and only chose to publicize this aspect of country.

No doubt, the Philippines has many problems which limit its potential But that’s just it: there’s so much capability here, but our problems, by their more sensationalist nature, continue to attract more attention. Part of The Bayanihan Blog Network’s mission is let everyone know what the Philippines can offer, and I’m confident that our member blogs (listed to the right) do a great job of this.

I previously promised never to ever mention the Malu Fernandez controversy on this blog, given how she generated mostly negative comments. Now however I’m blogging about the woman herself. Here’s what she recently wrote:

But blogging, aside from Perez Hilton and the other big time bloggers (you know who you are) is for me a slacker job or a medium and pastime for lonely people to connect. Unless you’re in bloody Siberia or in a Gulag prison, try stepping outside your comfort zone and turn off the laptop or pc, you just might find some real live people to talk to instead of typing away in cyber space.

Now now, before you react, take the time to read her article on The Manila Standard Website. She’s obviously gotten some things wrong. Not all bloggers are solitary souls in desperate need of genuine interaction. And I do think she needs to visit websites like the BBN blogs and Copyblogger.

But I do agree with her on two points. Blogging is “a good source of information and a great way to exchange ideas”. And it does takes balls to write an opinion and have your name tied to it, ready (or not) for any consequences of your statements. Is it any wonder that our bloggers have no problems being open about who they are?

Thanks to Karlo for the tip.

Any Filipino would probably assume that the headline was about Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao punching a stripper in a club. But I’m actually citing a story about Adam “Pacman” Jones, an American football player, being accused giving the smackdown.

I’ve already written about this on my personal blog months ago:

Let’s make “Pacman” mean something more significant—a boxer who shows what Filipinos are capable of with hard work and dedication. That’s definitely better than a yellow circle running around all day eating pills, and a football player with a history of assault.

Then again, dominating the search engine rankings probably won’t change the naming habits of American sports writers.

Thanks for taking suggestions for the Happy Slip DVD. I’m sure we’ll enjoy the promised features, like the commentaries, and an interview with your lola (grandma)!

I only have one suggestion for you, but I think it’s really important: Could you make Happy Slip easily available in the Philippines?

Could you find a local, Philippine-based distributor for the DVD? I’m sure your many fans back home will appreciate seeing high-resolution versions of the videos that made you the 5th most subscribed YouTube user of all time as of this writing.

Of course, you can use only Amazon or any other major online retailer to ply your wares, but having something shipped from the US is quite a killer, and American websites usually don’t accept non-US-issued plastic.

By selling Happy Slip in the Philippines, you might even gain new fans in the motherland. People who are just discovering the wonders of the Internet and YouTube, and who’ll eagerly subscribe to your feed once they find out how.

Whaddya say?

It would be reasonable to think that a major reason why Friendster is alive today (despite making what some call a huge blunder) because of its large number of Filipino users and operators. While MySpace barely made a footprint here, and even if Multiply is steadily winning converts with its vastly better features, Friendster continues to be the social networking site of choice for most Filipinos.

But a new player may change all that, and perhaps even spell the end of Friendster. Yuwie is a social networking site that promises to pay you for your participation. Using what’s quickly becoming a traditional business model—offering free content supported by advertising—Yuwie will apparently pay users a small share of the income the site generates from selling ad space. Read the rest of this entry »

While pithiness can have a lot of impact, and it may leave the reader with an incomplete picture. Just like the The World Factbook’s entry on the Philippines dated October 4, 2007. The facts and figures are very accurate, but the country summary may leave the wrong impression:

The Philippine Government faces threats from three terrorist groups on the US Government’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list, but in 2006 and 2007 scored some major successes in capturing or killing key wanted terrorists. Decades of Muslim insurgency in the southern Philippines have led to a peace accord with one group and an ongoing cease-fire and peace talks with another.

Read the rest of this entry »

When PayPal Philippines users were finally able to receive funds, this development still carried some caveats. Good thing UnionBank recently made life a little easier.

As Ely writes, the local bank facilitates the receipt of PayPal funds:

You transfer your money from PayPal to your UnionBank Account. It takes around 5-7 days to clear. When it does, you can then withdraw the cash. [through a debit card]

There’s also a $10 transfer fee, but this is still a more convenient and secure setup which doesn’t involve handling actual money until you really need it. Great news for Filipinos who wanted to take advantage of the numerous opportunities online, but simply didn’t have the ability to receive payments. Now they have one less excuse not to go for it!

PayPal is easily most popular e-commerce business today. Aside from being used by numerous online employers and moneymaking tools, the company handled over $11 billion in transactions during the fourth quarter of 2006 alone.

Update: Read the apology

So you’re a Filipino angry at Desperate Housewives, and want to make sure your disdain is effective? Here’s something that’s much better than a boycott (which Karlo says won’t work anyway).

Ever heard of a Google bomb? A few years ago, if you searched for “Miserable Failure” on Google, the first result was a link to George W. Bush’s biography. Maybe you can also do that here. Just pick a web page talking about Teri Hatcher’s recent slur (like perhaps, the post I wrote yesterday or even the one you’re reading right now?) and link to it using the words “Desperate Housewives.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Senators, foreign diplomats, cabinet ministers, a smattering of Forbes’s 40 richest Filipinos, movie stars and enough professional basketball players to play five-on-five. They are the elite of Philippine society, and they all gather at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City to watch the men’s basketball rivalry between the universities Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle.

Thus read the first paragraph from a Sports article on The New York Times. A Nation’s Passion Lives in a Rivalry of Green vs. Blue, written by Raphael Bartholomew, talks about the affluent and influential alumni of both universities, and the enormous pressure coaches and players from both sides find themselves under.

Ah well, whenever Ateneo and La Salle play against each other during the UAAP Men’s Basketball season, everything becomes second. Including the ultra-rare regular season sweep of UE and coach Dindo Pumaren, who led his cagers to a 14-0 run to automatically earn a spot in 70th season finals.

Photo credits: Fabilioh.com and Photobucket user beyondbidj.