How Indo, Thailand, Vietnam Left Economically Ph

By Mortz C. Ortigoza 

It did not stop to impress me how the once backwater Vietnam has gone to places.

In the 1960's war with the Americans, French President Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle called Vietnam as "ce pays pourri (this rotten country) despite the poor country defeating the French in the 1950's war. France sucked out - just like those greedy European countries - the "blood" of IndoChina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) as its colony for centuries.

Look at Vietnam now. After it adopted the 100 percent foreign ownership of businesses on its Constitution, foreign investments flock there because of its cheap labor.

Vietnam has eclipsed the Philippines because investors shun the latter due to its fundamental law that provides 40 percent ownership to foreign investors while 60 percent goes to Filipino oligarchs like the Lopez, Sy, Gokongwei, Aboitiz, Ang, Pangilinan, and others.

We need Congress to amend the economics provision of our Constitution so we could be liked Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.