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Morning Citizens of the Philippines,

As promised in my article Question Time I shall post the answers to all the questions posed to me.

I had a number of good questions sent to me via PM and in the comments section of my article, and some not so good ones of the forum. Tsk tsk forumites, you let the side down. Regardless, thanks to all those that took the time to read my manifestos and especially those who put together eloquently worded queries. A special thanks to Reclusive Monkey who actually caused me to break out into a sweat there at one point! Good to have an intellectual work out from time to time.

Without further ado:

1.) "We were wondering about your benchmark system first off its a great idea its help our company plan our budget rather easily based on a steady exchange rate we were wondering though if the benchmark was going to be permanently established at 50 or if the benchmark will eventually rise which would greatly help the exporters of the nation like myself who pay the top wages possible and skim out an economically viable company any light you can shed on the subject would be greatly appreciated" - Tricell Inc (sent via PM)

Hi

I suppose the simple answer to this will be: we'll see how the benchmark of 50PHP = 1Gold effects the economy before we make any further plans. Currently the MM fluctuates (though it has improved of late) and so the plan is to first stabilise.

However, I do realise that most companies in the Philippines are both relatively small and export abroad, and this will certainly be taken into consideration when making changes to the benchmark. I myself run a small export company and realise how easy it is to loose cash by simply converting to gold in high benchmarked countries and then returning to the Philippines.

Just so you know, discussion on benchmarking will be opened on the Philippines forum, so that business men such as yourselves can have input on the matter.

I hope this answers your question.
HazzN

2. "which will you give more priority? military or industry?" - Juan de Minda

Both are heavily reliant on each other. After all, our military could not function without steady supply from local industry. On the flip side of that, most industry is heavily reliant on war to make sales (such as weapons, gifts, moving tickets to an extent and all the raw materials associated with them). This makes it a difficult question to answer.

Both are equally important on my list of priorities, is perhaps the best answer I can give. I want to help local businesses and will do that by providing contracts to supply the military. With a good supplies our military is then able to go on more training missions and improve that way. Hopefully the plan will allow both sectors to grow.

3. "What do you feel the role of Congress is? (Other than debating and voting on law proposals)" - Reclusive Monkey

Congress are there to serve the public. They represent the people of their region, and in my opinion, they should be involved with regional activities. Part of the Entertainment Teams job will be to set up inter-regional competitions, which I hope Congressmen would get involved in. On a more serious note, they should also be an open ear to their public and willing to take any issue to congress that a member of the public feels strongly about.

4. "How do you think the government should communicate with people who do not wish to join the forums?" - Reclusive Monkey

This was one of my arguments in the UK. Not everyone has time for forums and they certainly should not be forced to. Currently the government does as much as it can in-game, which is a tradition I hope to keep to. However, the country could do with being more informed. I note that the latest batch of "lulz proposals" has caused concern for a few members of the public. If I were elected, I would certainly be releasing regular articles to update the public, and would encourage members of the cabinet and congress to do the same.

5. "How do you think the government can attract more businesses to the Philippines?" Reclusive Monkey

There are a few issues in this question.

a) Our main industry should be oil mining, however, not enough people are skilled enough in land making finding workers difficult. Encouraging foreign companies to come here will only make this situation worse. Nikko suggested in Congress that we need to encourage more people into land skills as this is where most new companies will appear. I believe he is right. However, I think if a person can get a Skill 7 job in manufacture, they won't take a Skill 0 job in land because of the pay cut. It's a tricky situation.

b) Foreign investors wish to come here so they can export oil to their own countries. Already the Foreign Affairs team have been dealing with queries regarding this. This is good, in a sense, and kudos to our Ambassadors. The government makes money from export. However, what about our home markets? Last time I looked, it was somewhat difficult to sell any Raw Material in the Philippines. It seems odd to me that we would allow foreigners to steal all our workers, and then let our own market suffer for it. Local companies are finding it hard to make Raw Materials and will collapse if they can't make the sale and pay their workers.

In the end I suppose, my answer would be: support local industry first and foremost. This will be done using government contracts as best we can. Foreigners are welcome, but should not expect to be treated better than our local companies.

6. " What do you think is a more important attribute for a government official; activity or experience (both is not an acceptable answer! 😉 )" - Reclusive Monkey

I can't answer this with anything other than "both", or at least "a combination of the two."

Having an active person in congress is great, but if they don't know what they are doing, their efforts become counter productive.

Having an experienced person in congress is good because they can be the voice of reason and guide decision making, however, if they are never around, then there is no point having them there.

If I had to answer with something other than "both" I would say experience. Simply because the mistakes made my an overly exuberant member of congress could be costly, whilst an inactive experienced person causes no damage. Ideally though, I would look for an assortment of both.

7. "Do you think the Philippines could survive a military attack without the current UK contingent? (Bit rhetorical I know! Maybe give an idea of how long they might be able to put up a fight)" - Reclusive Monkey (again ;o) )

I'm not sure if you have seen the latest stats, but the Philippine Military Academy is proving to work very well. We have a good assortment of 50+ damage providers from the locals. Average strength is around 4, which is better than most. I'd say we could hold our own.

