Philippine Economy

Philippine Economy

       Economy refers to a process of production, distribution, and consumption of certain goods and services by individuals in the society.

Philippine Economy is the 39th largest in the world, according to 2014 International Monetary Fund statistics, and is also one of the emerging markets. The Philippines is considered as a newly industrialized country, which has been transitioning from one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing. In 2014, the GDP by Purchasing power parity was estimated to be at $692.223 billion

The Philippines’ economic freedom score is 62.2, making its economy the 76th freest in the 2015 Index. Its score has increased by 2.1 points since last year, with notable improvements in financial freedom, freedom from corruption, and labor freedom outweighing declines in business freedom and the management of public spending. The Philippines ranks 13th out of 42 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is above the world and regional averages.

Registering one of the 10 best score improvements in the 2015 Index, the Philippines has charted an upward trajectory of economic freedom for the past five years, further advancing into the “moderately free” category. Wide-ranging reforms to address structural weaknesses and improve overall economic competitiveness have put greater emphasis on improving regulatory efficiency, enhancing regional competitiveness, and liberalizing the banking sector. Demonstrating a high level of resilience and overcoming the devastating impact of the massive typhoon that ripped through the central part of the country, the Philippine economy has recorded an average growth rate exceeding 5 percent over the past half-decade.

Despite notable progress since 2011, however, lingering institutional challenges will require a deeper commitment to reform. Corruption continues to be a serious cause for concern, jeopardizing prospects for long-term economic development. The inefficient judiciary, which remains susceptible to political interference, does not provide effective protection for property rights or strong and transparent enforcement of the law.

Finalyn Jaji

SCARCITY

                  Resource Scarcity and Climate Change

“Going green” has rapidly become the new norm for the industries of tomorrow.This mindset coupled with initiatives and policies that focus on climate change, resource scarcity, and increased consumer, industry and political interests is putting pressure on businesses to evolve from traditional technologies to more innovative ones. In this environment, it is inevitable that clean technologies on efficient resource consumption, renewable energy, biofuels, information technology, waste reduction and management, among others, will lead to a paradigm shift in business practices.

Much of these and other activities are premised on the expectation that demand for food, water, and energy will grow by approximately 35%, 40%, and 50%, respectively, while climate change will worsen the outlook for the availability of these critical resources. These were the figures reported in the Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds report published by the National Intelligence Council in 2012. It mainly attributes the increase in demand to the increase in global population and the consumption patterns of an expanding middle class.

On the demand for energy, for instance, many industry groups are concerned that the increasing household and industry electricity consumption, driven by the growth in the economy, could eventually lead to a power crisis. The recent widespread power failure in Mindanao is quite ominous. The energy supply could be eroded further by delays and oppositions to several power infrastructure projects. This is a potential risk that could disrupt the power supply and otherwise cause prices to shoot up, affecting businesses, industries and consumers and eventually undermining our fast growing economy.

Around the world, almost every government has included addressing resource scarcity and climate change in their agenda. Some noteworthy achievements in the energy sector are China’s clean energy and efficiency initiatives, Saudi Arabia’s solar development plan, and Brazil’s efforts to promote wind and biofuels.For its part, the Philippines has enacted several laws and policies and established a clean technology fund investment plan focusing on energy and transport, to tackle resource efficiency issues. Our government focusing primarily on energy spearheads most of the cleantech initiatives and projects which the business sector has already begun to embrace.

Clearly, our government is embarking on cleantech as a viable alternative to address the growing demand for energy, with the private sector playing a key role in providing investments and expertise to aid its success.Further, the largest global corporations are meeting the challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy through proactive energy strategies. Global corporate energy strategies are based on improving energy efficiency to mitigate energy cost hikes, increasing use of renewable energy and growing energy self-generation.

To address these risks, local companies are currently reviewing their supply chains, reducing carbon emissions and adopting green technologies. Most notably, many companies have already started utilizing RE as a feasible strategy to achieve self-sufficiency for its energy needs. The DOE website mentions 31 energy generation projects awarded under RE Law for “own-use” by companies. Playing on the strength of the Philippines as an agricultural country, these companies turned mostly to biomass as feedstock for energy self-generation.Globally, every business will be affected by the growing world population, rising consumption and a deteriorating supply of natural resources. To remain competitive, businesses should assess how these factors can impact their operations.

So I conclude that each of us Filipinos should take care of the environment by teaching ourselves discipline and sharing this knowledge to other people. To avoid scarcity of natural resources on the upcoming years and also to avoid costly interventions by doing a simple job we can all benefit from it. Just thinking about it and stop being lazy we can all do it.

CANTAL,MARY ANJUNETTE N.

BSOT-3A

Philippine Demography

By: Kenji Lee Moceno


Population of Philippines 2014

As of 1 January 2015, the population of Philippines was estimated to be 102 333 484 people. This is an increase of 1.90 % (1 911 039 people) compared to population of 100 422 445 the year before. In 2014 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 2 040 584. Due to external migration, the population declined by 129 545. The sex ratio of the total population was 1.006 (1 006 males per 1 000 females) which is lower than global sex ratio. The global sex ratio in the world as approximately 1 016 males to 1 000 females as of 2014.

