[In This Economy] How traveling abroad made me see the real state of the nation

This year, for the first time in eight years, I missed joining Rappler’s live coverage of the State of the Nation Address (SONA). I was traveling with my boyfriend to Bangkok more than a week before classes resumed at UP Diliman.

Yet I still watched the fourth SONA of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and I made a video reaction that’s gone viral on TikTok, I’m happy to say. You can watch that here.

This year’s SONA is exceptionally populist. At the same time, Marcos seems outraged by the corruption in flood control projects. But he may be forgetting that he himself signed off on all those dubious projects — so he should be angry at himself instead! At the same time, that portion of the SONA got the most applause and cheers, making you wonder: Are the lawmakers decrying or celebrating the fact that many of them profited from those flood control projects?

Anyway, in this column, let me revisit the SONA through a different lens: my vacation to Bangkok. Sometimes, the best way to know the real state of the nation is by going out of it.

Thailand showcases just how much the Philippines has fallen behind. You see, immediately after World War II, Thailand used to be so much poorer than the Philippines. But their income rose rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s, so that by 1985 — just as the Philippines was in the throes of its worst recession under the Marcos dictatorship — Thailand overtook us in terms of income per capita. The gap between us has only widened since then.

Signs of Thai prosperity hit you almost immediately as you arrive. Suvarnabhumi Airport is Thailand’s biggest and busiest airport, but going around it is intuitive and convenient and even pleasant. Elements of Thai culture abound, including a huge statue depicting a tug-of-war between Hindu gods and demons.

By contrast, our NAIA terminals are old and funky and sterile. NAIA Terminal 3, for instance, has the air of a neglected hospital. I’m still haunted by the viral news of a rat scampering about in NAIA 3, as if from a scene in Ratatouille, but not at all charming. In the carousels, many luggages are wrapped in plastic — showing you that we’re a much less trusting society (and for good reason, given the past “laglag-bala” or bullet-planting shenanigans).

Areas under construction near the food hall are also laid bare for all passengers to see. Some travelators work, some don’t. And food choices are severely limited. NAIA 3 is supposed to be our biggest airport, yet it’s positively provincial compared to the big Southeast Asian airports like Suvarnabhumi and Changi.

Then when you step out of Suvanabhumi, it’s so easy to hail a Grab, and drivers are professional and courteous. When we got back from vacation via NAIA 3, booking a TNVS ride took us forever, and the Grab pickup area is tucked away in a corner of NAIA 3, a long way from the arrival bays.

When we got back, we also experienced our worst ride with a TNVS ever (not Grab). The driver didn’t offer to load our bags in the trunk, and that was a red flag of things to come. He knew how to use the Skyway, his car’s RFID had no load, he missed the exit (adding at least an hour to the already painful drive through rush hour), he drove slowly because he kept getting distracted by pings of potential new bookings, and on top of everything he didn’t seem to have his license with him. In the backseat, breathing became difficult at one point, for I felt trapped by the driver’s incompetence. All in all, we spent more than two hours on the road, and we ended up more tired in the car than flying from Thailand!

Going around Bangkok is a breeze compared to Manila. Sure, they also have traffic jams, but usually only near the big malls in downtown Bangkok. There are elevated “skywalks” connecting the biggest malls, so you can easily walk if you don’t want to endure the traffic. By contrast, just crossing SM North to TriNoma in Quezon City is a lot like an obstacle course, and the North Triangle Common Station has been languishing for years.

Those skywalks are right under the BTS Skytrain, their version of LRT/MRT, and the stations are airy and not claustrophobic and dark compared to MRT stations. For years now, you could use your credit or debit card to pay — unlike in the Philippines, where cashless transactions were introduced literally only in the past week, and only at MRT stations.

Apart from being exceptionally flavorful, Thai food is also cheaper. Your money will have more purchasing power in Bangkok than in Manila. Thais are big spenders like Filipinos, but in Bangkok there’s a much greater variety of brands, some of which can’t be found anywhere in Manila.

You can also tell a lot from a culture by way of the businesses there. Small businesses are not required to brandish their business permits, unlike in the Philippines, where even parking cashier booths are required to show a mayor’s permit, barangay permit, tax certificates, and so on.

In Thai groceries, there are entire sections dedicated to coconut products — leaving me with the impression that they’ve capitalized on coconut derivatives in a way we haven’t. (Which is ironic because coconut is life in the Philippines.) In one provincial trip we took, there’s a stop at Buffalo Amphawa, a hotel and café featuring as a main attraction two albino water buffalos. In my mind, it is a perfect example of agri-tourism.

A lot of businesses are also centered on Thailand’s rivers and canals, like boat rides and dinner cruises along the mighty Chao Phraya River, and the floating markets in the provinces. Even though you go through the esteros by boat, there’s no foul smell at all. We even spotted cranes and at least two monitor lizards, a testament to how clean the environment is. Compare that to our rivers and canals, which reek. Along Pasig, the ferry option is not so reliable, and only a few ever use it.

Finally, Thailand is also more progressive in many respects. Only in 2022, Thailand effectively decriminalized the recreational use of cannabis (marijuana), yet there’s no sign that Thai society is on the brink of collapse. By contrast, in the Philippines, there’s still wide use of drugs under the radar — even among those close to high-ranking government officials — rendering the supposed Duterte “war on drugs” hypocritical. 

Then, only in January 2025, same-sex marriages were allowed in Thailand as well, the first Southeast Asian country to do so. Rainbow flags are everywhere, even outside of Pride Month.

For Filipinos touring Thailand, you can’t help but compare our state of affairs with theirs. At least once you’ll wonder, “Should I live and work here?” Sad to say, the Philippines has been left behind in so many respects. This is why traveling will give you a much better idea of the state of the nation than any presidential address will do. – Rappler.com

You can also read my reflections on Thailand last year.JC Punongbayan, PhD is an assistant professor at the UP School of Economics and the author of False Nostalgia: The Marcos “Golden Age” Myths and How to Debunk Them. In 2024, he received The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award for economics. Follow him on Instagram (@jcpunongbayan).