The Philippines is destined to fail, cursed, doomed, ill-fated, and hapless and will never be rich.

The
government is not the sole responsible for this catastrophe, but the people. Even after a thousand
years from now, this country will only be worse than better.
People may blame the government and corruption as the main factor why the Philippines is still a
third world country, despite having a small progress, but the reality remains clear. Filipinos are the
ones to blame and heres why.

1. Too Much Democracy and Freedom on Everything

More than 20 years since Marcos was ousted, followed by Estrada due to People Power,the
aftermath is even more catastrophic. Thanks to students, nuns, priests, and other anti-government
factions who turned the country into laughing stock and milking cow of todays politicians.

2. Colonial Mentality
When we have to stop believing and thinking that foreign products are better than our local
products? Lots of local businesses have closed or struggled because of this mentality.

3. Improper Mindset and Too Much Religion

God loves poor people, God love the ones who sacrifice, Pope Francis is Championof
Poor, so what now? There is nothing wrong on being religious because humans need spiritual
guidance, but this is ridiculous. So what if God loves poor people? Does God loving poor people and
the Pope being the champion of poor help the economy and feed ones family?

4. Indolence, Laziness, Ignorance, and Discipline

Why wait for tomorrow if we can do it today? How many tambay do we have in the Philippines?
Can we blame the government because we are tambay? Following a simple traffic rule like no
jaywalking can cause unexpected traffic that may delay ones job or business. Sa Japan or US wala
kang makikitang nag-uumpukan kaharap si Gin or si Emperador Light. Dito sa amin araw-araw
meron.

5. Modernization
Modernization does not always result to progress. A 10-hectare rice field that produces 30 tons of
rice every year when turned into a subdivision does not mean progress. Its moving backward
because we are turning food into wasteland.

6. Lack of Entrepreneurial Spirit

Study hard in order to find a good job, Study hard and work abroad so this is whatmost
parents want for their children to do. Very seldom say, Study hard and make money doing your
own business. Filipinos always complains that the rich are becoming richer and the poor are
becoming poorer without analyzing the real reasons behind. No one is becoming rich for being an
employee in his whole life (unless due to bribery and corruption). One has to have his own business
(big or small), in order to lift his social status.

7. Education, Tradition, Culture

The Philippines has a high literacy rate compared to other third world countries, but education is
still the main problem why the country is taken aback. There are also a number of traditions that held
ones chance to succeed even in simple things. A parent tells his daughter to study Nursing so that
she can work in London in the future, but later ended-up working in a call center because there is no
opportunity for her, or due to some other reasons. Another parent sends his son to an expensive
private school because his kumpares son is also there and he doesnt want to be left behind.
Unplanned education like this makes the whole family suffer.

8. Government Priorities
Setting aside the graft and corruption, the government is not doing any better in managing the whole
country. The OFW thing does not help the economy in the long-term basis. Talking about sending all
of your talents and skilled-workers abroad what we have left then? There is no financial balance as
well because when the dollar increases, it might be beneficial to OFWs, but local businesses that are
doing import/export transactions are suffering. Whats the point then? The government should
prioritize building more local jobs rather than sending people abroad. The Philippines was one of
major exporters of rice and sugar during 60s and 70s but now we are importing. Our agricultural
sector is dying because of lack of government support.

9. Political Dynasty and Corruption

Do I need to explain more about this issue? Justice Secretary Hernando Perez receiving $2 Billion
bribe money, Macapagal Boulevard, Jose Pidal bank account, Fertilizer Scam, Jose Velarde bank
account, Renato Corona, Euro Generals, ZTE scams, AFP Pabaon starring retired staff, LRT

Contract, Makati City Hall Budget / Binay Mansion and of course the mighty Janet Napoles and
her collaborators Bong, Jinggoy, Johnny, etc.

10. Overpopulation and Family Planning

We believe overpopulation is the main reason why the Philippines is buried deep in poverty hole.
Seeing how people living in squatters area makes us think the government is really dysfunctional,
added by the Catholics nonsense intervention. This is a very simple math. When you have so many
mouths to feed and your resources is not enough, hunger follows. People are growing in numbers,
but our agricultural land that can be used to feed these people lack support and even destroyed
by modernization and industrialization.
As conclusion, the real reason why we are poor is not all because of our corrupt government. Its all
because of us, our life style, our personality, our choices, and our decisions. Poverty is a choice and
not a destiny. If you want to remain in poverty, its your choice. We have a lot of options to grab, but
the decision is ours.

