Comparing Vietnam and the Philippines
I was in Vietnam last week and I saw how the country has impressively leapfrogged to overtake the Philippines economically. Our country has been left behind, as clearly visible on the ground and as shown by statistics. Vietnam’s economic pace will leave us even farther behind in the years to come, if our politics continues its downward trend.
Prior to my most recent trip to Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon), Vietnam’s center of commerce, the previous time I visited the city was 15 years ago. The time lapse between my visits made me see the stark difference between the city’s past and present. A decade and a half ago, the Vietnamese city looked like a big version of Binondo, Manila, with its dilapidated and grimy two-story shops. Back then, it was frighteningly difficult for tourists to cross the streets because of the huge swarms of motorcycles flowing unendingly. Cars were the overwhelming exception in comparison to the gazillion motorcycles plying the city roads in those years. Metro Manila was way more cosmopolitan back then.
Fast forward to the present, and it’s clear that Ho Chi Minh has undergone a tremendous transformation. Modern skyscrapers now dot the city. Private cars occupy more space on the roads compared to motorcycles. Vietnam is now producing its own line of vehicles under the “VinFast” brand name. The Vietnamese people widely patronize their homegrown vehicle brand because so many VinFast car models (sedans, SUVs, vans, and buses) are on the road. There are also the ubiquitous minibuses, sleek and airconditioned, whose designated stops have modern waiting sheds equipped with digital monitor boards that show the arrival time of buses, similar to those in European cities.
Unlike years back, when dingy stores and makeshift eateries proliferated, shops and restaurants with artsy designs and an ambiance of sophistication now abound. One telling indication that the communist country has a more democratized economy compared to the Philippines is the kind of shops that one observes in both countries—in Metro Manila, big business franchise stores have an overbearing presence; in Ho Chi Minh, a plethora of single-store shops dominate. For example, in contrast to our Starbucks-studded coffee shop industry, family-owned cafés offering an unlimited permutation of flavored coffee (e.g., egg, salt, passion fruit, coconut, mango, lychee) are flourishing in Ho Chi Minh. From an array of local products offered in their stores, one also sees that Vietnam’s agricultural outputs are processed into a variety of finished goods, unlike in the Philippines where farm produce is mostly sold in its unprocessed form.
There’s also one telling indication that one observes during morning rush hour. In Ho Chi Minh, one gets the sense that the people rushing on the road are entrepreneurs on their way to open their businesses or preparing to ply their wares on the streets. In Metro Manila, the feeling that one gets is that the people commuting are employees on their way to perform jobs in business or corporate establishments. One feels the eager energy of small business owners rushing to their shops in Ho Chi Minh, while one senses the catatonic deportment of employees on their way to their desk jobs in Metro Manila.
Tourism is one of the powerful drivers of Vietnam’s economic growth. Vietnam draws in 20 million tourists annually compared to the Philippines’ 6 million. It’s not hard to understand the reason for the huge disparity. The Vietnamese government is aggressively investing in the infrastructure and aesthetic enhancement of its tourist destinations, unlike in the Philippines, where government support in tourism is mere tokenism.
What is apparent on the ground can be confirmed by statistics. Five years ago, Vietnam had already economically overtaken the Philippines. Vietnam’s per capita income is at $4,717, while that of the Philippines is at $3,985, per 2024 World Bank figures. When translated to purchasing power parity, Vietnam’s real living standards are significantly higher at roughly $17,480 compared to the Philippines’ $12,913.
While Vietnam remains a communist country politically, its economy has heavy features of both capitalism, insofar as it encourages foreign investments and private competition, and socialism because of its heavy public spending in infrastructure and utilities that help spur economic activity. Vietnam has its share of serious corruption like the Philippines, but it still manages to improve its people’s lives more effectively.
One area, though, where Vietnam lags behind the Philippines is in the visual arts. The limited freedom of expression in Vietnam has restricted the creativity of Vietnamese artists, confining them to depict landscapes and noncontroversial subjects. In contrast, the Philippine art scene is a riot of uninhibited visual expression. But that’s little comfort for a people who are free to condemn the many faces of injustice around them, but not free to escape from these societal plagues.
Vietnam is one more proof that it’s not the form of government that lies at the heart of our problems. It’s the breed of political and business leaders who abuse power and monopolize resources that blight our people’s lives.
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