Philippines Population 2015

As of 1 January 2015, the population of Philippines was estimated to be 102 333 484 people. This is an increase of 1.90 % (1 911 039 people) compared to population of 100 422 445 the year before. In 2014 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 2 040 584. Due to external migration, the population declined by 129 545. The sex ratio of the total population was 1.006 (1 006 males per 1 000 females) which is lower than global sex ratio. The global sex ratio in the world was approximately 1 016 males to 1 000 females as of 2014. See also map of the world by sex ratio of total population.
 
So as you can see, it's been a long time that yet this problem is not solved out because there are some mistakes that had been done by the people. The government is still on going process about this situation and it is very crucial that things are to be done in order to let the people survive and protect themselves from poverty and worthless livelihood. The major cause of this problem is sex, people are stubborn enough for not listening the rules at all, it is obviously, publicly stated that we must be careful in our doings that everything shall not be put to trouble. No matter how good or bad you are as a citizen as long as it is not personal or serious one. Especially teens nowadays, they just make sex a pleasure thing to feel the goodness or freedom let's say. Parents are not well-disciplined enough to warn their children, without teaching good things, it will get worst. Poverty is another concern. With this problem too, it is so hard to carry people who have no basic needs so that's why we need to help the government in order to move faster according to their plans and set ups.

Politics by Mary Ellen Bacalso

Politics refers to the exercise power of the governance. The word had its roots in Greeks politikos which means “for citizens”. It is always associated with power in administering & organizing a society, group, government, church, etc. An exercise of power in any of these politics is constituted in so called “political system”.

Political system is the system power of governance. It is often described with economic system, cultural system, religious system or legal system. It is constituted by the members of the organization, by-laws and politicizes in the management and administration, and mechanism for maintain order & out of order of the organization.

Types of political system. • Authoritarianism – it is a dictorial form of government. For example, people like Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines.

• Monarchy – it is opposite to democracy & republic since monarchical government allows monarch to rule a state until his death or abdication. In medieval monarchy, a monarch is the ultimate ruler of the state including legislation and judiciary but in the modern monarchy, a monarch is not a leader of state as in Spain, England, or Denmark.

• Democracy – it allows the individuals to participate in the government. The 2 types of democracy are direct democracy and representative democracy. o Direct democracy – where citizens are entitled for participation in the government. o Representative democracy – where citizens elect their representatives for governance

• Communism – a state envision by Karl Marx then followed by Russia in the 19th century, China and Cuba in the 20th century, and etc. It’s as synonymous with complete authoritarianism reflects in many writings, famous of which is George Orwell’s 1984 published in 1949.

• Republic – allowing the citizens to legitimize (to make something legal or to make it acceptable, permissible or correct.) in the government. Republic may relate with the representative democracy and opposite to authoritarian rule. Republic conflicts with its nature in as much as Republic countries are often ruled by oligarchs, which mean few-citizens-rule, like in the Philippines, America, etc.

Our country is under the political system democracy where citizens are entitled for the participation of government & where citizens elect the representatives for the government. It is stated that politics came from then politikos which means "for citizens." Now a days, as we look upon our politicians, can we really say that there doings are all for the citizens? Do they do provide a clear liquidation where our taxes or money goes? No. Do they protect and give justice to the people equally especially the poor? No. Do they provide service to those people who can’t afford education? No. I really don’t know why our country still collects taxes from the people cause for all I know is that taxes are implemented in order to improve the lives of the Filipinos and also the country. But can you really see the improvement? Our society or country's system has not effectively help most of the Filipinos in the Philippines. Until now, the country Philippines is still considered as one of the most corrupt system in the whole country. How can you expect our political system to change when most of the political problems come from our own government authorities. If they could only do the political system democracy properly at least there would be a difference in this country.

MIGRATION AND REMITTANCES by: Sheena Licong

UNIT 8

The Philippines have faced numerous trials and ordeals with regards to its government and the welfare of the people. It has endured through many colonizations and has suffered through martial law. But after all the experiences that Filipinos have been through, why is it that they still keep on repeating their mistakes? Why is the poor getting poorer every day? Why is it that there are still many that are jobless? Why is it that many of Filipinos would rather choose to work abroad instead?

Today The Philippines is ranked on one of the top emigration countries in the world. The economy in the Philippines depends heavily on remittances. The intensive involvement of government in emigration plays a crucial role, in other words, the Philippines have become an exporter and its goods are its citizens.

Filipinos are struggling in finding stable jobs due to the reasons of overpopulation. There are also some cases especially to Filipinos who weren’t able to finish their education that job companies would require experience and bigger standards. For this some of them would seek for jobs in abroad. The Government would also gained from this, for this will help boost the source of foreign exchange in the country. 

Some of the Filipinos in the other countries are given good benefits but some are still placed in a vulnerable situation, their rights, are always at stake, yet little mechanisms for protection are given to them. Some Filipinos are also experiencing cases of racial discrimination; Filipinos are known for being hardworking and due to the fact that the monetary peso conversion is big , Filipinos are sometimes being abused by other countries for they know that they wouldn't say no when a large amount of money is involved. In this case Filipinos are once again being slaved by foreigners.

The Economic Deterrent That Prevent Improvement of the Economy (Stefani L. Bartolabac)

                    The Economic Deterrent That Prevent Improvement of the Economy

    Economy is the process of production, distribution, and consumption of certain goods and services by individuals in the society. These are three basic stuffs that economic activity involves: natural resources, labor, and capital. These shapes for the evolution of economy are geographical location, culture, values, political organization, law, and education. Certain individuals, organizations, and nations have always faced the enormous challenge of limited goods and services since the dawn of history. They have developed variety of approaches to effectively use the natural resources, labor, and capital for progress.

