(Last week, I emailed Filipinos working all over the world to find out how the US global financial crunch is affecting one of the major sources of the country’s liquidity—the so called OFWs. Some are regular readers of MoneySmarts, while some are friends of another blogger Reyna Elena. They were kind enough to reply and a short version of their emails (in the interest of space) were included in a feature I wrote for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. I am publishing this week in installments the full version of their emails. I hope the series will help us understand how Filipinos all over the world are affected and are responding to the crisis.)
I have just recently quit my job as director of finance in one of the largest housing authorities in the United States with over 3,000 employees. I’ve been unemployed since July 2008; however, I have just accepted a job in Chicago as director for one of the largest development corporation dealing with housing tax credits, asset management and property investments. I expect to start very soon.
My parents, very religious, took the church’s “go and multiply” advice by heart and made parenting an algorithmic Fibonachi, that’s why there’s 11 of us in the family. We lived in the barrio and could not find opportunities in the Philippines because at that time, they’re all reserved for the rich, the powerful and the conios. So, I paddled my boat to the land of apples and honey. I’ve been working in the United States for over 21 years now.
Growing up in the Philippines, I really thought that we have perfected corruption. To my surprise, corrupt officials are populating Wall Street and beyond as well. They could literally bring down a world financial system! That worries the heck out of me because I can’t seem to believe that these crooks could actually shake the entire financial system and make our lives miserable. When I say “our”, I just don’t refer to Americans, rather, world citizens as well. For if America sneezes, the world catches cold.
Given that I worked in the financial, real estate, investment and asset management side, I had the privilege of understanding the complexity of what’s behind the current financial turmoil and so I could fully and truly appreciate its implication on me personally, my family and my fellow overseas Pinoy friends.
My 401-k (read: retirement) is now down 15 percent. Two weeks ago, I felt comfortable because my retirement money is with Wachovia, where it sits at the moment. Suddenly, Wachovia is in the news. It’s bad enough that I have increased my monthly remittance to the Philippines because of certain fixed expenses back home.
As you can see, Filipinos here in the States took a direct hit from the subprime crisis, from our retirement investments to our mortgage that can’t be refinanced, to our rising credit card interest. Loans are now difficult to find. Worse, applying for one is even more difficult. So, we’ve cut down on a lot of unnecessary expenses and travels.
Thing is, I don’t invest in Manila because I am not very familiar about the local investments procedures and I have had lousy experiences as a bank customer there. Since I don’t want to surrender the decision making to investment administrators in Manila, and they have not won my confidence as of yet, I continue to be on the sidelines.
However, I will never let those sick Wall Street people dictate my life. I am being prudent in all of my expenditures and wiser in spending money. My strategies are to stay put, cut down on expenses, find more extra income, and continue to be cute and happy. I was planning to go home and find a job in Manila. When all of these investment houses started tumbling down, I asked myself if it would be better for me to stay here. I’m still thinking. I can’t decide. Help me 
64 Responses to “A Pinoy in the US hit by the credit crisis”
Pages: « 13 … 11 10 9 8 7 6 [5] 4 3 2 1 » Show All
Pages: « 13 … 11 10 9 8 7 6 [5] 4 3 2 1 » Show All
October 9th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
again to pobreng_obrero,
i’m not happy with your comments. you seem to be trying to put a wedge between OFW’s and teachers and local entrepreneurs and from what I am reading - just because OFW’s gets the ribbons of like - floating the economy - helping the — whavetever.
you think we are happy to be called ‘heroes?” i actually abhor being called a freakin HERO by some in the government. you call people hero - match it with actions and legislations.
now, to drive a wedge between an OFW and a local entrepreneur and teachers is NOT FAIR and I believe you should stop that because that’s not looking good for us, the OFW’s.
we work hard for our money and had no intentions whatsoever to steal some glory from the other groups for some of these local entreporeneurs are OFW’s themselves.
I fully understand the contribution of each of the sector in the Philippines and it’s not just the OFW’s. And there is not a fight between the OFW’s and other sectors.
October 9th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
@pobreng_obrero,
believe you me, i have a lot of admiration to all the teachers in the Philippines who stayed put and decided to teach despite the meager salary the government is giving them. i should know, a lot of my relatives are teachers in the barrio. BARRIO. not city.
for me personally, it’s my personal desire to get out of poverty shit. you have no idea how it feels to be in that vacuum, treated by society as some form of an outcast, ignored and sidelined because you’re poor.
you only need to act on your dreams sometimes and with luck, it’ll have glitters.
