Filipinos Lead WTO Protests

Do you know that Filipinos make up a third of the protest groups in this week’s WTO conference in Hong Kong? According to an article written by Thingfish for netnewsasia, ``What was most striking though, was that of the 100 random protest groups we looked at, a third were from the Philippines. Add to that the several Hong Kong or regional bodies that are essentially Filipino pressure groups, and you’re looking at a very lopsided protest.”

With an infinitesimal share of trade relative to the world, it seems that we are getting ourselves an inordinate share of protesting. The same groups, the inveterate leftist and left leaning religious and environmental groups, leading the street protest against the administration are now seen in Hong Kong venting their perpetual ire. This character flaw is one of the many reasons why we remain chronically poor; our penchant for non-productive or even counterproductive activities.

Thingfish delivers the kicker ``Every day somewhere in the Philippines, someone is protesting against something. Protest is a national pastime. And perhaps that’s the real crowd-puller in Hong Kong this week: Filipinos just love a good protest.”