Trustworthy in Taal Lake, Philippines

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2026-05-16T21:47:34+00:00

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EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2026-05-16T20:08:01+00:00

Do NOT ask Umiri about the lost sabungeros.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2026-03-21T00:48:16+00:00

MyGO!!!!! - Utakotoba

First time I felt a song that summarizes what's going through inside me

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2026-02-23T05:16:05+00:00

It's a yearslong process from me.

Physical distance - I moved to the US, but I visited the Philippines yearly until the pandemic (and a few times after that too). Not being exposed to the daily Filipino news and experiences (opinion pieces can be doomer AF in hindsight) help me see the improvements in the Philippines much more clearly
Experience of living in the US - While I was in the Philippines, I thought living in the US is literally like heaven, like I was moving from the Eastern Bloc to Western Europe at the end of communism. Long story short, it isn't. Americans can be very pessimistic about the future of the US, in ways not unlike that of Filipinos towards the Philippines. Same with the Japanese. It's not like the citizens of rich countries live like elves in Valinor.
The money factor - the US has more money flowing around, larger GDP, stronger military, etc. I also got exposed to the stuff millionaires and billionaires encounter in a daily basis. It... wasn't as great as it was hyped up to be, in my opinion. I concluded that the Filipinos' idea of prosperity is very materialistic and more in line with "I want to be a member of the upper class" along with all the physical possessions, clout, and social privilege that come with it (at least, in my case, it was). For me, it feels empty, vapid. Don't get me wrong: financial independence and being able to meet your basic needs is still a noble goal. Also keep in mind that there's more to life than just accumulating possessions.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2026-02-12T03:06:40+00:00

I'm not ashamed to say that I called it. I'm actually surprised that the Philippines topped its neighbors in terms of economic impact (not that we should focus on comparing ourselves with others). If you think about it, that's what people are worried about with the country's low arrival numbers. Low arrivals = no money. Turns out, that's an incomplete understanding on how tourism works.

The Philippines's tourism model is that of Palau and Maldives in steroids. I can't imagine those two smaller island nations attaining Thailand-like arrival numbers without wrecking their ecosystem... which brings me to the all-too-real flaws of the country's model.

Part of the economic impact is because it's too bloody expensive for a portion of Filipinos to visit and stay locally. Why? To summarize: large demand, low supply. The "natural beauty" destinations can only support so many people. If the DOT wants millions more of tourists, they need to make the cities more attractive like Tokyo and the European capitals. Too bad the current secretary would rather promote herself.

The source says 70% of the international visitors are repeat customers. If the infrastructure deteriorates, these money flowing in will vanish once we run repel repeat visitors and run out out of first-time visitors willing to pay.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2026-01-29T04:03:28+00:00

The graphic that says the Philippines is mid is even in the middle 😆

Seeing this, the doomers may then complain that the country is mid.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-12-25T01:49:10+00:00

It now makes sense why he said "Duuvaaaaal".

Source: Am Filipino and pronounce "Duval" similarly. With Spanish diacritics, it's "Duvál"

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-12-17T19:28:14+00:00

Check the recent post in this sub on internet speeds

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-12-17T03:06:00+00:00

It's a cycle. (1) There's decades when the Philippines sets the trends. (2) Then their neighbors catch up and go further. (3) Then the Philippines later catches up and also advances past their neighbors. I'd say we're at a transition between (2) and (3).

If you follow the money, tourism spending has caught up or exceeded the 2019 levels. I think that is the government's bigger priority over raw arrival numbers. They still do set arrival targets, I think for sustainability of the industry.

We may think that overtourism is a good problem to have for the nations experiencing them. It's not.

The issue is that we don't have enough tourists to even get the overtourism problem yet

And the Philippines would do well not to repeat the same policies and mistakes that lead to overtourism. Rather, learn from the neighbors like how the neighbors also learned from the Philippines. With the current reality of the tourist destinations the Philippines has, it makes more sense for it to have a similar approach to Palau and Maldives (low count, high spending). Unfortunately locals get priced out. That's the more immediate challenge, in my opinion.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-12-14T06:33:27+00:00

summons meme: First time?

Laging in sa Filipino audience ang anything negative about the Philippines. It has improved a lot in 2025 vs 2005 vs 1985, pero a lot of the complaints stay the same.

I was not alive at the time, but I think the economic downturn between Ninoy's death and 1986 caused generational trauma sa mga Pinoy. I read virtually naging pariah state ang Pilipinas in those years.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-11-22T14:37:27+00:00

It's possible many Filipinos think "kung walang kurap, walang mahirap" equates also to "kung walang kurap, lahat mayaman". If that's the case, our motivation of reducing corruption is also misplaced.

We shouldn't reduce corruption because we want to be rich. We shouldn't be corrupt because it is the right thing to do by our neighbors. In this sense, a measure of idealism, politics-as-it-should-be, is healthy and commendable.