THE Philippines is a beautiful and rich country, no question about that. But why are many
Filipinos very poor? Why are our basic infrastructures in such a mess?
A recent news article said that a UN report had blamed Executive Order No. 003 issued in 2000
by then Manila Mayor Lito Atienza for the worsening poverty incidence in the city because
women were deprived access to reproductive health services and contraceptives.
Because of that, the news article said, many constituents (were consequently driven) further into
poverty as they were unable to manage the number of their children and suffered the
consequences of unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths.
The news article was culled from a report released in April by the United Nations Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (UNCEDAW).
I have yet to see and read the report on which the story was based but I beg to disagree that the
ban on contraceptives and the Manila mayors stand against the reproductive health law could be
blamed for the growing number of poor families in the city.
It is how the city government spends its revenues, including the P1.9-billion annual internal
revenue allotment from the national government. How much of it goes to corruption should be
pruned to the barest minimum, if it could not be completely stopped.

If you go to the inner streets of Manila in Intramuros, Divisoria, Escolta, Malate, Pandacan,
Sta.Mesa, anywhere, the city stinks, sidewalks are either occupied by hawkers or shanties. It
doesnt feel safe to walk even when you are not alone.
On separate occasions recently, I had a chance to meet three Americans who have been in the
country for a few months and they were quick to conclude that the Philippines is a rich but
mismanaged country.
My new American friends, a man and two women, have read a lot about the Philippines and they
have visited some places on weekend escapades.
The guy disagreed with Imelda Marcos, the flamboyant former first lady, who said during the
reign of her husband Ferdinand that the Philippines was a rich country pretending to be poor.
Well, she could have said that to justify her ostentatious lifestyle when her husband was
president. People say Im extravagant because I want to be surrounded by beauty. But tell me,
who wants to be surrounded by garbage? That was a quote attributed to Mrs. Marcos.
Strangely, she is adored by many of the poor, particularly those who benefited from her dole
outs. The extravagant lifestyle of the current occupant of the Manila city hall is not far from
Imeldas, and he is also admired by the poor constituents.
Something seems really, really wrong in the way voters choose their political leaders. A
candidates management acumen is not necessary for as long as he can sing, dance, make them
laugh and give dole outs to get elected. That is probably why we have political leaders who are
more interested in how to recoup the money they spent during the campaign than how to make
sure that every peso of public money is judiciously spent for activities and projects with the most
benefit to the constituency.
The Philippines has many really beautiful places, it is rich in natural resources, it is rich in
culture, but it seems that these are not given the needed attention and promotion, said the guy
who we shall call Alan.
One of the ladies who takes the jeepney and the LRT/MRT in going around Metro Manila
observed that basic services like public transportation and roads have not been given adequate
budget for maintenance and improvement to ease traffic and make commuting convenient,
especially for harried workers who have to juggle responsibilities at work and at home.
She said it is not good management to keep LRT/MRT fares low when commuters have to wait
in cramped platforms for 30 minutes to one hour, or even more, waiting to get into a train and get
shoved and mashed once inside the train coach.

The second lady dreads crossing Metro Manilas streets, afraid that reckless drivers would
sideswipe her. It was very scary. Even if you are already on the pedestrian lane they would not
stop. I got used to the US when cars would stop and give way once you step on the pedestrian
lane, she said.
All three have been to some of the beautiful beaches and have been going around Metro Manila
in the last five to seven months, observing Filipinos way of daily life, loving the local cuisine
and meeting news friends while going about their work.
From the news stories and opinion pieces they read in the newspapers, and in their conversations
with people from different walks of life, the American visitors feel deeply for the Filipino poor.
With a population of 100 million, of whom only 38 million have jobs, the Philippines ranked
12th among the most populous and is among the poorest countries in the world.
Thanks to the $26 billion annual remittances of Filipinos overseas, the economy is doing fine.
In 2013, World Bank country director Motoo Konishi said that the Philippines is finally
becoming an Asian tiger economy, and no longer a sick man of East Asia. However, 25 million,
or a quarter of the population, still live on $1-a day or less as of 2009.
My new American friends commonly believe that corruption and wrong spending priorities
aggravate the sufferings of the poor.
Alan said it would be a wise move to provide more money for the development and promotion of
tourism, and the improvement of infrastructure facilities so that tourist receipts could prop up
state coffers.
If only the percentage of public money that flows into the pockets of corrupt politicians could be
cut down to the barest minimum of, say, 10 percent, which is substantial enough given the
governments trillion-peso annual budget, then we would probably have a better country where
people live decently.

