By Tony Lopez
The Manila Times
A certain A. M. Quedi, from an engineering and design division of a company in Saudi Arabia, sent a reaction to my column of April 21, 2009 on the behavior of the middle class.
I said in my column that the Filipino is now middle-class having at least a daily per capita income of $5.64. Middle-class according to the World Bank is having a per capita income of between $2 and $10.
The emergence of the Filipino middle-class came with the surge in number of OFWs�now 10-million-strong�and in the amount of their remittances, now averaging $16 billion per year. The $16 billion is more than the net value added we get from our annual exports. So in effect OFW remittances are the Philippines� biggest dollar earners.
The new Filipino middle class is bad news for our traditional politicians in 2010. These trad�pols are what President Obama has called those who use corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent to keep themselves in power. �They are on the wrong side of history,� said Obama in his inaugural address.
History will be made, therefore, in 2010 when corrupt and incompetent tradpols will be voted out of office or denied public office. The campaign period for 2010 begins in December although a number of presidential candidates have already covered plenty of territory, ahead of their rivals. In this regard, former President Joseph Estrada and former Senate President Manny Villar have built a huge headstart.
A recent study of 13 countries by Pew Research, in tandem with The Economist, has found characteristics common to middle class people. They are more liberal-minded, embrace democratic values, don�t consider religion central to their lives, and put a premium on fair elections, a fair judicial system, free speech, free press and freedom of religion. They are also more satisfied with their lives than the poor people. They would rather have a good democracy than a strong economy.
Quedi doubts that OFWs can bring about a competent and honest government in the Philippines despite the large number of Filipino OFW families.
�How can the new middle-class [OFW] bring about these changes in government if we the OFWs are unable to vote in every election?� he asks in his e-mail to me. He says �I have been an OFW since 1985 and never had a chance to cast my vote simply because of my absence.�
Here unedited is the rest of Quedi�s e-mail:
�The OAV [overseas absentee voting] law is only palliative and not the real solution. Among the 10 million OFWs, how many would participate? Perhaps one million would be a good number.
It is impractical. To register, I have to go to the embassy [Riyadh] or the nearest Consular Offices [Jeddah and Dammam]. Since my place of work and residence is in Abha/Khamis Mushayt, approximately 1000km from Riyadh, 900km from Jeddah and 1200km from Dammam, I have to fly and be absent from work for at least one day to get there and finished the registration. On voting day, I have to do the same. This is assuming that my manager will allow me to excuse from work.
I have to spend for the airplane ticket, stay in a hotel overnight and all other expenses trying to locate the Embassy or the Consular office in a big city that I am not familiar. It is not surprising that registration for OAV was disappointing from the start. We all have the patriotism but not the circumstance to make it.
�How will the OFW be able to vote? My suggestion is to provide us the means to vote through the Internet. Technology enable us to manage our finances through e-Banking, why not voting through e-Vote?�
Incidentally, I showed Sen. Manny Villar my BizNewsAsia article on the new Filipino middle-class. I told him he is the champion of this middle-class because he is the one who built the most number of houses for the Filipino expats and the one who has espoused their causes with great earnestness.
biznewsasia@gmail.com
The Manila Times
A certain A. M. Quedi, from an engineering and design division of a company in Saudi Arabia, sent a reaction to my column of April 21, 2009 on the behavior of the middle class.
I said in my column that the Filipino is now middle-class having at least a daily per capita income of $5.64. Middle-class according to the World Bank is having a per capita income of between $2 and $10.
The emergence of the Filipino middle-class came with the surge in number of OFWs�now 10-million-strong�
The new Filipino middle class is bad news for our traditional politicians in 2010. These trad�pols are what President Obama has called those who use corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent to keep themselves in power. �They are on the wrong side of history,� said Obama in his inaugural address.
History will be made, therefore, in 2010 when corrupt and incompetent tradpols will be voted out of office or denied public office. The campaign period for 2010 begins in December although a number of presidential candidates have already covered plenty of territory, ahead of their rivals. In this regard, former President Joseph Estrada and former Senate President Manny Villar have built a huge headstart.
A recent study of 13 countries by Pew Research, in tandem with The Economist, has found characteristics common to middle class people. They are more liberal-minded, embrace democratic values, don�t consider religion central to their lives, and put a premium on fair elections, a fair judicial system, free speech, free press and freedom of religion. They are also more satisfied with their lives than the poor people. They would rather have a good democracy than a strong economy.
Quedi doubts that OFWs can bring about a competent and honest government in the Philippines despite the large number of Filipino OFW families.
�How can the new middle-class [OFW] bring about these changes in government if we the OFWs are unable to vote in every election?� he asks in his e-mail to me. He says �I have been an OFW since 1985 and never had a chance to cast my vote simply because of my absence.�
Here unedited is the rest of Quedi�s e-mail:
�The OAV [overseas absentee voting] law is only palliative and not the real solution. Among the 10 million OFWs, how many would participate? Perhaps one million would be a good number.
It is impractical. To register, I have to go to the embassy [Riyadh] or the nearest Consular Offices [Jeddah and Dammam]. Since my place of work and residence is in Abha/Khamis Mushayt, approximately 1000km from Riyadh, 900km from Jeddah and 1200km from Dammam, I have to fly and be absent from work for at least one day to get there and finished the registration. On voting day, I have to do the same. This is assuming that my manager will allow me to excuse from work.
I have to spend for the airplane ticket, stay in a hotel overnight and all other expenses trying to locate the Embassy or the Consular office in a big city that I am not familiar. It is not surprising that registration for OAV was disappointing from the start. We all have the patriotism but not the circumstance to make it.
�How will the OFW be able to vote? My suggestion is to provide us the means to vote through the Internet. Technology enable us to manage our finances through e-Banking, why not voting through e-Vote?�
Incidentally, I showed Sen. Manny Villar my BizNewsAsia article on the new Filipino middle-class. I told him he is the champion of this middle-class because he is the one who built the most number of houses for the Filipino expats and the one who has espoused their causes with great earnestness.
biznewsasia@
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