I arrived for the Philippines about five
years ago
our next assignment to like business and
investment reports on this country one
day one of the men I was interviewing he
called me a parachute journalist
what’s the parachute journalist he says
yeah you’re one of these foreigners you
come to our country you write a quick
report and then you leave you don’t
really understand the Philippines how
dare you
I studied at top university in Europe
and these reports go into prestigious
international magazines I’m gonna show
these Filipinos I really do understand
your country so what did I do
the next day I went to green hills and I
bought the finest Baron Tagalog I could
find and the following day I showed up
at my interview and I expected the
gentleman I was interesting to be very
impressed with my new attire confused
and concerned look on his face you do
realize if you are a baron tagalog you
really should wear an undergarment
so imagine air conditioning on max there
I am in this beautifully embroidered and
yet rather transparent barong Tagalog
don’t imagine it too much now after that
day I decided never to wear a barrel
Tagalog again so I was this guy I was
dressed in a suit and I was interviewing
other people in suits or barons all
across Metro Manila I was going from the
business districts to malikan yang one
day on the way to Melancon yang I was on
Rockhouse Boulevard stops at traffic
lights and some kids looks inside the
window and they saw something of
interest americano
they said composing myself once more
some other kids started tapping on the
window and calling me Joe I thought I
was a bit confused I thought maybe in
some case of mistaken identity here they
said some at the driver I said can I
wind down the wind
and tell these kids I’m neither Jew nor
americano I’m Tom from England but the
way he responded to me was very
revealing
he said all recommend you do that if you
wind down your window these kids will
probably rob you so I didn’t wind down
the window and I went back that evening
to my 34th floor condominium in Sado
Village but I had this thought in my
head I said why would anyone bother
reading my reports if I’m that
disconnected from the ground
I’ve had enough of writing these kind of
false reports and I wanted to really
write a report which told a more
authentic story of this country and a
story which would give me hope and so
people started telling me you’ve got to
meet this guy now this is Tony mulatto
you’re not familiar with who Tony Moten
is I’m sure you are familiar with the
organization he started coward killing
ER so I did a bit of research on GK I
fixed up an interview expected it to
last about 30 minutes three hours later
I’m staring back at this clipboard of
questions and Tony had challenged me to
see this country in an entirely
different light in particular he said
Tom you talked a lot about inclusive
growth the only way we’re going to
achieve an inclusive growth in this
country is if we unleash the genius of
the Filipino poor of the poor it’s
genius in the poor then Y of a poor it
didn’t make sense Tony said to me don’t
take my word for it go and discover it
for yourself it’s time you ditched that
shirt and time so I thought about it for
a short while and I thought okay so I
spent one year living in the communities
of Goward Kalinga and that journey it
was a life-changing journey for me and
there’s two key reasons why this
one-year journey had such a major
impression on me the first is by Annie
Hannah now let me tell you how I first
discovered what by any ham was so
remember I had that car and a driver I
had to give all of that up and I have to
start taking jeepneys go wrong if a
bridge takes a jeepney for the first
time I’ve already messed up with the
barong Tagalog right what could go
maybe you think I don’t know where the
tea is going but there you re I did my
research I learned the words ebar Bao
and Eli Lim
I learned other words I learned by ad
Paul I even learned pad Apple and the
strangest thing for me which I learnt
coming from London was that if the
driver can’t hear you when you say
parable you have to start whacking the
roof very strange anyway I thought I was
well prepared and my baptism of fire for
taking jeepneys my very first evening
experience was along Commonwealth Avenue
in case you’re not familiar this is 8
lanes of pure chaos the highway of hell
so I stopped the jeepney and you may
think I’m quite tall so probably I
couldn’t find a comfortable seat but I
was ok I found a nice little seat
squished between a couple of plump
cheetahs at the back so it’s actually
quite comfy and then after about a
minute I thought oh would do in that
situation I’m sat at the back got a
backpack on and I jump up and then I
turn around and as I turn around I whack
the teacher in the face with my back and
then we’re going about 40 miles an hour
right now along the highway of hell and
I’m making my way from the back all the
way to the front treading on people’s
toes backing someone else in the face
don’t worry I remembered my line but my
hand on his shoulder and I said bye had
poor looks around a bit confused
