Talk of Good Things 2

I received this by email from Ateneo de Manila University professor Dr. Ellen H. Palanca, and it is one of those pass-on emails that is, indeed, worth passing on. We start a new year with a burgeoning deficit, the disruptive specter of elections on the horizon and more political scandal than we need; turning away from all that, this is an uplifting and encouraging way to usher in our first issue for the year 2003. Thank you, Ellen, for this much-needed dose of good things!

The following was written by Intel General Manager Robin Martin about the Philippines:

Filipinos (including the press, business people and myself) tend to dwell too much on the negative side and this affects the perception of foreigners, even the ones who have lived here for a while.

The negative perception of the Philippines is way disproportionate to reality when compared to places like Columbia, Egypt, Middle East, Africa, etc.

Let us all help our country by balancing the negative with the positive, especially when we talk to foreigners, whether based here or abroad.

Looking back and comparing the Philippines today and in 1995 (the year I came back), I was struck by how much our country has progressed physically.

Consider the following:

1. The great telecom infrastructure that we have now did not exist in 1995. 1995 was the year the telecom industry was deregulated. Since then billions of dollars have been invested in both fixed line and cellular networks, producing a system with over 5,000 kms of fiber optic backbone at a world competitive cost. From a fixed line capacity of about 900,000 in 1995 we now have over 7 million. Cellular phones practically did not exist in 1995; now we have over 11 million line capacity.

2. The MRT, many of the EDSA flyovers (including the Ayala Avenue flyover), the Skyway, Rockwell and Glorietta 4, The Fort, NAIA Terminal 2 and most of the new skyscrapers were not yet built in 1995.

3. If you drive to the provinces, you will notice that national roads are now of good quality (international quality asphalt roads). I just went to Iba, Zambales last week and I was impressed that even a not-so-frequently traveled road was of very good quality.

4. Philippine exports have increased by 600 percent over the past eight years. There are many, many more examples of progress over the last eight years. Philippine mangoes are now exported to the US and Europe.

Additional tidbits to make our people prouder:

1. Intel has been in the Philippines for 28 years. The Philippine plant is where Intel’s most advanced products are launched, including the Pentium V. By the end of 2002, Philippine operations are expected to be Intel’s biggest assembly and testing operations worldwide.

2. Texas Instruments has been operating in Baguio for over 20 years. The Baguio plant is the largest producer of DSP chips in the world. DSP chips are the brains behind cellphones. TI’s Baguio plant produces the chip that powers 100 percent of all Nokia cellphones and 80 percent of Erickson cellphones in the world.

3. Toshiba laptops are produced in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

4. If you drive a Benz, BMW or a Volvo, there is a good chance that theABS system in your car was made in the Philippines.

5. Trend-Micro, makers of the top anti-virus software PC-Cillin, develops its "cures" for viruses right here in Eastwood Libis, Quezon City. When a virus breaks out in any computer system in the world, they try to find a solution within 45 minutes of finding the virus.

6. By the end of last year, it is expected that a majority of the top ten U.S. Call Center firms in the U.S. will have set up operations in the Philippines. This is one area in which I believe we are the best in the world in terms of value for money.

7. America Online (AOL) has 1,000 people in Clark answering 90 percent of AOL’s global e-mail inquiries.

8. Proctor & Gamble has over 400 people right here in Makati (average age: 23 years) doing back-up office work for their Asian operations, including finance accounting, human resources and payments processing.

9. Among many other things it does for its regional operations network in the Asia-Pacific region here in Manila, Citibank also does its global ATM programming locally.

10. This is the first time ever that the Philippines will be exporting cars in quantity, courtesy of Ford Philippines.

11. The government is shedding off graft and corruption slowly but surely. This is the first time in our history that a former president is in jail and facing charges of plunder. Despite all odds, we are still pursuing the ill-gotten wealth of Marcos now enjoyed by his unrepentant heirs.

Next time you travel abroad and meet business associates, tell them the good news. A big part of our problem is perception and one of the biggest battles can be won simply by believing and by making others believe.

This message is shared by good citizens of the Philippines who persevere to hope and work for our country.

Please pass this on to other Filipinos!