I suggest that before any of you decide to bash a whole country (the Philippines) as a source of second-rate or even third-rate writers, do your research. You can do that, right? I mean, that is what you do for a living?

The reason writers in the Philippines get paid lower because we can afford to accept lower as the standard of living is lower here (e.g. we don't pay US$5 for a McDonald's Meal) but that does not mean the work we do is substandard. I know for a fact that people Stateside are grumbling about the amount of customer service and other labor-intensive work that is outsourced which may be the reason for all this angst. But the truth is, Filipinos are just as good, maybe even better at spoken and written English than most Americans. If you don't believe me, look it up. Better yet, show me yours and I'll show you mine. I'm 100% Filipino in the Philippines and I'm quite proud of the fact that I am extremely proficient in two languages instead of one.