but I give him 10 pesos he gives me to
faceless change and then I what happens
I figured all the way back so I finally
make my way to the back of achieve me
and I had the impression I am the least
popular person in the history of taking
TVs ever to take a jeepney but I’m
looking back everyone else in the Jeep
me thinking you know what it’s not my
fault
it’s a stupid system in London we have
an electronic card we paid a driver it’s
so easy and it’s safe later another lady
gets on
opposite me I’m thinking to myself it’s
gonna have exactly the same problem I
had something which surprised me from a
pocket next to her and that person
passed it it’s the person next to them
I’m watching this thinking oh so that is
how you do it
in the Philippines because of course
it’s possible to pay for a jeepney on
your own I mean I managed it but it’s a
lot easier if you do it together right
and this is the spirit of bayanihan
how I first discovered it and if I think
back to that first interview with Tony
mulatto he said to me the Philippines
has no excuse to be poor and I thought
of course it has a lot of excuses to be
poor as health problems infrastructure
education corruption I could go on and
on and on and yet today I know he’s
absolutely right because we don’t have
that spirit of bayanihan in the UK you
guys have it it’s beautiful and yet
there’s so much inequality but what’s
more I saw in the communities of Gao
filling that I visited I saw how slums
really were being transformed one
community at a time into colorful and
peaceful communities like this that’s
the first value by any Han the second is
Wei Liang you banana now when I first
came across this expression I checked
out in the dictionary
I was like okay no one left behind okay
that makes sense I can understand that
until I fully grasped what why lying
even and needs the end of my one year
journey in these communities it was
Christmastime and a major typhoon had
just shocked the Philippines and I was
stuck on an island in one of the
affected areas all on my own and all of
my family and my friends had gone back
to Europe my Filipino friends of course
were with their families so for the
first time in my journey I felt a little
bit left
Hinde so I asked a friend I said what
can I do this Christmas time it’s
Christmas Eve why don’t you go to the
local gk village well okay it’s better
than being on my own at Christmastime I
wasn’t super excited about it I’ve got
to be honest I was feeling a bit
miserable he said don’t you worry I’m
gonna sort it out so I don’t know he had
globe and he sent a message to the
community that had smart or son I got
remember which one and probably because
the typhoon had struck that message
never got there so I jump on the back of
a howl howl or a motorbike and I make my
way from the touristy area of the island
to the far side of the island and I jump
off the Hubble Hubble at about 6:00 p.m.
on Christmas Eve Merry Christmas guys
one of the first expressions I learnt in
the Philippines when I arrived here was
most people you can imagine the
situation there was three or four
minutes of panic I come from why is he
not with his family what do we do with
him now and the capita hyoeun president
of that community he came up to me and
he said um we weren’t going to celebrate
Christmas this year we lost everything
in the typhoon but now you’re here we’re
gonna make a party so there was one
gentleman in the community he was a
fisherman earlier that day he’d caught a
squid so he put the squid on the
barbecue yet another guy he had a Nokia
phone not a smartphone but one from like
2001 and it played music that was the
important thing and he took don’t you
worry sir I’d be DJ and we had someone
else there was no power in the community
right but we had someone with a
flashlight and he spent three hours
flashing off on off on off on off on off
and it was the disco lighting
and this was me Christmas Eve in anti an
island in Cebu this was before the
temple I came out it really is more fun
in the Philippines right if you can
create so much fun out of so little
resources more than that because that
night I went to sleep in one of the
community houses and I was sleeping in a
in a guru killing a house the bed was
not the mattress I was used to of course
it was a plank of wood but unfortunately
this plank of wood hadn’t been cut for
Caucasian dimensions what does that mean
it’s too short so there I am trying to
sleep on this bank of wood and my legs
are dangling off the end after a couple
of minutes I start ours I started to
feel a bit sorry for myself again I
thought you know what I should have just
stayed in a resort tonight I’d be so
much more comfortable and I went to the
CR and on the way to the CR in that
house on I saw the mother and father
lying on the floor and I realized I
couldn’t see the stars because I was in
the only house in the entire community
that still had a roof so I was in the
best house in the community and I was
sleeping in the matrimonial bed of the
best house in the community and for the
next two hours I couldn’t sleep either
because I was physically uncomfortable