7 cont. "You do know we neighbour Indonesia don't you? 😉 I wasn't trying to play down your efforts in the Military, they have been excellent. I just don't know whether the "Nationalistic" members of the Philippines appreciate the protection that non-native born Filipinos provide." - Reclusive Monkey

As for our neighbour being Indonesia, yes faced by Indonesia, and in fact the whole of PEACE we wouldn't stand a chance. I think very few countries would. We saw the "great" USA crumble under an attack from Mexico simply because the had PEACE support. This is why we are going to great lengths to keep communications open with PEACE and staying on good terms with them.

However, if we were faced by Malaysia, who is another of our neighbours, I think we would fair much better. I think an attack from them is more likely at this point then Indonesia.

7 cont. "[The] average military strength in Malaysia is 4.93 as of right now. In the Philippines its 4.32." - Reclusive Monkey

Two things regarding strength. Yes they have a higher average but:

1. Our soldiers are generally of higher rank as they have regular excursions abroad. This means they do more damage. I don't know if you have ever played with the damage calculator, but you will see that rank makes quite the difference.

2. We have more citizens than they do. Do the calculations, we have approx 200 more strength then them.

Trust me on this, only last night I was chatting on the Malaysian IRC channel and we were discussing this very subject.

8."What do you think about the relationship between congress and the government? Congress only votes on the law proposals, and as we all know this is small part of the game. One of the reasons I resigned from Congress was that I was very disappointed with the response I got from some members of the Government when asking questions as I am sure you are aware." - Reclusive Monkey

Well when it comes down to it, the people selected to work in the cabinet are picked because they are good at what they do. The general day to day running of say for example: the military, really does not need to be discussed in Congress. It would waste time. Just let the Directors get on with it, as long as they are reporting to the Country President, who has been selected by the public to run the country, then I see no issue.

Obviously large country effecting issues would be raised in congress, such as declaring war on another country, as it would effect every citizen. I think this is the main distinction. A member of congress represents the people. They should be taking concerns to the government, involving themselves in the discussion and then reporting back to their constituents. Or vica versa.

Also to point out, there seems to be line being drawn between cabinet and congress. This should not be the case. If a member of congress wants to be more involved, there is absolutely nothing stopping him or her applying for a position in a Department, or approaching a Director and asking if they can help out. Especially if I win the election, there will be more than enough positions to go round. Let people work in areas that are their strengths and leave them to get on with their job, and no harm will come. But if congress try and micromanage the Cabinet, efficiency will drop dramatically. We'd be in a position where it would take months to get anything done.

9. "Is there anything you feel needs major improvements/changes?" - hoskin

BBB has done an excellent job. My main concern at the moment is helping local industry off the ground, and providing supplies for our military. Thankfully these two issues can be sorted at the same time.

Another thing I would like to address is the need for a population boom. The more people that live here, the more workers we have, the better industry does. It also allows fresh blood into government, and the military. It generally gets everything moving.

10. "While our country is rather small it still can influence other nations. How do you plan to use that influence in affairs not directly affecting the Philippines?" - Alex of Mac

I am writing my Foreign Affairs policies as we speak. By "not directly affect" do you mean not having "negative consequences." As I hope some of the Foreign Affairs policies will in fact improve our nation.

We are currently in the process of joining PEACE, something our previous President started. Now regardless on what you have heard about PEACE, whether you like them or not, I will make a stand and say it is a good idea. We border Indonesia, perhaps one of the largest super powers in the eWorld, and they can at times be unpredictable. Indonesia is a member of PEACE, and by joining them we pretty much guarantee our safety. This will be my main priority.

I would also like to improve relations with Malaysia. They are another of our neighbours, and from chatting to some of them recently, seem like decent people. They are of a similar size to us in terms of population, and so war games might not be our of the question. I feel small countries teaming up together also helps protect us against some of the giants out there. It is good to stick together in case of attack or political take over.

10 cont. "sorry, to clarify: I meant how would you use the this influence to affect the events of the eWorld outside our sphere. As opposed to those that actually affect us directly (which would be a separate question)."

Oh I see. Ok, well their are three ways to influence other nations, political take overs, wars and diplomacy.

I wouldn't consider carrying out an organised PTO on an enemy ever. I think it is an underhand tactic, and not one I would want associated with our nation.

In terms of war, I would only involve our troops if their was a possible threat to our shores or that of our enemies. Other battles can be used as training wars, though I would take steps that we would not move the balance of a fight in any direction.

I like diplomacy, and making friends across nations is a great idea. However, I would hesitate to force my opinion on any other government. After all, their nation would be for them to run, and not mine. The only reason I would put up a particularly good debate, is if it benefited the Philippines in some way.

Onto some of the forum questions...

11. "[Can I have your] autograph please?"

Signe😛 To my biggest fan
HazzN


12. "What are your views on the connection between the military industrial complex and imminent demise of Barry Scott?" - Lee Richards

I like Pineapples.

13. "What is your zombie plan?" - Lee Richards (Professional Court Jester)

Well first I would announce a state of emergency. Then I would suggest everyone meet at their local Shopping Mall. Then we would head out to the docks and head out to sea. Hopefully we would find an island that is uninhabited. We would then all shag Meghan and repopulate the Earth.

The forum thread then descended into unsavoury discussion on zombies and women...

I hope this turns out formatted properly.