‘Tempering’ the rich

GMA gave us a glimpse of her temper once again when she walked out of a press conference where a reporter asked why the billionaires during the time of Marcos and Ramos are still the same billionaires today. It sounded like a loaded question, but actually, it really was not. But what the reporter wanted to imply was that the rich continue to get richer while the poor continue to languish in poverty. Obviously, the rich are still around because their money keeps growing.

Of course, GMA probably thought the question impertinent, hence her huffing and puffing and walking out in a tantrum. Absolutely unnecessary – she needs to learn how to control herself. Temper flare-ups like this one only create the impression that she’s evading the issue. The fact is, she answered it right – after probably getting a hold of herself – she went back and told the reporter, “We will not grow by pulling the rich down but by pulling the poor up. We should bring up everybody, spread the wealth that way. That’s my answer to your question.”

There’s really nothing wrong with being rich, and there are many wealthy people in this world who have made their pile out of sheer hard work and creativity. They’ve become the super billionaires like Bill Gates whose foundation straddles everything from fighting AIDS to eliminating poverty and funding research on science and technology. As a matter of fact, Gates plans to leave only $10 million each to his two children and give away the rest of his $100 billion fortune to charity.

In this country, we have a lot of wealthy people who have worked hard for their money, like Dr. Rolando Hortaleza whose Splash business was built from repackaged bottles of acetone, and Jollibee’s Tony Tan Caktiong who started out with a simple burger joint in Cubao. Quite obviously, they have created a lot of jobs through their wealth. Then there are the old rich like the Rufinos, the Prietos, the Madrigals, people who have been wealthy for as long as we can remember – and they continue to be rich mainly because they know how to give back to the less fortunate. Chito Madrigal is a philanthropist who quietly works to help uplift Filipino families out of poverty, employing the kind of philanthropy that “creates productivity and charity that enables capability.” These people obviously know and live the meaning of a Biblical passage that says, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” In return, their karma is that they keep getting richer.

It’s really very simple why there are more poor people in this country than there are rich – more poor people are being born everyday, and that means more hungry mouths to feed, more money needed for food, shelter, health, education, but with lesser resources to cope with these growing demands.

The trickling down of economic gains obviously takes time, because the creation of wealth is one of the most basic requirements to develop a good tax base and a sound tax system that would redound to the poor through delivery of services. This will give people more jobs, which will create better opportunities for education, wealth and other basic needs. It will take a hell of a lot more time and effort, and certainly there will always be rich people and poor people. That’s the simple “Yin and Yang” of this imperfect world. But the challenge for any president today is narrowing that gap between the rich and the poor – a challenge that’s been around for centuries.

* * *

Filipina appointed as global chair of Mobile Forum

The Philippines is making a big headway in the mobile telecoms industry, and proof is the recent appointment of a Filipina, Myla Villanueva, as chair of the Mobile Innovation forum for the GSM Association’s (GSMA) Mobile Innovation Forum, an operator-led trade association for the global mobile industry with more than 700 members providing worldwide services in 213 countries.

GSMA is organizing a global congress which will take place in Barcelona, Spain, where top executives of the world’s largest mobile, IT and entertainment companies will congregate. Top local telecom players like Smart and Globe are flying in a full contingent to the Barcelona Congress.

Myla hopes her appointment will help her showcase the country’s innovation talents and enable local start-up players to compete globally. The Philippines has a lot of young talents in programming, information technology and product development that are just waiting to be tapped, and who could certainly benefit from new and innovative technologies being developed in other countries.

There’s a lot of opportunity out there for young and start-up players to reach key decision makers in the operator community, and Myla is in a very good position to help especially since GSMA members serve 2.6 billion users – or more than 80 percent of the global digital market.

* * *

Email: [email protected]