very emotionally challenged by these
people got me thinking if someone is to
show up on my doorstep on Christmas Eve
from a faraway country in the East and
say hey can I come in can I have dinner
with you spying can I sleep in your bed
by the way what would I do I owe you
anything I’d give them a mince pie
that’s what we give it Christmas and
then I say on your way didn’t leave I
might well call the police
challenged me to become a better version
of myself because I learned what well
Lange un animun
because while Langer went on from the
translation meant me as a relatively
rich person giving a little bit of what
I have to the poor this community had
nothing and yet in that moment that one
moment of my journey where I was left
behind they gave me everything but they
possibly could so these stories appear
in the book I wrote and we published
that book it was trying to get back to
reality I had to get a pension plan I
had to get a serious job and I had to go
back to London you know what if I’d
stayed any longer in London I would have
probably got depressed
where was the Welling UN and a bayani
Hanna genius of the poor in London I
couldn’t access it and I was getting sad
you know what English people do when we
get sad we go to the pub I was down the
pub I was drinking beer and there was
one particular day I was drinking
probably on pint number three or four
and I was getting increasingly emotional
about my time in the Philippines I’m
starting to sound like Tito Tony himself
my friend he put his arm around my
shoulder and he said look Tom if it
really makes you feel any better I will
double my subscription listen to my
stories were to read my book I want him
to come and experience the genius of
these communities for himself so that’s
where I got my next idea I thought I’m
gonna set up a social tourism platform
mad travel we’re going to create fun and
fulfilling experiences in Gao killing of
communities and other communities all
across the Philippines not just for
foreigners let me stay because just like
the butterfly who perhaps doesn’t know
quite how beautiful his own wings are I
wonder if it’s time that Filipinos
themselves are reminded of the potential
for genius all around you
[Applause]
years ago
our next assignment to like business and
investment reports on this country one
day one of the men I was interviewing he
called me a parachute journalist
what’s the parachute journalist he says
yeah you’re one of these foreigners you
come to our country you write a quick
report and then you leave you don’t
really understand the Philippines how
dare you
I studied at top university in Europe
and these reports go into prestigious
international magazines I’m gonna show
these Filipinos I really do understand
your country so what did I do
the next day I went to green hills and I
bought the finest Baron Tagalog I could
find and the following day I showed up
at my interview and I expected the
gentleman I was interesting to be very
impressed with my new attire confused
and concerned look on his face you do
realize if you are a baron tagalog you
really should wear an undergarment
so imagine air conditioning on max there
I am in this beautifully embroidered and
yet rather transparent barong Tagalog
don’t imagine it too much now after that
day I decided never to wear a barrel
Tagalog again so I was this guy I was
dressed in a suit and I was interviewing
other people in suits or barons all
across Metro Manila I was going from the
business districts to malikan yang one
day on the way to Melancon yang I was on
Rockhouse Boulevard stops at traffic
lights and some kids looks inside the
window and they saw something of
interest americano
they said composing myself once more
some other kids started tapping on the
window and calling me Joe I thought I
was a bit confused I thought maybe in
some case of mistaken identity here they
said some at the driver I said can I
wind down the wind
and tell these kids I’m neither Jew nor
americano I’m Tom from England but the
way he responded to me was very
revealing
he said all recommend you do that if you
wind down your window these kids will
probably rob you so I didn’t wind down
the window and I went back that evening
to my 34th floor condominium in Sado
Village but I had this thought in my
head I said why would anyone bother
reading my reports if I’m that
disconnected from the ground
I’ve had enough of writing these kind of
false reports and I wanted to really
write a report which told a more
authentic story of this country and a
story which would give me hope and so
people started telling me you’ve got to
meet this guy now this is Tony mulatto
you’re not familiar with who Tony Moten
is I’m sure you are familiar with the
organization he started coward killing
ER so I did a bit of research on GK I
fixed up an interview expected it to
last about 30 minutes three hours later
I’m staring back at this clipboard of
questions and Tony had challenged me to
see this country in an entirely
different light in particular he said
Tom you talked a lot about inclusive
growth the only way we’re going to