Poverty remains the one area that overshadows the economic

achievements of the Aquino administration.

At the end of a six-year term highlighted by enviable economic growths

that began in 2010, more than 26 million Filipinos remain poor. And
nearly half or more than 12 million of them live in extreme poverty and
without the means to feed themselves.
Contrast this with the few Filipino families who land every year in the
Forbes magazines list of billionaires (in US dollars) and one can do the
math.
The benefits of economic growth are not trickling down to where these
are most needed, and the cause of which is attributed to various factors,
among these, a flawed economic growth model that only makes the rich
grow richer; an economy where inefficient economic sectors are
protected from competition, which could bring down the cost of goods
and services; or a government where corruption is so prevalent even at
the barangay level, such that it has adversely affected public service.
The latest survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that in
the first semester of last year, 26.3 per cent of Filipinos were living below
the poverty line (a measure of the minimum income required to meet the
basic necessities).
This was equivalent to 26.48 million Filipinos, based on the total
population of 100.7 million in 2015.
In 2012, the national poverty incidence stood at 27.9 per cent of the
population.
In 2009, it was 28.6 per cent, practically unchanged from the 2006 level
of 28.8 per cent.
The 2015 survey also found that 12.1 per cent of Filipinosroughly 12.18
millionlive in extreme poverty, meaning, their earnings were not
enough to buy three meals a day.

This, too, indicated very tiny improvements from the three previous
surveys14.2 per cent in 2006, 13.3 per cent in 2009 and 13.4 per cent in
2012.
The poorest regions in particular needed more immediate government
attention.
For example, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM),
which had the highest proportion of the poor at 59 per cent of the
population in 2015, had almost a third of its residents, or 30.1 per cent,
living in extreme poverty.
The explanation was that the region was conflict-ridden and the ARMM
or Mindanao, for that matterhas always been neglected economically in
the past.
This was reflected in the worsening figure for the ARMM, which in 2006
had a poverty incidence of 49.8 per cent (21.1 per cent among them
extremely poor), 49.7 per cent in 2009 and 52.9 per cent in 2012.
In contrast, Metro Manila, the seat of government and the countrys
business hub, had the lowest proportion of the poor, with just 6.5 per
cent of its population below the poverty line, although this has been
rising from 4.4 per cent in 2006 to 5.4 per cent in 2009.
It is true that the latest poverty incidence figure reflected slight
improvements from the same period in 2012, two years after President
Aquino assumed power, as well as from 2009 and 2006 under the
Arroyo presidency.
However, we beg to disagree with how an official of the National
Economic and Development Authority describes the figure as actually
good, and a sign that economic growth has trickled down to lowerincome families.

The fact remains that the Philippines has failed to meet its commitment
to the United Nations under the millennium development goals on
poverty, which was to halve by 2015 the countrys poverty incidence to 17
per cent in 2015 from 34 per cent in the 1990s.
The real poverty figure could in fact be higher if we are to consider the
official national food threshold of P7,638 (S$217.8) a monththe
requirement for a family of five to be able to have three regular meals
every day.
This threshold is equivalent to P254.60 a day for a family of five, or
P50.92 for each member to be able to eat three meals a day. That is
P16.97 for each meal.
No wonder candidates seeking the presidency have again highlighted the
poverty situation in the country, each promising to uplift the economic
conditions of those who are in need most.
Sadly, a promise always repeated every election season.
What could be different this time?
Or put another way, what different, specific programmes or measures
have those vying for the presidency committed to undertake to really
address poverty?
So far, we have not heard any from all of them, except for the promise to
continue or expand the conditional cash transfer scheme dubbed
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programme or 4Ps. Which, economists
agree, cannot reduce poverty in the long run as this is meant to just tide
the poorest of the poor over extreme poverty.
---------------The Philippine Daily Inquirer is a member of The Straits Times media
partner Asia News Network, an alliance of 22 newspapers.

Why Is the Philippines A Poor Country?