    One of the problems that trigger Philippine economy is the Job Generation Decline. Job generation is declining steeply from 2011 to 2013 – 1.2 million jobs generated in 2011, down to 408,000 in 2012 and declining further to 317,000 in 2013. Unemployment rate in the Philippines increased to 6.50% in the third quarter of 2015 from 6.40% in the second quarter of 2015. Unemployment rate in the Philippines averaged 8.82% from 1994 until 2015, reaching an all-time high of 13.90% in the first quarter of 2000 and a record low of 6% in 4^th quarter of 2014. Unemployment rate in the Philippines is reported by National Statistics Office.

     Worsening conditions of the poor is one of the issues that Philippine economy is facing today. Data from National Statistics Office (NSO) reveals the worsening conditions of the poor majority of Filipinos in 2013. It shows there is a severe disparity between economic growth boasted by Benigno Aquino administration within 2010-2013 and foreign direct investment, on the one hand, and job generation on the other hand poverty and inequality remains a challenge. In the past four decades, the proportion of households living below the official poverty line has declined slowly and unevenly and poverty reduction has been much slow. Great inequality across income brackets regions, and sectors, as well as unmanaged population growth, are considered some of the key factors constraining poverty reduction efforts. The main causes of poverty in the country include the following:

·         Low to moderate economic growth for the past 40 years;

·         Low growth elasticity of poverty reduction;

·         Weakness in employment generation and the quality of jobs generated;

·         Failure to develop the agriculture sector:

·         High inflation during crisis periods;

·         High levels of population growth

·         Recurrent shocks and exposure to risks such as economic crisis conflicts, natural disasters, and “natural disaster.” (www.adb.org)

The report comprehensively analyzes the causes of poverty and recommends ways to accelerate poverty reduction and achieve more inclusive growth. In the immediate and short term there is a need to enhance government’s poverty reduction strategy and involve key sectors for a collective and coordinated response to the problem. In the medium and long term the government should continue to pursue key economic reforms for sustained and inclusive growth.

    Restoring a strong economy and job market must be the number one priority for the President of the country. What the government can do to the economic growth are:

·         Promote economic growth through innovation

·         Strategic immigration reform

·         Require unemployed workers to volunteer

·         Remove unnecessary and unclear laws

    Government must look for better solution in how to increase our economy. We must not be dependent to other countries and we must stand on our own. As a Filipino student, we can help by simply serving for the better future of our country. Maybe, there will be no unemployed Filipinos and less poverty if our government officials know how to manage our economy. Filipino citizens must choose officials who will serve the country well.

 

Stefani L. Bartolabac BSOT-1B

QUANTITY vs. QUALITY By: Regina Clare T. Urbina

QUANTITY vs. QUALITY

(Unit 9: Philippine Demography)

By: Regina Clare T. Urbina

       

          Demography is the branch of social sciences concerned with the study of human populations, their structure and change (through births, deaths, and migration), and their relationship with the natural environment and with social and economic change. Demographic indicators could include population size, population growth rate, crude birth rate, crude death rate, total fertility rate, life expectancy and infant mortality. In short, demographic changes affect all areas of human activity: economic, social, cultural and political.  The demographic presentation of the Philippines shows the rise and impact to the whole Philippine society; counting Philippines as one of the countries that are encountering overpopulation. A number of implications can be said of population increase, such as unemployment, poverty, literacy, family planning, mortality, and leading causes of death.

          One of the factors that cause overpopulation in the Philippines is unemployment. Studies show that Filipinos work for more than 40 hours or more making them full-time workers. These Filipinos are considered underemployed. This means that these workers are highly skilled but work in low paying jobs or in low skill jobs. Another factor is poverty incidence. It states that fishermen posted the highest poverty incidence but having the smallest number of poor population. Demographic studies also mentions literacy as another cause of population increase. A functionally literate person is one who can read, write, compute and comprehend. Functional literacy rate is higher among persons with higher level of education. This reflects on the presentation that 67% of those with some elementary education were functionally literate, while only 5% percent among those with no formal education were functionally literate. Family planning is another address to overpopulation in the country. Unmet need for family planning among married women in the Philippines remains high.  Under this, unplanned pregnancies result to dramatic rise of population. This is more likely to occur among older women than younger women. Mortality decline is also another factor. Due to advancement of medicine, mortality rate is declining. And lastly, the leading causes of death in the Philippines are heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases and malignant neoplasm or cancer respectively.

           Demographic studies are essential in determining elements of population changes and their impact to the whole society. It hopes to activate our social interest on major population issues and concerns. With the presentations stated above, we are more aware of the problems that are right in front of us. Not only should we be aware of these problems at hand, but also be able to respond to these problems as well. I believe that there are no limits in changing the society for the better. A step to address this kind of problem is learning how to balance the quantity in goal of achieving quality. Quality is a characteristic while quantity is just a measure. Quality must always be over quantity. However, quantity is not bad in itself. There is power in numbers, and when one can balance such with an unwavering regard for quality one can achieve far reaching change and successful development for society and the environment as well. 

The Fluidity of Over Population .
Gender Norms & Racial Bias in the Study of the Modern "Over Population " by Angel Oropel BSOT-1B

 Human overpopulation occurs if the number of people in a group exceeds the carrying capacity of the region occupied by that group. Overpopulation can further be viewed, in a long term perspective, as existing when a population cannot be maintained given the rapid depletion of non-renewable resources or given the degradation of the capacity of the environment to give support to the population.