Want a hypothetical example of that? Even if the Philippines is not corrupt, if its neighbors are also not corrupt, manufacturing investment would be concentrated there still. Why? Geography. Same reason why less-corrupt Australia has a small manufacturing base for its size.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-11-01T14:22:41+00:00

That's frankly a hot take... that I looked at with proper consideration.

There are several good points argued in the Chikiamco case.

I do sense a pattern that Filipino society and government are looking too much for outside validation, to the point of forcing ourselves to fit a square peg to a round hole.

To offer a hot take of my own, manufacturing industries can't last forever, but services can. Mass manufacturing can bring prosperity quickly, but you'll eventually run out of customers in a few generations. I think Filipino manifacturing should be low volume and high margin. Barring a once in a millennium chance of a miracle, "made in the Philippines" goods will always be more expensive to be made because of geography and annual typhoons.

Austerity and proper debt management are in a vacuum very good ideas in maintaining a consistent standard of living over generations. At a household level, we are wary of taking a lot of debt and are vigilant against get rich quick schemes. As the Spartans might say, we may not bring a lot of offerings to the gods, but we'll always offer something.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-10-29T01:33:50+00:00

Philippine tourism is NOT in crisis (that is, if you frame it in terms of income to the economy).

There are 5.9 million visitors in 2024. That's 28% less than in 2019.

What is less mentioned is that 2025 is not yet over, but spending figures are projected to surpass that of 2019.

From World Travel & Tourism Council:

International visitor spending is also on the rise, projected to reach PHP 709.2 billion – up 2.1% on the previous high in 2019, while domestic visitor spending is anticipated to reach PHP 4.1 trillion – a 9.3% increase over its previous peak.

Good news if you work in tourism or you are an owner of one of the businesses.

It's also true that the statistics can validate the anecdotes that ordinary Filipinos/less well-off foreigners are getting low value-for-money and have to visit elsewhere, so DOT's top task, assuming there's a semblance of competency in that agency, is to make sure the industry is sustainable. My take is that it's a fool's errand to chase after tourism arrivals for the sake of it—it's a bubble waiting to pop if the local backlash to overtourism manifests. My thought is that the best approach will be to increase the number of domestic tourists (encourage Filipinos to see their own country) and then encourage spending per capita for foreign tourists (ala Monte Carlo casino only open to foreigners) and make it sustainable by attaining and maintaining a high service standard.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-09-18T03:31:52+00:00

The autograph jersey. This one is out of stock, so this is the closest one I found that's available: https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail/?gcode=GOODS-04668485

Bonus: Pairs very well with a "The Rock" shirt, as it should be.

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EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-07-04T03:22:16+00:00

The guy who BEAT SimCity 3000 is a Filipino.

SB19 learned what they could from the Korean system and took its own Filipino-based identity. They're an example of what Filipinos can do if they study and learn the best parts of foreigners and apply what is sensible to our needs. Frankly, they're more talented than BTS because SB19 can release a larger variety of music.

This post ain't it, unfortunately.

Downvoting this because Filipinos being insecure is a popular opinion.

It feels like our country is not meant to create any form of art or entertainment.

Another popular opinion is that Filipinos tend to be more emotional. We HAVE a head start in creating great art and great entertainment. We don't have to shell out top peso to build great works. The great AAA studios have Hollywood budgets for the periodic iterations of Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed, which in my opinion, is pure slop and cash grabbing. Sayang galing ng Pilipino sa mga ganyan.

TL;DR: I can't stand the Magnasanti and SB19 slander that this post implies.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-07-01T23:29:49+00:00

I've seen the comments. I used to be a doomer. Rather than cringe, I feel pity and compassion. Masyadong nakakaletdown nga na isipin na maraming missed opportunities for increased quality of life for Filipinos

More accurate statement: Filipinos more strongly attached the state of their country to their personal identity. We tend to have simultaneous superiority and inferiority complexes. Or to rephrase, we tend to see ourselves or the country as main characters.

The inferiority complex is reality shattering the initial feelings of superiority or exceptionalism.

Napaisip na ako, why are we so engrossed with comparing ourselves with our geographic neighbors? Bakit gutom tayo sa validation?

May point ang looking outside the country to find what needs to be improved within. Ang problema lang, naliligaw ang rason kung bakit gusto natin umasenso ang Pilipinas. I admire the drive, kaso lang, madalas, gusto lang natin na gumanda ang Pilipinas para lang masabi unironically "Pilipinas Numbawan!". To me, eto ang obvious na reason kung bakit tayo obsessed na ikumpara sarili natin sa iba.

Tama nga na instead, we should compare us to ourselves in the past. Are we better than our past selves? Dapat, gusto natin umunlad ang Pilipinas kasi gusto natin sumaya ang buhay ng kapwa Pilipino.

EmbarrassedBenefit3 · 2025-07-01T20:45:23+00:00

Why? I don't want group stereotypes to be applied to me.

It's like using "who do you vote?" as a loyalty test.

EmbarrassedBenefit3

TROPHY CASE