October 9th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
@junebug,
I am aware of the corruption in the US even before the Wall Street drama. There’s a big difference. Once the authorities catches you, you’re done. Unlike in the Philippine where you could even still get away with it, even when you’re found guilty or even in prison. Sorry to say what I feel is true.
I will never blame America for my negative feelings. Failures could be attributed to so many things. America is my home now. No matter where I go around the world, I may always be Pinoy by heart and mind, but I am very, very American now. I cry when I hear “America, the Beautiful” for this is the country who gave me some of the things that Pinas did not gave me. I love this country with all it’s good and bad and I will not change anything even if I suffered sometimes. That’s part of my American life. So, no, I don’t think I blamed the “US” per se. I am blaming the Wall Street crooks. Big difference there.
If I lived in the Philippines for 21 years? That’s a very hypothetical question. I don’t know. Maybe I could be successful or not.
Incidentally, I am writing another article to explain what really brought down the behemoth investment giants.
October 9th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
To Junebug,
Hope you won’t mind if I answer your question:
“if corruption is not as bad compared to other countries? Some of us even decide to live abroad and bring their family for good. Why?”
My answer: Yes, indeed! I absolutely agree, corruption is really bad here. No question about that.
Having said that, may I ask this simple question as well:
Why do some of us (like my teachers who taught me in public school) are still “crazy” enough to stay here?
My answer, which I don’t expect everyone to agree with, is this:
Because some Filipinos still BELIEVE in their fellow Filipinos. Call them martyrs or unrealistic, but I have tremendous respect for these “believers”.
Because if, say, the teachers who taught me instead decided to work abroad (as most teachers do), then I wouldn’t have received a respectable education and I wouldn’t have been able to put up my own business and prevent Brain Drain by employing Filipinos in our homeland .
Thus, in my book, rampant corruption is any of the 3:
1) a turn-off to many Filipinos who take the “easy route” and leave for abroad;
2) a nuisance, yes, but not something that will make me pack my bags
or
3) a challenge that needs to be addressed in one’s own little ways,
My idealistic and crazy teachers (who also had mouths to feed by the way) foolishly believed that somehow, at least some of their students won’t take the easy route and instead be as crazy as them by thinking like #2 or (better yet) #3 above.
As I said, staying in the Philippines doesn’t work for everybody–you have to be crazy and bold enough to take up the challenge.
But if you do, and if you have the right attitude–the rewards are tremendous (and yes, this includes financial rewards!).
October 9th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Response to Diablo:
I respect your opinion that the US may be more corrupt than our own country the Philippines and for some part I agree with you but not totally. Maybe the Philippine economy is one of the best in Asia now (that I need to research more). Well, that is your perception and you are entitled to that. My strong opinion is the other way around. The US economy seems going down but has not yet collapsed. Eventually, if that happens the rest of the nations will follow suit including our country. But maybe corruption in the US is just a part of it but not the major reason. Dont get me wrong coz this is just a forum of what we have experienced vice our perception. If you claim that corruption in the Philippines is not as bad as the United States, then why is it that almost everyday, people lined up in the US embassy just to get US visa? If corruption is so bad in the United States, then why our professionals such as engineers, nurses, teachers and doctors prefer to work and earn money in the US than back home in the Philippines? Why is it that we cant even uplift the standard of living of the most marginalized sector of the society which are the urban and the rural poor? Dont you think that problem in Mindanao was not rooted from corruption since time immemorial ? I agree the OFW’s are the ones helping our economy grow and I salute them for that. But dont issue a blanket statement that everything is well and good when what you can see is just the superficial aspect of economic resilience and growth as what was being claimed by GMA and the daily tabloids. There are good and bad in the US as well as in the Philippines. Soon, the US may not be the worlds leading economy and it may shift to Asia. That is part of global change and I have no problem with that. But by ratio and proportion, cases of corruption may be more in the Philippines if anyone in this forum would agree or disagree and lets just be honest. If you got pulled over for traffic violation in the US, youll go to jail if you offer bribe. I dont know back home if “lagay” is common. If your in trouble or got into an accident, just call 911 and help will be there in 5 minutes. Back home, some policemen would even rob you. Our country is a nation of rich natural resources and of great people and Im proud to be a Filipino. But Im not afraid to admit our mistakes and all the negative on us that we need to change. If we can think collectively as a nation that we’re willing to move forward, work together and grow, then we could probably be the best nation on earth. For now, we are no longer talking of corruption here but ask yourself why do more and more Filipinos leave our country to work overseas as OFW’s if you claim that our economy is resilient ang growing? if corruption is not as bad compared to other countries? Some of us even decide to live abroad and bring their family for good. Why?