The term human overpopulation often refers to the relationship between the entire human population and its environment: the Earth, or to smaller geographical areas such as countries. Overpopulation can result from an increase in births, a decline in mortality rates, an increase in immigration, or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources. It is possible for very sparsely populated areas to be overpopulated if the area has a meager or non-existent capability to sustain life . Advocates of population moderation cite issues like quality of life, carrying capacity and risk of starvation as a basis to argue against continuing high human population growth and for population decline. 

The human population has been growing continuously since the end of the Black Death, around the year 1350, although the most significant increase has been in the last 50 years, mainly due to medical advancements and increases in agricultural productivity. The rate of population growth has been declining since the 1980s. The United Nations has expressed concern on continued excessive population growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent research has demonstrated that those concerns are well grounded. As of, the world's human population is estimated to be  billion by the United States Census Bureau, and over 7 billion by the United Nations. Most contemporary estimates for the carrying capacity of the Earth under existing conditions are between 4 billion and 16 billion. Depending on which estimate is used, human overpopulation may or may not have already occurred. Nevertheless, the rapid recent increase in human population is causing some concern. The population is expected to reach between 8 and 10.5 billion between the year 2040 and 2050. In May 2011, the United Nations increased the medium variant projections to 9.3 billion for 2050 and 10.1 billion for 2100.

The recent rapid increase in human population over the past three centuries has raised concerns that the planet may not be able to sustain present or future numbers of inhabitants. The InterAcademy Panel Statement on Population Growth, circa 1994, stated that many environmental problems, such as rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, global warming, and pollution, are aggravated by the population expansion. Other problems associated with overpopulation include the increased demand for resources such as fresh water and food, starvation and malnutrition, consumption of natural resources  faster than the rate of regeneration, and a deterioration in living conditions. Wealthy but highly populated territories like Britain rely on food imports from overseas. This was severely felt during the World Wars when, despite food efficiency initiatives like "dig for victory" and food rationing, Britain needed to fight to secure import routes. However, many believe that waste and over-consumption, especially by wealthy nations, is putting more strain on the environment than overpopulation.

Most countries have no direct policy of limiting their birth rates, but the rates have still fallen due to education about family planning and increasing access to birth control and contraception. Only China has imposed legal restrictions on having more than one child. Extraterrestrial settlement and other technical solutions have been proposed as ways to mitigate overpopulation in the future.

Concern about overpopulation is ancient. Tertullian was a resident of the city of Carthage in the second century CE, when the population of the world was about 190 million . He notably said: "What most frequently meets our view  is our teeming population. Our numbers are burdensome to the world, which can hardly support us.... In very deed, pestilence, and famine, and wars, and earthquakes have to be regarded as a remedy for nations, as the means of pruning the luxuriance of the human race." Before that, Plato, Aristotle and others broached the topic as well.

Throughout history, population growth has usually been slow despite high birth rates, due to war, plagues and other diseases, and high infant mortality. During the 750 years before the Industrial Revolution, the world's population increased very slowly, remaining under 250 million.

By the beginning of the 19th century, the world population had grown to a billion individuals, and intellectuals such as Thomas Malthus predicted that mankind would outgrow its available resources, because a finite amount of land would be incapable of supporting a population with a limitless potential for increase. Mercantillists argued that a large population was a form of wealth, which made it possible to create bigger markets and armies.

During the 19th century, Malthus's work was often interpreted in a way that blamed the poor alone for their condition and helping them was said to worsen conditions in the long run. This resulted, for example, in the English poor laws of 1834

The UN Population Assessment Report of 2003 projects that the world population will plateau by 2050 and will remain stable until 2300. Alex Berezow, editor of RealClearScience, states that overpopulation is not a Western world problem, and people often cite China and India as major population contributors; however, he notes that with rising wealth in those countries, population growth will begin to slow, as population growth is strongly linked to the economic stability of a country

Philippine Demographics by Sarah Natasha A. Presiados

Overpopulation is a growing issue in the Philippines. Several demographic experts predict that the number of Filipinos living in the Philippines will reach beyond 102 million in 2015. This issue of overpopulation is believed to be one of the main reasons for the country's sustained poverty and lack of economic growth.

According to data released in 2012 by the Philippine Statistics Authority, fisherman and farmers remained the poorest among the nine basic sectors in the Philippines with poverty incidence of 39.2% and 38.3% respectively. Also, the subsistence incidence of Filipinos, or the proportion of Filipinos whose income is below the food threshold, was estimated at 10.7% in the first semester of 2013.

Literacy must also be taken into account when looking into demographics. According to the results of the 2008 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey, 58 million of the estimated 67 million Filipinos aged 10-64 years old are functionally literate. The functional literacy rate is higher among persons with a higher level in education. Of those who had reached but did not finish high school 89.8% were functionally literate, and of those who had finished elementary school, 80.8% were functionally literate.

The need for family planning has been unmet and increased in the last 5 years. According to the results of the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey, the need for family planning decreases with education, wealth, and age. For example, 29% of women with no education, 28% of those in poor households, and 36% for those between the ages of 15-19 have an unmet need for family planning. On the other hand only 20% of women with higher education, 20% of those in wealthy households, and 18% between the ages of 45-49 have an unmet need for family planning.

