South-east Asia's llama breaks into a trot »
The Philippines is going from perceived basket case to prime candidate for an investment boom
04:45 AM Apr 28, 2012How much money does the Philippines, that perennial economic laggard, owe the International Monetary Fund? The answer is nothing.
After years of being in hock, Manila is now an IMF creditor. Thus the people of the Philippines, impoverished though many remain, are doing their bit to help Europeans maintain the living standards they doubtless deserve.
For years, the Philippines has been a bit of a laughing stock in South-east Asia. Gross domestic product of US$2,200 (S$2,700) per capita puts it in the same league as Bolivia, a poor Andean country. Thailand, with a GDP per capita of US$5,400, is out of its league.
A running joke - admittedly not a very funny one - is that the Philippines accidentally swapped places with Chile, the Latin American economy that most resembles a fast-paced Asian tiger. That makes the Philippines more like a llama, trudging dolefully along a dirt track.
Whisper it if you will, but the Philippines may at last be getting its act together. These are early days. But there are definite signs that the country - with its young population of nearly 100 million people, the world’s 12th largest - has turned a corner.
There are three reasons to be hopeful, if not yet exactly cheerful.The world expects so much now from the Philippines.
WE CAN’T FAIL THIS TIME AROUND! ;)
This was the TV Ad in the Philippines played in the CNN Eye on the Philippines. It’s so simple, but not bad. In saying that it’s simple it is simply no “palabok” just plain fun, and it’s very easy to understand right?
great ad! ;) It’s more fun in the philippines!
The Bontocs of the Philippines
(Source: theredboxer)
The Otherworldy Flora and Fauna of the Coral Triangle
1. Mantis Shrimp
Stretching from Indonesia to the Philippine Islands, the Coral Triangle is home to a vast array of coral species and fish life.2. Coral Polyps
Roughly 1.5 billion acres in size, the region is home to more than 75% of the world’s coral global species.3. Organ-Pipe Coral
Like several other biodiverse marine regions, the area is under threat from overfishing and higher water temperatures that interfere with the coral’s life cycles.4. Denise’s Pygmy Seahorse
The reef also features the highest diversity of coral reef fishes in the world.
(via scinerds)
Climbing mountains. It’s more fun in the Philippines. by lethologically on Flickr.
Come visit the Philippines!
It is really more fun in our country! ♥
Two days after its launch, the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) new slogan is still creating a buzz online and dividing netizens into lovers and haters. We’ve been receiving a handful of submissions about the hot topic: external links, memes, opinion pieces, and even lyrics to a “jingle.” Instead of flooding your dashboards with all of them, we picked out a few:
BuzzFeed: 25 Things That Are More Fun In The Philippines (external)
ABS-CBN: Some Think #It’sMoreFuntoBash. I DISAGREE (external)
Iwriteasiwrite: It’s More Contrary in the Philippines
Dawndie: #ItsfuninthePhilippines campaign memes
Marocharim: A jingle set to Rebecca Black’s Friday
If you would like to share memes, we’ve opened photo reply. Also, we’d like to get your two cents on the new DOT slogan. Do you like or hate it?
This beautiful painting is one of the lesser known works of the Realist Filipino painter of the late 19th century, Juan Luna. The work is entitled Las Damas Romanas, painted by Luna in 1887 in Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid.
It gives us an idea of how Luna loved to paint scenes from Ancient Rome, given that he had another greater work depicting a Roman scene of the Coliseum entitled Spoliarium.
What is most curious about this painting was how it reappeared before 2008 after years of being lost. Apparently a French dealer bought it from an estate sale outside of Paris, unaware of its value. It was auctioned again and today it costs around HK$4,700,000.
Filipino paintings have its own unique beauty. Even if Luna began his works in a very European perspective (he was not that of a nationalist compared to his brother, Antonio), Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo paved the way for other Filipino artists to take the brush and start painting scenes from a Filipino point of view. And with that, the best for me was Fernando Amorsolo.
now if I just have the money and print Filipino Masterpieces on a shirt and sell them. ;) that could really be a cooooool shirt
That’s not even 50% of the Philippines
My Lakbayan grade is C!
How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!
Created by Eugene Villar.
