March 2003
Destination: Manila

Barako
vs.
the Western
by Benedict T. Navarro

The proliferation of foreign coffee shops in the country damages the local coffee industry. Not only these foreign coffee shops add another thing in our colonial minded society, but they also steal those kapeng barako-lovers from the local coffee market.The entrance of Starbucks Coffee in the late 90's opened the gateway for the other foreign coffee players to dominate the local market. The other two main players are the Seattle's Best and Coffee California. They all promise to offer a new coffee experience to the barako-loving Filipinos. Moreover, they all promise to welcome you to rekindle your passion for fresh-brewed coffee, handcrafted espresso beverages, Frappuccino-iced blended beverages and delicious fresh baked goods.

This resulted in the alteration of the Filipino taste of what a homegrown coffee is. Everytime they think of where to grab a tall macchiato, they will automatically head to the nearest Starbucks Coffee.

In the government's quest of making our economy as global as they want it to be, they not only hastened the entry of these foreign coffee shops in our market, they also elevated the hegemonic status of these foreign players. However, they have forgotten to pave the way for the local coffee industry. They give more priority and attention these foreign coffee shops while slowing down the growth of our coffee industry.

The aim of the government to have a global economy is not really a bad thing. One of the reasons why this global thinking is a bad thing is that we tend to marginalize the local products. Thus leaving them behind.

We, Filipinos contribute to the downfall of our own economy. The oh-so global thinking of our government and our own colonial mindset have contributed in bringing our economy down to its knees.

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