The problems that come with an increasing population will also increase, but I believe that the different methods of Family Planning would be an effective way to helping the increasing Philippine population, if not for two issues. First, much of the population, especially those living, in poverty, are not adequately educated in family planning, and therefore, will probably continue to have more children. Second, because much of the Philippine population is very religious, several methods of family planning conflicts with their religious convictions.
But if we put aside our differences and help to educate others, we can tackle the issues that are plaguing our country

Philippine Economy and Philippine Politics

by: Brinkley Angeli S. Deticio

Economy is defined as the wealth and resources of a country or region, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services. Over the past few years we have no longer been labeled as the Sick Man of Asia but have gained the title as the new rising tiger. From the beggars on the streets to the slums we can see, there is but little development. The grim reality of our being the so-called rising tiger is that such wonderful economic growth is seen only in the media. Nonetheless, it is still calming to know that at least there are some places that are not entirely drowned to poverty as many provinces in the Philippines are. This is a start. A good one, in fact. A lot of essays mention how the Philippines will have a bright economy in the near future and that is undeniably possible. Why? The signs. First, despite the desolate overall world economic conditions at the moment, the same stormy clouds for the industrial and more developed economies are creating conditions that favor the Philippine economy. Second, there are inherent domestic factors that, if fully attended to, could improve the current pace of economic development. Third, the Philippines has, of course, lots of natural resources which is why scarcity might as well be the least of our problems. Finally, the degree of gains that might come our way depends on how the government makes use of the emerging opportunities as they come. So, all in all, our economy is not exactly on the top but is somehow on the way.

Politics refers to the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area. The Philippines has a the presidential, representative, and democratic republic type of political system. As much as I would like to say that the government of the Philippines is honest and just, we would all know and agree that that is a lie. The Philippines, for all it's beauty, has its flaws. Though, most of those flaws revolve around one great flaw which is our government. Economic success will never be achieved with the debt looming over the country, simply haunting the archipelago. With the upcoming 2015 elections, Filipinos can't help but cross their fingers, hope and pray that the upcoming officials will at least have some decency and thirst for a successful country. In a society in which nearly everybody is dominated by somebody else's mind, it becomes increasingly difficult to learn the truth about the activities of governments, about the quality of products, or about the health of one's own place and economy. In such a society, also, economies will depend less and less upon the private ownership of real, usable property, and more and more upon property that is beyond individual control, such as money, insurance policies, certificates of deposit, stocks, and shares. And as our private economies become more abstract, the mutual, free helps and pleasures of family and community life will be supplanted by a kind of displaced or placeless citizenship and by commerce with impersonal and self-interested suppliers. Thus, although we are not slaves in name, and cannot be carried to market and sold as somebody else's legal chattels, we are free only within narrow limits. For all our talk about liberation and personal autonomy, there are few choices that we are free to make which is quite sad. Despite this and the fact that our country, politically speaking, is full of peril, there is still hope that maybe as brighter future awaits.

Philippine External Debt by Julie Ann C. Dy

According to the book, Sociology and Anthropology: Fundamental Concepts of Society and Man written by our very own teacher, Sir Glenn Trajano, the Philippine External Debt refers to the amount of money capital and interest- booriwed by Filipinos from international banking institutions like Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund as well as country creditors.Throughout the years, as we take a look at the number of debts that the Philippines borrowed from other countries, it makes you question, "Where did the money go?". Each president that we've been under has borrowed billions of dollars but why is the economy of the Philippines still not improving as much? This just shows how corrupt our country is. I'm not saying that all the presidents didn't help in making the economy of the Philippines improve but I am confident that they didn't give their all. In my opinion, the Philippine External Debt is an eye opener to me that none of our leaders are trustworthy. To prove it, an example would be how the Philippines is still dealing with a major problem- YOLANDA. Up until now the citizens in Tacloban City are still suffering. Although it has its improvements, it hasn't risen up to its full potentiality. And to think that foreign countries have already donated billions to trillions of dollars for the Yolanda victims. WHERE IS THE MONEY?. If only the money was not corrupted, I believe that we could rise up to be a better economy. Take for an example, Japan had experienced a scenario far worst the ours- the earthquake and tsunami in the year 2011. However, after a year, Japan has risen up to become a better economy. To me, they were able to rise up not because Japan is richer than the Philippines but because the money given was not corrupted. It saddens me to see that the Philippines is still suffering with the Yolanda tragedy and is having to deal with poverty and loan problems. This is all in the hands of our leaders, the president and the government. So, where did the money go?

Overpopulation In The Philippines - Mary Lizette L. Valde

                                                

The Philippine society is slowly becoming one of the most overpopulated countries in the world. The death rate cannot catch up with the birth rate. Overpopulation causes many problems for our society. It contributes to the lack of employment and to the lack of essential resources like food because of the massive amount of mouths to feed. Not only does it affect on the essential resources we gather, but it affects agriculture as whole. Overpopulation also makes it more difficult for people to focus who to teach, making the ignored part of the population illiterate, affecting the literacy rate of a country.

A good reason for overpopulation could be attributed towards the lack of sex education in the country. One factor for the lack of sex education in the Philippines is because our country is the only predominant Christian country in the entire Asian continent. Due to our beliefs, it is unholy for us to touch the subject of family planning, which is being tackled in sex education.

