Trusting the area

Promoting technology resources has been the goal of many people who are trying to bring business and investments to the Philippines. One of the main hurdles is that it is very difficult to convince someone that the Philippines is a safe and dependable country to outsource. While that is probably true, the fact remains that the Philippines is a hard sell. Foreign investors see what’s shown on CNN and the idea that the Philippines is a corrupt, crime-ridden country just sticks even though the Philippines is a relatively safe place by any means.

During one of my recent trips abroad, I was shocked to meet some people who actually want to vacation here. What sparked the interest? A group said that it was one segment about the Philippines on a TV show entitled Wild on E!, which usually features destinations like Ibiza, Spain and other party cities.

This may sound uninteresting to you but it was a shock to hear this. The usual response, if anything, is that "there’s nothing to do there" or "I hear it’s not safe"… But after seeing the Philippines in a positive light in just one segment in one show, that was enough for some people to want to come and vacation here. I have even gotten positive responses from folks who are not Filipino and they said that the Philippines might be the next vacation spot for them. And these are not the wild, adventurous, back-packing type of travelers. These are the coat-and-tie, travel-on-business-class variety, if that means anything at all.

In the movie Training Day with Denzel Washington, one of the characters had a plan of moving to the Philippines to retire. Unfortunately he didn’t live to fulfill that dream, but I thought that that was a very positive plug for the Philippines. If you look at local shows and movies, everyone seems to be dreaming of living or working abroad. It’s a shame that we can’t promote our own.

With that said, more power to those who are working their best to promote the Philippines as the "it" place to vacation, to do business, to live – whether it’s an organized effort such as Dick Gordon’s WOW Philippines campaign or just a passing mention in a TV show or movie such as the one I mentioned earlier. To those who are doing a disservice to this nation by obsessively talking about how everything is just not working right, shame on you! Quit complaining and start doing something positive.

Semper Fi!

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(Rey Buzon is the managing director of AJOnet Holdings Inc. For comments or suggestions, e-mail him at [email protected].)