Are you trained to be clinicians who diagnose musculoskeletal problems then prescribe a course of treatment?
The standards of physiotherapy practice here meets to the international standards and criteria of practice of physiotherapy within Asian countries. A physiotherapist here has the right to assess, diagnose and make a management paln withing the scope of his profession.

Manual therapy while just a part of practice of physiotherapy dealing with musculoskeletal disorders constitute one aspect of dealing the some problems of physiotherapy while profession is very vast dealing many wide aspects of problems that Physiotherapist treats.

In your countries (wherever all these readers are from), what emphasis does electro have?
Electrotherapy is studied here in a lot of extensive detail here in Physiotherapy schools as a major subject spending almost two years and more studying it. The scope of electrotherapy with the framework of musculoskeletal problems is just a part of routine management plan and it is not used in isolation as a treatment. So electrotherapy is not bypassed here in the treatment regimes as textbooks have good recommendations regarding their use. So electrotherapy forms a part of treatment regime.

It is just that i have found that using manual therapy and specific exercises much more effective.
Manual therapy in good hands has been found to be effective as claimed by many therapists. There are studies which support and argue with that as has been seen in topic discussed in detail else where in this forum. But only where it is felt after assessment that manual therapy is needed gives good results and where it is not needed give no results. Perhaps manual therapy have good justification only in mechanical disorders of musculoskeletal origin only. For example metabolic disorders like Osteoporsis, osteomalasia, inflammatroy arthropathies like AS, arthritis have no justification for passive moment therapies ( Mobilization, manipulation).