Sex education is one of the subjects being taught by teachers to students, but it is not present in many educational institutions in the Philippines. This is most especially noticed inside sectarian institutions. The whole point in teaching sex education is to teach people how things like family planning work. One such point is to teach people how a child is conceived, and as to how one could prevent the birth of one through the use of contraceptives and family planning methods. Our religion considers family planning and the use of contraceptives immoral or evil, since it prevents the birth of another human being, depriving it from life. However, we should take into account that contraceptives are not flawless. It does not have a 100% chance in preventing birth. Also, it must be taken into account that family planning is one of the methods that could help us in preventing our overpopulation issue from getting worse.

Family planning helps in controlling the birth rate, which is the primary factor for overpopulation. It applies various methods and contraceptives that could prevent pregnancy. Although abortion could be synonymous to murder, since the fetus is already developing inside, the use of birth control methods and contraceptives are a lesser form of evil that is needed if we are to stop overpopulation. The 2011 Family Health Survey (FHS) results revealed that unmet need for FP among married women in the Philippines remains high at 19.3%, 10.5% for birth spacing, and 8.8% for limiting births. Unmet need for Family planning is substantially lower among women who attained a higher education(17.6%) compared to the women who had little education or nothing at all(29.2%).

If sex education would be taught in the majority of educational institutions in the country, it could very well contribute to the weakening of the country's problem of overpopulation. Although it will take a while for the problem to erase itself, as long as the entire Philippine community work with one another to control the birth rate through things like family planning, laws like the one child policy, or through not mating at all, it will definitely help solve the problem in the long run.

Philippine Demography: Overpopulation by Jewel Joy L. Tenerife

     Overpopulation is a condition where the number of existing human population exceeds the carrying capacity of the Earth. This is caused by numerous factors -reduced morality rate, better medical facilities, and depletion of natural resources. 

     In each coming year, growing advances in technology has affected humanity in several ways. Because of these advances, they have been able to save lives and create better medical treatments for everyone;thus, resulting to increased lifespan and the growth of population. In the past years, the growth of population has boomed and has turned into overpopulation; in our history, the birth and death rate have always been able to maintain and balance a sustainable population growth rate.

     Developing nations face the problem of overpopulation. Even the Bubonic Plague, thousands of wars, natural calamities and man-made hazards weren't able to dent the population. This affects the Earth the most. When talking about overpopulation, we must first know and understand the causes of it.

Causes of Overpopulation
   Decline in the Death Rate
      The difference between the overall birth rate and death in population is   mainly the reason to overpopulation. If the number of children born in each year equals the number of people that die, then the population will stabilize. There are many factors that can increase the  death rate in short period of time, but the increase birth rate takes a longer period of time. Also the discovery of agriculture which provides us the ability to sustain nutrition without hunting created the first imbalance between the two rates. 

   Better Medical Facilities

      In the industrial revolution, technological advancement was one of the biggest reasons why the balance is permanently disturbed. Science was able to produce better food, which allowed families feed more mouths. Medical science also made many discoveries which were able to defeat a whole range of diseases. Because of this, illnesses that claimed thousands of lives were cured. 

   Technological Advancement in Fertility Treatment
      It has become possible for couples who are unable to conceive to undergo fertility treatment methods and have their own babies because of the latest technological advancements and discoveries in medical science. Today,  there are effective medicines which can increases the chance of conception and lead to rise in birth rate. Moreover, due to modern techniques pregnancies today are far more safer.

   Immigration

       Many people prefer to move to developed countries like US, UK, Canada and Australia because they have the best facilities available in terms of medical, education, security and employment. This results to overcrowding those places. The difference between the number of people who are leaving the country and the number of people who enter narrows down which leads to more demand for food, clothes, energy and homes. This gives rise to shortage of resources. Though the overall population remains the same, it just affects the density of population making that place simply overcrowded.

   Lack in Family Planning
      There is a large number of people who are illiterate, live below the poverty line and have little or no knowledge about family planning. Getting their children married at an early age increase the chances of producing more kids. Those people are unable to understand the harmful effects of overpopulation and lack of ignorance prompts them to avoid family planning measures.

Effects of Overpopulation
   Depletion of Natural Resources
       The effects of overpopulation are quite severe, and one of these is depletion of our natural resources. The Earth can only produce a limited amount of water and food, which is falling short of the current needs. Most of the environmental damage because of the growing number of people on the planet. They are cutting down trees in forests, hunting wildlife in a reckless manner, and causing pollution.

   Degradation of Environment
       Because of the overuse of coal, oil and natural gas, it has started producing serious effects on our environment. This is due to the rise of the number of vehicles and industries which have badly affects the quality of air. The rise in amount of CO2 emissions leads to global warming. The consequences we face due to environmental pollution are: melting of polar ice caps, changing climate patterns, and rise in sea level.

   Rise in Unemployment

      When a country becomes overpopulated, it gives rise to unemployment as there fewer jobs to support large number of people. Rise in unemployment gives rise to crime as people will steal items just to feed their family and to be able to provide them their basic amenities of life.

   High Cost of Living

        As difference between demand and supply continues to expand due to overpopulation, it raises the prices of various commodities-food, shelter and healthcare. This means that people have to pay more to survive and feed their families.

   As for the rapid growth of the population in the world, we should raise awareness in family planning that can help curb the population growth. We should implement policies reflecting social change like educating couples to understand the need to have one or two children at the most; families that are facing difficulties or hardship and choose to have five or more children should be discouraged. The government in other countries might have to come up with various policies related to tax exemptions like lowering the income tax of the married couples who have one or two children. This may give some positive results.