(Part 13 of the In Defense of the Filipino series)
THE usual answers to this question are because allegedly we Filipinos are indolent, thieves,
corrupt, undisciplined, crab-minded, divided, and more. Let us have the real answers.
Nations Debts. The main reason is because a large portion of our national budget goes to
paying our foreign and domestic debts, instead of using it to build more roads, highways,
bridges, schools, hospitals, housing units, railroads, irrigation, cable lines, and other public
works; to raise the salaries and benefits of our public school teachers, policemen, soldiers, and
government employees; and to fund more development and poverty-alleviation programs.
For every peso that the Filipino taxpayer pays to the government, a big part of it (about a third)
only goes to our creditors.
An example is our national budget in 1986. It was P250 billion, and 70 per cent of that went to
our creditors, while the more than 50 million Filipinos then had to fight for the remaining 30 per
cent.
More and more Filipinos are deprived of social services because a large portion of our national
budget is just enjoyed by our few creditors. This is only very unjust and unthinkable.
Even if the alleged US$2.4 billion annual public corruption in the country is not stolen, this
money will not still be enough to fight poverty. But if we suspend paying our debts for at least
two years, we will have a huge amount to solve more than half of our countrys problems.

The saddening fact with our debts is that our government has to borrow more to be able to pay
old debts, and thus the more we pay, the more we get indebted.
Former President Ferdinand Marcos and his croniesthe people who plunged us all into these
massive debtsmust be held accountable for this appalling crime.
When Marcos took over the presidency in late 1965, the countrys foreign debts stood at only
US$465 million. When he was swept from power in early 1986, those debts had reached US$26
billiona 26,000 per cent increase! Today, the debts amount to more than US$50 billion already.
Marcos successors had to and will borrow vast amounts to pay those debts that he accumulated.
It has now become a never-ending cycle, and only a miraculous turn of events can help and save
us from being buried forever in it.
Population mismanagement. This is the next major cause. Many people keep building families
and producing children even if they are unprepared and have no money.
Through massive population management programs, the people should be informed that before
building families, they first must have stable livelihoods, and savings for health care, childrens
education, and emergencies, and that they should produce children only according to their
financial means.
Fewer industries. Another reason is that there are not enough industries to provide employment
to the people, and so the government cannot collect more corporate, business, customs, personal
income, and other taxes.
It is not the government that makes business, but the private sector, since the duty of the
government with regards to the economic life of a nation is to create an environment where
business and the entire economy can thrive and be healthy. It should never compete with the
private sector and the people in profit-making.
Our entrepreneurs, instead of bringing their wealth to other lands, should invest them in our
country to give those needed employment opportunities.
Low wages. Another reason is even if the people have jobs, they receive low wages, and thus
cannot afford the essential food, clothing, shelter, education, leisure, savings, and secure future
for themselves and their families. Despite all their hard work, they remain poor.
Negative minds? Anti-Filipinos say that Filipinos remain poor because they dont think positive:
They always consider themselves poor.

Even if we were the most positive thinkers in the world, with those petite wages that we get, our
miserable lives will never improve.
Double time. They also argue that we Filipinos should work double-time to double our incomes,
meaning we should become entrepreneurs.
This is impracticable, for there is no nation on earth whose citizens or majority of its citizens are
entrepreneurs. Most are wage earners.
Many people are asking too much from the Filipinos. Can they not realize that we Filipinos are
already doing all we can, and sometime more than what we can?
We work hard, we receive low wages, we earn little, we pay taxes, and we honor our debts. What
else can the Filipino do? Should we work eight or more hours a day and pull miracles out of the
little that we earn?
We are a poor country not because we Filipinos are corrupt, indolent, undisciplined, etc. There
are reasons more sensible than that.
Filed Under: Commentary, Featured Posts Tagged With: Philippines, poverty

About Jon E. Royeca

A native of Catarman, Northern Samar, now living in Metro Manila. He writes in Filipino and
English, and since 2000 has been publishing short stories, historical fiction for children, and
essays in Liwayway, Junior Inquirer, Philippine Panorama, and The Modern Teacher.
Comments

1.

eugene codiamat says

February 13, 2010 at 8:55 pm

if im going to compare philippines of today to twenty years ago, i would say we didnt
get poorer as a whole.
if im going to compare it to usa well we are poor.
philippine population will make a businessman salivate
thats enormous consumer potential. i could imagine if i can make 1 cent from every
person for one year. i wont be working next year.
if youre filipino i love you you always do best whatever your heart desirelol you
know what i mean.
Reply

2.

hmm... says
May 10, 2010 at 10:30 pm
WHAT do you mean by double time.?
Doesnt it suppose to explain the laziness of the filipinos? its not the number of the
entrepreneurs that should be doubled, its the effort, the willingness, so thus their
diligence that should be doubled. Isnt it?. No person will ever improve by just comparing
to himself, unless he takes the dare to compare it with the better person. Filipinos!,
compare yourselves with others. no countrymen sleeps as much as you do, no
countrymen talks and eats during work as much as you do. think about it.
Furthermore, with the one of the lowest wages in the world, isnt it strange that no
manufacutring business has developed in the land as expected? no more to say on the
service business. Think about it. why.
Stop. Please stop reading the old textbook and decorate ourselves, filipinos, as
hostable, friendly, caregiving. Just try it once, to step out of that silly textbook and ask
a foreigner what they think about us. hah Immigration? aiport? taxis? malls? shops?
just try it. Promise you wont punch him on the face.
Then you will know, why philippines also failed in devleoping their toursim business.

