FREE ESSAY ON THE PHILLIPINES

THE PHILLIPINES

Over the past few years, the Philippines' economy has undergone a remarkable
transformation. In the late 80's and early 90's the Philippines were stuck with poor
political leadership, economic growth, and slow paced economic development. Today it is
recognized globally that the Filipino economy has turned around to produce a positive
growth. One of their biggest accomplishments has been the GNP growth rate rise from zero
in the early nineties to between 5% and 6% today. 
The current president, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, is following the strong pace set by
former president. Under the Ramos administration, important steps were taken towards
economic liberalization. These steps included the opening of banks and telecommunications
sectors, and the changing of investment laws, which created a more attractive business
alliance and stronger commercial relationships with the United States. Because of these
events, the United States remains to be the number one trading partner of the
Philippines, and they are among the United States top 25 trading partners. 
According to President Estrada's speech on January 8, 1999, thanks to the actions of
former president Ramos our country continues to enjoy positive growth despite the crisis
in Asia. In the region last year, only Singapore and the Philippines posted positive
growth rates. Some of the major factors concerning the economic growth during Ramos's
term in office that Estrada intends to continue to give attention to are foreign
relations, education, health, transportation, banking and trading. 
Modern education in the Philippines is becoming a major issue in the growth and
stabilization of the country's economy. During the last fifty years, education has become
a major concern for this country, and it has recently been made more readily available
through expansion. Despite this expansion, the quality of education was still not up to
par and remains a concern today. One problem facing the education system was a thirty-
percent difference in the literacy level between rural and urban areas. Also, all
families below the poverty line could not afford to educate their children beyond
elementary school. These and other problems like poor teacher performance, overcrowded
classrooms, lack of language skills and low wages could definitely benefit from new
programs aimed at improving work productivity and family income. 
In 1990, over 10,000 foreign students studied in the Philippines, the majority of which
were American. Until recently, most of the students attending these schools had to be
taught in three languages; English, Filipino and Spanish. Now the schools primarily focus
on Filipino, which will relieve much stress on students and faculty, and promote faster
progress in the future. Another controversy noticed by many American students was the
fact that many education policies were fluctuating constantly, and were likely to be
changed before teachers became used to them. The most important concern of the education
system in the Philippines is the number of students who actually complete college, and
are then unable to find a job that they were not grossly overqualified for. These trained
personnel could facilitate economic development if properly utilized, which is why the
Department of Education, Culture, and Sports is working to develop better mandatory
policies for and closer direct supervision for its schools.
The workforce of the Philippine people is terrible. Not enough jobs are available for the
people, and the ones that are low paying and long working. Over 40 % of the workforce
were under 15 years of age in 1990. Agriculture comprises 45 percent of the current
workforce, which is much lower than it had been in the past. In the last decade, the
service sector (commerce, finance, transportation, and a host of private and public
services) became the residual employer, accounting for almost 40 percent of the
workforce. A major problem with the workforce is the unemployment rate. The unemployment
rate is currently 11.4 %. The worst part about this is that the majority of the
unemployed is young, inexperienced people who were relatively well educated. Since the
lack of job opportunities, the educated people find themselves unemployed because
everyone is fighting for the higher jobs.
Another important aspect that helps dictate the economic growth of a country is health.
In the Philippines the struggle against disease has been increasing over the years. Life
expectancy rose from 51.2 years in 1960 to 69 years for woman and 63 years for men in
1990. In 1998 the numbers were up to 63.57 for men and 69.38 for woman. Infant mortality
dropped from 101 out of 1000 in 1950 to 51.6 in 1989. It has dropped all the way down to
34.56 out of 1000 in 1998. 
The biggest cause of death in the Philippines has always come from communicable diseases.
The main reason for that is the health care facilities is mostly located in only urban
areas. A bad part about all of these facilities is that there has always been a lack of
personnel capable of running and maintaining these facilities. Another big problem with
health in the Philippines is the problem of illicit drugs. In 1983 more than 265
pharmaceutical drugs were sold in the Philippines that were banned in many other
countries. By 1988, The department of health helped eliminate 128 of them. By 1998,
another 45 had been eliminated. 
The Filipino's use a dual health care system consisting of modern (Western) and
traditional medicine. The modern system is based on disease and medical treatment. The
traditional is based on the fact that disease is caused and cured by supernatural force.
Two many times than often if the cure was not right their the people will leave the
thought of modern medicine and travel to the traditional way of curing people. This is a
big reason for the large number of deaths from normal everyday diseases. 
Despite how much effort has been put into the medical attention, in 1990 over 50 % of the
population were still listed below the poverty line. Social security is also another big
problem in the Philippines. In 1989 of the 22 million employed individuals, only 10.5
million were covered by social security. In health care and social security, the
Philippines entered the 90's as a modernizing society struggling with limited success to
attain financial resources that would be able to provide people with a better life. Now,
since then the number has risen, but not by much. 
An aspect of how the economy needs to grow is the issue of internal transportation. Over
the years the transportation methods have been becoming more modern and more easily
accessible. Today, an extensive road network links most of the country. There are 156,997
kilometers of total roads, but less than 30,000 km are fully developed and can not be
used in all weather conditions. There is 490 km of operational narrow-gauge railroad
tracks out of the total 897-km of tracks. Inland waterways total 3,219 km, but are
limited to shallow draft vessels that can be no longer than 1.5 meters. Ferries are the
primary mode of transportation between islands. The Pan-Philippine highway stretches from
Zamboanga through many of the eastern islands, extending all the way up to the northern
most island city of Laoag. In most places around the world transportation of the air is
also a big method. The Philippines have modernized their airports and now have a total of
87 airports, 52 of which are commercial flights and 35 are for general aviation. They
have designated two international airports, which facilitate most major international
airlines. Several domestic airports are currently undergoing technological improvements
to better their flight servicing capabilities. 
Trading is a big part of any country's economy. In the Philippines the largest amount of
imports come from the United States. The Largest imports from the United States include
electrical machinery, machinery, cereals, medical instruments, food waste, and animal
feed. In 1997, the Philippines total imports were 34 billion US dollars. The exports for
the same year were 25 billion US dollars. The Philippines principal trade partners are
the United States, Japan, European Union countries, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong.
The Philippines has had a lengthy and complicated economic relationship with the United
States. In 1949, the United States accounted for a little more than 80% of total
Philippine trade. Thereafter, the rise of several other financially growing countries,
mainly Japan, caused the decline of the United States' portion of trade. By 1988, the
United States accounted for a mere 27 percent of total Philippine trade, compared to the
19 percent by Japan. At the time the Philippines was gaining their independence, they
became involved in a number of agreements with the United States. The agreements in
effect kept a close link with the United States and protected American business interests
in the Philippines.
One reason we will not be marketing our 3 wheel carts in the Philippines is because of
the age groups. 38% of the population is between the ages of 0-14. 59% of the population
are between the ages of 15-64 years of age. The remaining 3% is 65 years and older. Not
only is the age group we would be able to market our product to scarce, but the life
expectancy rate of the Philippines is only 66.35 years old. Since the 3 wheel carts are
mainly used for transportation and shopping, they would not be needed in this country.
The younger people, whom do not need this product, do most of the shopping and
transportation.