PHILIPPINE EXTERNAL DEBT by: Glyzza Rose Garrido

One of the major problems of our country is External Debt. It means the amount borrowed from international banks. It started in Marcos’ time that the Philippines had the largest foreign debt at over 25 Billion Dollars. Where did this money go?  Was it really used for the Filipinos? Or we only enjoyed a part of it? Marcos made Philippines one of the best, but he also made it one of the worst because until now we are still paying for the debts he left. And with this, I can say that he is selfish. He wasn’t thinking of the consequences of his actions. And for generations now, we are still suffering for what Marcos did.

Marcos is one of the best presidents Philippines had. He made Philippines known to the world. He was really brilliant. But he used his intelligence in a bad way. In my opinion, if he did the right thing and helped our country to rise, I think that we can be one of the best now. Our country won’t be facing so many problems as much as we are now. If these debts were not very big, there would be enough funds for everyone. Like for education, students who can’t afford to go to school can be supported by our government. For health, everyone should have insurance to government hospitals. We won’t need to pay large taxes. And there might be a possibility that poverty will not exist.

This problem can only be solved if our leaders are willing to help our country. Some leaders use this problem as an excuse to let us pay bigger tax, but don’t use this rightfully. If we are being led like these leaders, then the expected date that we can pay our debts might extend. That is why we should choose our leaders wisely. And hope that we will not make the same mistake we all did.

Economy Of the Philippines by: Hope Mari Alido

       The economy of the Philippines is the 39th largest in the world, according to 2014 International Monetary Fund Statistics, and is also one of the emerging markets. The Philippines is industrialized country which has been transitioning from one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing in 2014, the GDP by purchasing power party was estimated to be at $690.223 billion. as newly industrialized country, the Philippines is still an economy with a large agricultural sector.

AGRICULTURE
    Philippine is the 8th largest rice producer in the world, accounting for 2.8 percent of global rice production. It was the largest rice importer in 2010. Rice is the most important food crop, a staple food in most of the country. It is produced extensively in Luzon, the Western Visayas , Southern Mindanao and Central mindanao. Rice production in the Philippines is important to the food supply in the country and economy.
    The philippines is also the world's largest producer of coconuts. And also it is one of the largest producer of sugar in the world according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the united nations statistics division.

PRICE HIKE/INFLATION
     Inflation is the increase in prices for goods and services. One example is the increase of prices of    rice, gasoline, petroleum. Prices go up because the money supply increases to benefit the well-connected. One reason why prices increases is because of hoarding. the keeping of goods. So when  scarcity comes, the prices would be high. And also because of natural calamities that destroys the goods.
 BENEFITS
     While consumers experience little benefit from inflation, some individuals reap the rewards. Manufacturers can charge more for their products and contractors can raise their prices. Business owners can deliberately withhold supplies from the market allowing prices to rise to a favorable level. Investors also enjoy a boost if they hold assest in the markets that are affected by inflation.

    In my opinion, price hike is a threat to savings. People have to work hard to make their needs meet. The Government has not spared anything that the common man needs to survive., what with the already ridiculous situation of food inflation which is above 10 percent to be precise, 10.13 percent. It is literally making beggars out of the common man with the way it is increasing the rates of things across board.

Privatization by: Antopina, Geselle Marie T.

Unt 8

 Privatization refers to ''transfer of overall ownership and management of companies and enterprises from public to private sectors.'' Some of those what used to be government-owned and controlled companies that had been handed to private sectors are PLDT, Philpost, Napocor and MWSS (Manila Water and Sewage Services). The aim of privatization is to ensure efficiency in supply and affordability in access of public goods. It helps the government in times of ineffectiveness. But, privatization of social services doesn’t serve the interests of the people. Along with the privatization of social services is the higher cost of products and services since gaining profit is the aim of engaging into business. These are some of the cons of privatization: 

• A major concern to the organized labor is the impact of privatization on job security and employment. Workers layoffs, erosion of wages and benefits, and decreased levels of union membership could be parts of labor’s setbacks for embracing privatization.
• Prices may actually rise if the service was previously subsidized by the government. This is a common experience after a successful privatization process. This becomes imperative in a bid to provide qualitative service, improve efficiency and profitability.
• In extremely unavoidable cases, staff down-sizing could result to workers lay-off, and then unemployment rises. This aptly results to more crimes and social vices because ‘an idle hand is a devil’s workshop.
• One of the disadvantages is that the privatized company will no longer operate in the public interest. While a state-owned company primarily serves the citizens of the state, the primary goal of a privately operated company is to make profit. It may make these profits at the expense of its customers without serving them properly. For example, it may choose the market which is most profitable to operate in and leave less wealthy customers without a service.

 Take this as examples, the inundated rate hikes Meralco gives every less than a year. Transportation like air transportation, and communications like telephone and cellular communication should also be managed by the government. Air transportation is risky for it is prone to mass destructions. The government should ensure and protect its people whenever they are prone to disasters. Telephone and cellular communications should be handled by the government for it could be a way to do crimes like kidnap for ransom and money extortion. Unlike what the private owners of telecommunications who are very loose in selling a subscriber identity module card or sim card, the government has all means to regulate the ownership of a phone number. Government should not just entrust the people’s safety to private sectors whose primary aim is to earn money. The PIATCO controversy was a clear manifestation of the bankruptcy and inutility of the privatization program of the government forcing 10000 NAIA workers out of their jobs. 