Get real. Being positive on a matter is not always good. That is sometimes just an
excuse.
Reply

3.

Jon E. Royeca says

May 19, 2010 at 12:17 pm
If thats how you look at Filipinos, fine. I cant force you to believe that we work and
strive hard.
Many of us take whatever jobs we can, and so in almost every nation on earth, you will
find Filipinos working as bottom-wipers, street cleaners, garbage collectors, etc.
There is no need to tell the world about being friendly, hospitable, and others. All races
possess those traits.
Reply

Manny says

December 23, 2015 at 5:59 am

Dont blame the people of the Philippine they want to work but no one will hire them
because they have no padrino. No one to take care of their sibling, the bonuses , the
perks corruption in the governments, plunder left and right.high taxes and lot more.
blame the Marcoses, Ejercit Arroyo, Fidel Ramos,and the Aquino with his friends
running the government want more. Philippine is not one of the poorest but the most
corrupt
Reply

gordon jones says

March 8, 2016 at 12:28 am

Though corruption does play a part in your poverty Filipino pride and nationalism is the
problem. Your constitution deters foreign investment, Other Asian countries have
welcomed foreign investment and as a result jobs and infrastructure have resulted. Your
country is in the hands of 25 families who manipulate the politicians.
You blame your politicians but who votes them in, who sells their votes? Too many
Filipinos have given up, your children are poorly educated and play games unlike other
Asian children who study. Parents do not ensure the future of their children. further as
Pope Francis points out you do not have to breed like rabbits. The equation is simple,
less children means more wealth for the family,
Reply

4.

Joma says
July 20, 2010 at 2:37 pm
The Philippines is poor because of an ever-meddling Catholic church, that has time and
again been opposing artificial birth control and the reproductive health bill. The biggest
problem is overpopulation, with most of society uneducated and below the poverty line.
Its not about meager wages, we need to keep labor cost down in order to be
competitive, besides our cost of living is low with respect to Malaysia or Singapore. I
also disagree with your statements on capitalists and entrepreneurs. Filipinos are
inherently lazy and subservient, that is why few choose the entrepreneural path. It is
easier to be employed than to start your own business, and Filipinos always choose the
easier way out. Thats laziness in action. More entreprenuers are needed to create jobs,
but the Catholic church should first shut up and allow the government to implement
population control.

Reply

Bea says

October 2, 2011 at 5:09 pm

RH bill is not what you call abortion, and I totally agree w/ you.
Reply

5.

Jon E. Royeca says

July 31, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Its our foreign and domestic debts that make us poor. Population mismanagement is
next only.
If the government and other concerned groups and individuals will only inform the
people when it comes to founding families, our problems of poverty will be lessened.
Filipinos are not lazy. When the first foreigners arrived in our shores, what they saw
were trading Filipinos.
These days, we have capitalism icons like San Miguel, Shoe Mart, Bench, Jolibee,
PLDT, Smart, Natasha/Nathaniel, etc. These are Philippine-based industries.
According to the IMF-WB ranking in 1989, out of the 182 countries, from the biggest to
the smallest national economies, the Philippines was ranked 48th.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)
One meaning of this ranking is that there are countries poorer than the Philippines. Are
those poorer countries also lazy?

