More about Philippines & Australia

The health service is another thing where concept is very different. In the Philippines you have to pay for a visit to a doctor or hospital or to a health professional, but the service is very much better. You are seen more promptly, and always by people who know what they are doing. Senior Citizens have 25% discount and children below eighteen will pay for medicines. In Australia prescriptions are free for children, Senior Citizens and pregnant women. Availability of medicine is much better in Australia.

Perhaps the best thing about Australia is the lack of corruption. This is what holds the Philippines back, and keeps it as a third world country. In Australia there is very little abuse of power. You can even trust the police, who in the Philippines are among the major sponsors of crime, and are regularly in the pay of criminal gangs.

Corruption has also destroyed much of the nature and wildlife in the Philippines. Nature reserves are not respected, but often destroyed by illegal loggers. The Philippines has many rare birds, plants and animals, but most of them are threatened with extinction through corruption and greed. The regulations protecting nature in Australia are, in this case very beneficial. The spring flowers and trees are delightful.

In general the standard of living in Australia is higher than the Philippines. Much of this is due to the lack of corruption, but some is structural.

Probably the biggest difference is the concept of the family. In the Philippines most people live as part of an extended family. Everyone looks after each other. Old people are cared for in the family, rather than being put into homes. There are people to share the task of looking after both the very young and the very old. So mothers do not have to spend money in the child care, and can easily work if they want to. Each family will normally have a primary bread-winner, who need not necessarily be the father. And other family members are not charged rent, but contribute to the household naturally out of respect and duty. Younger people show respect to older people, and address them “sir” to a man and “ma’am or Madam” to a woman and so on.

Television is noticeably different. Australian television is full of bad words and frequently portrays awful people doing awful things. In the Philippines, television frequently portrays violence but always in the context of a moral point, which is made explicitly in most programmes. Actors and actresses are glamorous and careful with their appearance. It seems that in Australia, role models are often not elevating. This is also true of newspapers; many papers contain degrading tittle-tattle rather than any real news.