achieve an inclusive growth in this
country is if we unleash the genius of
the Filipino poor of the poor it’s
genius in the poor then Y of a poor it
didn’t make sense Tony said to me don’t
take my word for it go and discover it
for yourself it’s time you ditched that
shirt and time so I thought about it for
a short while and I thought okay so I
spent one year living in the communities
of Goward Kalinga and that journey it
was a life-changing journey for me and
there’s two key reasons why this
one-year journey had such a major
impression on me the first is by Annie
Hannah now let me tell you how I first
discovered what by any ham was so
remember I had that car and a driver I
had to give all of that up and I have to
start taking jeepneys go wrong if a
bridge takes a jeepney for the first
time I’ve already messed up with the
barong Tagalog right what could go
maybe you think I don’t know where the
tea is going but there you re I did my
research I learned the words ebar Bao
and Eli Lim
I learned other words I learned by ad
Paul I even learned pad Apple and the
strangest thing for me which I learnt
coming from London was that if the
driver can’t hear you when you say
parable you have to start whacking the
roof very strange anyway I thought I was
well prepared and my baptism of fire for
taking jeepneys my very first evening
experience was along Commonwealth Avenue
in case you’re not familiar this is 8
lanes of pure chaos the highway of hell
so I stopped the jeepney and you may
think I’m quite tall so probably I
couldn’t find a comfortable seat but I
was ok I found a nice little seat
squished between a couple of plump
cheetahs at the back so it’s actually
quite comfy and then after about a
minute I thought oh would do in that
situation I’m sat at the back got a
backpack on and I jump up and then I
turn around and as I turn around I whack
the teacher in the face with my back and
then we’re going about 40 miles an hour
right now along the highway of hell and
I’m making my way from the back all the
way to the front treading on people’s
toes backing someone else in the face
don’t worry I remembered my line but my
hand on his shoulder and I said bye had
poor looks around a bit confused
but I give him 10 pesos he gives me to
faceless change and then I what happens
I figured all the way back so I finally
make my way to the back of achieve me
and I had the impression I am the least
popular person in the history of taking
TVs ever to take a jeepney but I’m
looking back everyone else in the Jeep
me thinking you know what it’s not my
fault
it’s a stupid system in London we have
an electronic card we paid a driver it’s
so easy and it’s safe later another lady
gets on
opposite me I’m thinking to myself it’s
gonna have exactly the same problem I
had something which surprised me from a
pocket next to her and that person
passed it it’s the person next to them
I’m watching this thinking oh so that is
how you do it
in the Philippines because of course
it’s possible to pay for a jeepney on
your own I mean I managed it but it’s a
lot easier if you do it together right
and this is the spirit of bayanihan
how I first discovered it and if I think
back to that first interview with Tony
mulatto he said to me the Philippines
has no excuse to be poor and I thought
of course it has a lot of excuses to be
poor as health problems infrastructure
education corruption I could go on and
on and on and yet today I know he’s
absolutely right because we don’t have
that spirit of bayanihan in the UK you
guys have it it’s beautiful and yet
there’s so much inequality but what’s
more I saw in the communities of Gao
filling that I visited I saw how slums
really were being transformed one
community at a time into colorful and
peaceful communities like this that’s
the first value by any Han the second is
Wei Liang you banana now when I first
came across this expression I checked
out in the dictionary
I was like okay no one left behind okay
that makes sense I can understand that
until I fully grasped what why lying
even and needs the end of my one year
journey in these communities it was
Christmastime and a major typhoon had
just shocked the Philippines and I was
stuck on an island in one of the
affected areas all on my own and all of
my family and my friends had gone back
to Europe my Filipino friends of course
were with their families so for the
first time in my journey I felt a little
bit left
Hinde so I asked a friend I said what
can I do this Christmas time it’s
Christmas Eve why don’t you go to the
local gk village well okay it’s better
than being on my own at Christmastime I
wasn’t super excited about it I’ve got
to be honest I was feeling a bit
miserable he said don’t you worry I’m
gonna sort it out so I don’t know he had
globe and he sent a message to the
community that had smart or son I got
remember which one and probably because
the typhoon had struck that message
never got there so I jump on the back of
a howl howl or a motorbike and I make my
way from the touristy area of the island
to the far side of the island and I jump
off the Hubble Hubble at about 6:00 p.m.