ON INDOLENCE
Indolent. That Filipinos are indolent is one of the anti-Filipino remarks that the Spaniards
triumphantly created.
It was the Filipinos who plowed the lands, while the Spanish landlords came only during
harvest time to collect unlawful taxes from them. It was Filipinos who built forts,
government buildings, churches, roads, highways, bridges, schools, galleons, and other
public works. The Spanish authorities, friars, and lay citizens were only watching and
forcing them to work. They would:
employ the Indio in building houses and large vessels, grinding rice, cutting wood,
and carrying it all to their houses to Manila and then pay them little or nothing for their
labor (Antonio A. Morga, Reports of Conditions in the Philippine Islands, Emma Blair
and James Robertson, The Philippine Islands 1491-1898, Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark
Company, 1903-1909, Vol. X, p. 96).
It was also the Filipinos who cooked for and fanned their Spanish masters, while the
latter were having siesta (after-lunch nap), merienda (snack), or lamierda (promenade).
It was they who slaved as muchachos y muchachas (servants), while their masters had
all the luxurious life styles. It was they who worked for their masters, yet their masters
still called them indolent.
Rizal argued that the indio would really be idle because of harsh climates, disasters,
pests, lack of support and incentives from the government, and the unfair sharing of
incomehe tilled the land but most of his harvests went to his Spanish landlord
(Political and Historical Writings, Centennial Edition, Manila: National Heroes
Commission, 1964, pp. 227-265).
In the Noli, Rizal depicted how the Spaniards reviled Filipinos for being indolent. The
domineering Spanish friar Father Damaso glorified the anti-Filipino Spanish bashing that
you can find no other indolent in the world like the indio (offset printing of the first
edition published in Berlin, Germany, in 1887, Centennial Edition, Manila: Comisin
Nacional del Centenario de Jos Rizal, 1961, p. 6).

That the Filipino was indolent was a common verbal abuse during the Spanish colonial
days. Because it was a daily expression, it became institutionalized in the Filipino
consciousness. It became part of the Filipino in thinking and believing about himself.
From this verbal abuse arose the Juan Tamad (John the Indolent) myth, where the
Filipino is likened to an indolent and useless person. The Spaniards were so successful
in portraying Juan Tamad as the very character of the Filipino, for until now, many
people still believe that the Filipino is really very lazy and useless, despite his industry
and perseverance.
http://emanila.com/philippines/2010/01/19/anti-filipino-remarks-colonial-legacies/
Reply

gordon jones says

April 25, 2016 at 10:55 am

The Philippines has a relatively small external debt, only 32% of its GDP compared to
other much richer nations. As a percentage of its tax revenue the figure is higher but still
less than other Asian countries. clearly foreign debt is being used as a scapegoat and
fits in with the Filipino trait of always blaming someone else (in this case previous
governments) for the failures of present day Filipinos and Filipinas.
Reply

6.

Jon E. Royeca says

July 31, 2010 at 8:18 pm
@ Joma
That IMF-WB ranking was in 2009, not 1989. Sorry.

A Filipino carpenter, if he works in the Philippines, earns only about P200 per working
day. That amount is not enough to give his family enough food, clothing, and other basic
needs, as well as to pay for their monthly housing amortization/rent, electricity,
transportation, schooling, and other expenses.
But if the same Filipino carpenter works abroad, as a carpenter also, say in North
America, Europe, or the Middle East, he earns ten times bigger (or more) than what he
earns in the Philippines.
Thus, today a big number of the clients of private housing units in the Philippines are
OFWs or former OFWs. And many of those who can send their children to better
schools are also OFWs or former OFWs.
Reply

7.

kevin mirador says

October 6, 2010 at 12:43 am
we are poor because of our wrong policies
others being said are just secondary. Filipinos are not just aware of reason why we are
poor. they just rely on what the president says
we have wrong policies in foreign trade and investments, our nature of industries
(agricultural), our being foreign goods lover, etc
the truth is that we are not free. we dont gain Independence, indeed. our economy now
is dependent on others economy. their crisis is also our crisis. their downfall is also our
downfall.
Reply

8.

mimingyaw10 says
December 10, 2010 at 8:39 am
Forgive me but this article is such a crap: one of those articles written by misinformed
people.. its not always about mr tongressman plundering on pork barrel or primitive
views of the CBCP on using condom.. they are a factor, yes, but what a typical filipino
does not know is that the it is the oligarchs that drags the country and its people to
mud..
Philippine policy on trade keeps the foreign business out. (allow me to speak in tagalog
para maintindihan ng karaniwang pinoy).. Dahil sa protection na tinatamasa nang mga
may-ari ng mga negosyong eto, ang mga companya sa ibang bansa ay hindi nakakapag
negosyo sa pilipinas. maitatanung natin sa ating mga sarili, eh anu naman ngayon
mabuti nga iyon dahil makakapagrow ang bussnes ng pilipino. Pero hindi po ganun ang
nangyayari..
Bakit? dahil sa ang major life lines (basic necesities ng mga pilipino: pagkain, ilaw at
tubig at kuryente) ay hawak ng mangilan-ngilang mayayaman na protektado ng batas
laban sa panlabas na kompetisyon. Halimbawa na lang, sa bansang Hapon, maraming
distributor (parang meralco) ng kuryente. dahil dito marami silang ka kompetisyon. Kung
halimbawa ang serbisyo ni ditributor-A ay hindi maganda, may choice ang tao na
lumipat kay distribyutor-B o C na makpagbibigay sa kanya ng maayos na serbisyo.
Eh sa pilipinas? ala! Magtyaga ka sa meralco na napakapanget ng serbisyo. Bakit?
tingnan mo ang bill mo Juan! ang daming systems loss at kung anu anong charges!
kung maayos ang fascilities nila, ung nawawalang kuryente sa kanila (transmission
charges) eh baba.
Pero bakit hindi nila ayusin ang tech nila? Bakit pa? Eh sila lang naman ang
distribyutor? Walang competisyon, walang dahilan para gandahan ang serbisyo.

