Here is a very interesting video describing corruption in the Philippines with the large oligopolies based on the split commercial-political interests of the major families - well in fact - one family, the family of the current president. A great deal of this is common knowledge, and yet:
1. The foreign media and governments do nothing
2. The poor Filipinos are uneducated and don't know. Their leaders are assassinated
3. The US government does nothing - because the 'oligopolies' control the Philippines government
4. The media in the Philippines is controlled by like-minded persons
We are all familiar with how the US government were apologists for the South American dictators in the 1960s to 1980s; the same has been occurring in the Philippines. Now that the Cold War is over; might it be time for the US government to be raising the bar. Maybe its time for the American people to start expecting more from their government. It is apparent that Western governments have no interest in preserving freedom; protecting rights. Their actions abroad are directed only towards their commercial interests.
We can argue that there is nothing wrong with preserving or pursuing one's interests; but what interest does the West have in allowing the Philippines oligopoly to preserve their tyranny over the Philippines people; not to mention foreign companies which invest there. Yes...Western companies which invest in the Philippines are subjected to a litany of tyranny by commercial interests. Any foreign enterprise that gets too big is subject to extortion. So what could or should foreign governments do to prevent this tyranny from existing in perpetuity? They can do several things:
1. They can stop sanctioning the illegitimate practices of the oligopoly-controlled government by publicly castigating the Philippines for undermining the sovereign interests of the landless Filipinos.
2. They can educate the Philippines people about the injustices perpetrated against the people.
This video just highlights the actions of the family of the current administration. If one takes a look at the injustices perpetrated against the Muslims of Mindanao, largely again because of the acquiesce of the US government, who administered the Philippines for a good period of time, then you can see that this is a huge problem for the Philippines, and why Filipinos have to largely leave the country for any prosperity. Which is why expatriated incomes are the life-blood of poor families in the Philippines, whilst the wealthy families life off their legacy of extortion extending back to Spanish administration.
What is important for people to realise is that this is not capitalism. This behaviour is not based on the mutual consent of people's in relationships of trade. These actions were perpetrated through the sanctioning of government. This is why principles of capitalism need to be respected, and not used as a smoke-screen to give legitimacy to despotic and unjust business and political interests.
Watch this YouTube video - and there are more at the end of it. Lobby your congressman or local parliamentary MP to encourage your government to do more. Perhaps the best chance that the Philippines has of restoring justice is for there to be a 'Thai-style' coup in the Philippines, however there is always the risk that such an action could replace one tyrant with another military dictator. Remember Ferdinand Marcos. Those were different times.
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