on Christmas Eve Merry Christmas guys
one of the first expressions I learnt in
the Philippines when I arrived here was
most people you can imagine the
situation there was three or four
minutes of panic I come from why is he
not with his family what do we do with
him now and the capita hyoeun president
of that community he came up to me and
he said um we weren’t going to celebrate
Christmas this year we lost everything
in the typhoon but now you’re here we’re
gonna make a party so there was one
gentleman in the community he was a
fisherman earlier that day he’d caught a
squid so he put the squid on the
barbecue yet another guy he had a Nokia
phone not a smartphone but one from like
2001 and it played music that was the
important thing and he took don’t you
worry sir I’d be DJ and we had someone
else there was no power in the community
right but we had someone with a
flashlight and he spent three hours
flashing off on off on off on off on off
and it was the disco lighting
and this was me Christmas Eve in anti an
island in Cebu this was before the
temple I came out it really is more fun
in the Philippines right if you can
create so much fun out of so little
resources more than that because that
night I went to sleep in one of the
community houses and I was sleeping in a
in a guru killing a house the bed was
not the mattress I was used to of course
it was a plank of wood but unfortunately
this plank of wood hadn’t been cut for
Caucasian dimensions what does that mean
it’s too short so there I am trying to
sleep on this bank of wood and my legs
are dangling off the end after a couple
of minutes I start ours I started to
feel a bit sorry for myself again I
thought you know what I should have just
stayed in a resort tonight I’d be so
much more comfortable and I went to the
CR and on the way to the CR in that
house on I saw the mother and father
lying on the floor and I realized I
couldn’t see the stars because I was in
the only house in the entire community
that still had a roof so I was in the
best house in the community and I was
sleeping in the matrimonial bed of the
best house in the community and for the
next two hours I couldn’t sleep either
because I was physically uncomfortable
very emotionally challenged by these
people got me thinking if someone is to
show up on my doorstep on Christmas Eve
from a faraway country in the East and
say hey can I come in can I have dinner
with you spying can I sleep in your bed
by the way what would I do I owe you
anything I’d give them a mince pie
that’s what we give it Christmas and
then I say on your way didn’t leave I
might well call the police
challenged me to become a better version
of myself because I learned what well
Lange un animun
because while Langer went on from the
translation meant me as a relatively
rich person giving a little bit of what
I have to the poor this community had
nothing and yet in that moment that one
moment of my journey where I was left
behind they gave me everything but they
possibly could so these stories appear
in the book I wrote and we published
that book it was trying to get back to
reality I had to get a pension plan I
had to get a serious job and I had to go
back to London you know what if I’d
stayed any longer in London I would have
probably got depressed
where was the Welling UN and a bayani
Hanna genius of the poor in London I
couldn’t access it and I was getting sad
you know what English people do when we
get sad we go to the pub I was down the
pub I was drinking beer and there was
one particular day I was drinking
probably on pint number three or four
and I was getting increasingly emotional
about my time in the Philippines I’m
starting to sound like Tito Tony himself
my friend he put his arm around my
shoulder and he said look Tom if it
really makes you feel any better I will
double my subscription listen to my
stories were to read my book I want him
to come and experience the genius of
these communities for himself so that’s
where I got my next idea I thought I’m
gonna set up a social tourism platform
mad travel we’re going to create fun and
fulfilling experiences in Gao killing of
communities and other communities all
across the Philippines not just for
foreigners let me stay because just like
the butterfly who perhaps doesn’t know
quite how beautiful his own wings are I
wonder if it’s time that Filipinos
themselves are reminded of the potential
for genius all around you
[Applause]
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