Juan gumising ka naman! imulat ang mata at tingnan, wag takbuhan, ang tunay na
problema! At wag mong sabihin na ang mga may-ari ng mga kompanyang eto eh
foreigners! Hello alam mo ba na mga pilipino ang mga yan? ang isang dayuhang
businessamn hndi pwede magbusiness dito discouraged sila dahil mababang porsyento
lng ng pera nila ang macocontrol nila! at hindi nla talaga eto pag aari..
Kaya bago mo ibulalas sa iyong mga labi ang isyu nang paghihirap ng bansa, alamin
mo muna ang totoo.. dahil hindi man mangurakot, kung ang ihahalal mo sa posisyon ay
nagmula sa angkan ng mga oligakiyang ito, ala ring mangyayari sa Pilipinas..
Reply

9.

Jayo S. says
February 22, 2011 at 5:34 pm
First of all, The Philippines is classified as a middle income country. Although poverty
is a problem in The Philippines, it is a problem with all developing countries including
Brazil, South Africa and The Peoples Republic of China. Even industrialized nations
have their own share of poverty just like the homeless that you will see in American
cities.
Take Peoples Republic of China for example. Even it its the 2nd largest economy in the
world, it is still a developing country. Its progress are mostly concentrated in urban areas
and economic zone but if you go to the most remote parts of the country, you will find
people living conditions there are as bad or even much worst than the poorest places in
The Philippines.
Also, countries such as Brazil and South Africa are set to be a major economic
powerhouse in their specific regions. But their gap between the rich and the poor is
much worst than The Philippines.

And these countries share the same social problems The Philippines face such as
corruption, crime. etc.
Reply

10.

Jon E. Royeca says

February 23, 2011 at 1:44 pm
@ kevin mirador. Of course, wrong policies result in political, economic, and social
disasters. Like the foreign debts that our government has accumulated since the 1960s.
Those debts deplete our governments tax collections, our foreign reserves, and
eventually our nations entire finances.
@ mimingyaw10, kanya-kanya lamang tayo ng pananaw. Kung sa tingin mo ay kaya
mahirap ang Pilipinas ay dahil sa mga sinasabi mo, iginagalang ko ang inyong mga
opinyon. Subalit mayroon din naman akong mga pananaw na sa tingin ko ay ang siyang
mga tunay na dahilan kung bakit tayo naghihirap.
@ Jayo S. Nearly all countries in the world have social defects and social ills, such as
poverty, crimes, corruption, and the others things that we mention. No nation is free.
What I am trying to do here is to point out one by one the major root causes of why we
are poor, and to suggest solutions to solve them.
Reply

11.

akoito says
March 13, 2011 at 5:11 pm
For me, the reason why PH is poor because of corruption. Currently, not only this
problem existed in the government, but also in the AFP. Imagine the millions and billions
of money taken away from the people. Next in line is perhaps the debt of our country in

the world bank. During the time of Marcos, huge amount of money was borrowed and
up to this present time we are still paying such liability. Debt of Marcos time + the debts
after his regime= huge amount of money that we are going to pay lifetime.
Reply

12.

Jon E. Royeca says

March 18, 2011 at 2:23 pm
@ akoito: We have our own opinion. Thanks for reading.
Reply

13.

Jon E. Royeca says

March 22, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Is corruption really the main reason why majority of Filipinos are poor?
According to a recent World Bank study, public funds worth US$48 billion were lost to
corruption in the Philippines from 1985 to 2004.
Thats about US$2.4 billion a year or P105 billion based on the current peso-dollar
exchange rate (P44 to a dollar).
This P105 billion is about 6.6% of the countrys P1.6 trillion budget for 2011.
The countrys current population stands at 94 million. Let us assume that 50 million of
us are poor.
If we divide the P105 billion equally among the 50 million poor, each of them will get
P2,100 only.