 In conclusion, it should be the government's reponsibility to provide its people the service they wanted.

PHILIPPINE DEMOGRAPHY

by Mary Kate S. Sarvida

The Philippine population comprises 1.37 percent of the world’s total population. Its growth was 3.8 percent as of 2010 and by 2013 the annual growth increased by 1.7 percent. The growth of the population both had negative and positive effects.

The largest proportions of employed population are the laborers and the unskilled workers which are 32.4 percent followed by farmers, forestry workers and fishermen with 16.2 percent share of the total employed population.

This is one of the positive effects of the increase of population. The increase of the population also increases the employment rate. The biggest resources we have are the human resources, the dollars they send are a big help to the economy.

Despite the help of the population increase to our economy there is also a downside to this. The most common negative effects is the rapid increase of the poverty rates. One of the cause of which is teenage pregnancy. They get pregnant at an early age and do not have the financial capability to support both their child and their selves. One in three births in the Philippines is unplanned either unwanted or untimed.

There are different solutions to this, two of which is the functional literacy and family planning. For me, being functionally literate means one had the proper education to know the consequences of what one means to therefore decreasing not only the rapid growth of teenage pregnancy but also the crime rates in our country.

In conclusion both the positive and negative effects of overpopulation should not be ignored and should be given attention.

PHILIPPINE DEMOGRAPHY

by Mary Louise Zozobrado

The Philippine population from 1960-2010 with the average of 56.98 million. The total population of the Philippines from 1960 was 27.1 million and the last report about the Philippine population was in 2010 which had a record of 94.6 million people. Which means that there was a 250% change during the last 50 years.

The Philippines has a 1.37 percent of the world’s total population, which means that one person in every 73 people on the planet is a resident of the Philippines.

The Population Census provides the most reliable picture of a country’s population because the data is collected at a specified time from the entire population.

In 2010, the country’s population increased by 15.83 million. So the total population of the Philippines as of May 1, 2010 is 92,337,852 based on the Census of Population and Housing in 2010. The increasing population appears compensated by an average inflation rate which rose by 0.6 percentage point to 3.8 percent in 2010 from 3.2 percent in 2009 as fuel, light and water and services index recorded higher annual average rates.

One of the impacts of population increase is on employment rate. Among these occupation groups, laborers and unskilled workers comprised the largest proportion of the total employed population which has a 32.4 percentage and followed by the farmers, forestry workers and fishermen with 16.2 percent. Employed persons are classified as either full-time workers or part-time workers. Full-time workers are those who work for 40 hours or more while part-time workers work for less than 40 hours.

In October 2010, 63.8 percent of the total employed persons worked full time while 35.0 worked part time. You are considered as underemployed when you have a job that doesn’t use your skills so on the 10^th of October there was an estimation of 7.1 million of underemployed people. 33.37% percent of the unemployed were high school graduates, 22.9% were college undergraduates and 19.4% were college graduates.

According to the results of the 2008 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), 58 million of the estimated 67 million Filipinos from ages 10-64 years old are functionally literate. A functionally literate person is someone who can read, write, compute and comprehend.

Family planning is another step to address population increase in the country. The unmet need for family planning among married women in the Philippines remains high at 19.3 percent, 10.5 percent for birth spacing and 8.8 percent for limiting births. An unmet need for family planning refers to proportion of currently married women who are not using any method of family planning but don’t want any more children or prefer to space births. Total unmet need for family is substantially greater among women considered poor compared to rich women. Unmet need also decreases with increasing education, it is highest for currently married women who are uneducated and lowest for those with college or higher education. Among women who attained a certain level of education, unmet need for spacing births is higher than for limiting births.

7 in 10 or 73 percent of married women could be using a family planning method if all family planning need were satisfied according to the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey results. The survey reveals that 51% of married women are using a family planning method or have a met need for family planning. Those with an unmet need for family planning comprise of 22%, 13% for limiting births and 9% for spacing births.

Unplanned pregnancies inevitably result to dramatic rise of population. 36 percent births in the country are either unwanted or mistimed. This is more likely to occur among older women than younger women. A surveyed data reveals that 53% of births to women aged 40-44 in 5 years preceding the survey were unplanned while majority with 84% of births were unwanted. Among ages 15-19, 31% of births were unplanned while 21% were unwanted.

Mortality Rate is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Due to the advancement of medicine, mortality rate is declining. For every 1,000 live births, 34 die before reaching the age of 5 years old according to 2008 NDHS. The infant mortality rate in the country also declined, from 35 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in the period of 1993-1997 to 25 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2003-2007.

There are 3 noted causes of death in the Philippines. First, Heart Disease. Second, Cerebrovascular Diseases. Third, Malignant Neoplasm or cancer. In 2005, 18.1% were reportedly caused by heart diseases and 10.6% were caused by cerebrovascular diseases. There were 41,697 (9.8%) records that stated that cancer as the reason for death. Out of 41,697 deaths caused by cancer in 2005, 21,993 (52.7%) were males and 19,704 (47.3%) were females.

In conclusion, we should give the people their right to learn or to be educated because it is very unfair for them not to have a job just because they weren’t able to reach a certain level of education. For family planning, we should always consider the natural way because it is very risky if women do it the artificial way and it might affect the child or the mother. We should always take care of ourselves to prevent dangerous diseases. We should always think about our health first before anything else.