Will it be enough to pull each of the 50 million poor Filipinos out of poverty?
Of course not. It is too little.
I am making this calculation to show that even if there is no graft and corruption in our
country, and even if public funds are spent wisely and properly, majority of the Filipinos
will still remain poor.
Therefore, it is not graft and corruption that is the main culprit.
Sources of statistics:
http://www.census.gov.ph/
http://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php?pid=8&xid=28&id=1364
Reply

14.

john says
March 22, 2011 at 4:00 pm
@jon your calculation is good,but we dont need to divide the money to the people
instead the goverment will create more projects to give filipinos lot of jobs,a school
project to the student,and more scholarships
Reply

Jon E. Royeca says

March 26, 2011 at 12:53 pm
@john: That calculation is wild, I know, but it serves my point well: Even if there is no
graft and corruption even if public funds are spent wisely on public education, health,

housing, infrastructures, and job-creating programs majority of Filipinos will still

remain poor. Therefore, graft and corruption is not the main reason why majority of us
are poor.
Reply

15.

john says
March 29, 2011 at 11:13 am
but atleast we know that the tax are use in public
education,health,housing,infrastructures and job creating programs
Reply

Jon E. Royeca says

March 30, 2011 at 1:19 pm

Okay. Thanks for reading and for the comments.
Reply

16.

A Filipino No More says

May 8, 2011 at 9:54 pm
Your arguments and perspectives are manifestations of the shallowness of the Filipinos.
Dig deeper Mr Royeca. Once upon a time PHP=USD. Perhaps you should really do
more research, inductive & reflective readings and please take time before you write
anything again as your pieces are annoyingly simply gloss-overs. You cant even
adequately present your arguments amidst equally appalling opposing views from your

fellow Filipinos. Have your pieces grammatically edited so youd sound coherent. If
youre thought process is in Filipino, then write in Filipino. If you are processing your
thoughts in English, then you can write in English. Strive to be a good reflection of the
Filipinos. As it stands, you are just perpetuating the already known facts about Filipinos
being who they are as stated above. Thanks and I hope to read a much better sampling
of your communication skills, both in form and in substance
Reply

Robert Sarmiento says

May 11, 2011 at 12:25 am

To one who confesses as A Filipino No More
How stupid and arrogant of you to write: the shallowness of the Filipinos ? If you
dont agree with what Mr Royeca wrote, why not line up your own arguments? Or better
yet, post your own article. I am sure this website will give you an equal, if not more,
space. Why waffle in generalizations and personal attack?
And why hide behind A Filipino No More label? Ano, takot ka bang magpakilala kung
sino ka?
With your lack of decency and anti-social behavior, its good you no longer consider
yourself a Filipino, because no self-respecting Filipino would like to associate with you,
anyway.
Reply

Jon E. Royeca says

May 15, 2011 at 1:32 pm

Robert, I agree with you. If what I am saying here have already been told before, then
what really are those things that keep us from getting prosperous? They should tell us.
Thanks for reading and for the defense.
Reply

Jon E. Royeca says

May 15, 2011 at 1:30 pm

English has already become a global language, and with it come its variations in every
place where it is used. Hence, we have Indian English, Chinese English, Japanese
English, Korean English, Singaporean English, Philippine English, and so on. No one
should expect the Asians, Africans, and other non-native speakers of English to use
English the way the British, the Americans, and other native English speakers do. Thats
just impossible.
English, just like any language, has many usage levels, peculiarities, and shortcomings.
Dont ask for its universal homogeneity.
With regard to grammar, pardon me. If the native speakers of English themselves
commit mistakes in their very own tongue, what would you expect from others whose
first language is not English?
When someone points out my mistakes in English, I correct them. Thats the best that I
can do. So if I am told that skillful writers and communicators dont use ampersands in a
written rhetoric (and I have already used them), I will immediately remove them and
replace them with the correct one.
Reply

MaliPalaAko says

November 8, 2014 at 8:59 am

@A Filipino No More
You stated Once upon a time PHP=USD, so when was that?
I only know what I read in college history books that when the Philippine Coinage Act
was created in 1903 the exchange rate was 1USD = 2PHP. You appear to be very
intelligent so please enlighten us.
Reply

17.

john says
May 19, 2011 at 5:00 pm
@jon your right jon..tnx for this article atleast we know the different opinion of our fellow
filipinoswe dont need to fight we are here to post our opinion .tnx.godbless allhope
the goverment will read this article so that they wll know what is happening for our
country.:)