The Philippines is not poor MANO-A-MANO By Adel Tamano (The Philippine Star) Updated September 19, 2010 12:00

AM Comments (0) On my daily commute from Fairview to Ortigas, which lasts at least an hour, I spend the time listening to podcasts, speeches, and various forums that I download from the Internet. Instead of listening to the news or music, I listen to, among others, forums held at Harvard s Kennedy School of Government, classes on Roman and Greek history from Yale University and even Spanish language lessons from and this shows how flat the world has become a radio show in Scotland. I ve been doing this for nearly two months and I can say that it has enriched my intellectual life immensely. In the midst of the daily routine of work and earning a living, it is rare that you have the chance to discuss and think about great ideas or to dialogue with inspirational leaders and thinkers of the world. So, for me, listening to these podcasts is my modest effort, aside from trying to read one or two books a week, to keep my mind fresh, alert, and to continuously learn. Two days ago, as I was listening to the lecture of Prime Minister RailaOdinga of Kenya delivered at the John F. Kennedy Forum at Harvard University, two points that he raised deeply resonated with me: 1) Africa is not poor, rather it is unfair; and 2) He is an afro-optimist, meaning that he remains optimistic about the future of Africa. Regarding the point that Africa was not poor but rather that it was unfair, such that, in Africa, inequity and social injustice are the root causes of poverty rather than the lack of resources and opportunities, I couldn t help but think that that same insight applied to the Philippines. As someone who has traveled the length and breadth of this country during the last elections, I can say without a doubt that, in terms of natural resources, our nation is not only rich but also incredibly beautiful. Specifically, the Philippines is rich in mineral resources. Metal deposits, such as nickel, copper, and iron are estimated at 21.5 billion metric tons. Non-metal deposits, such as marble, lime, and clay are projected at 19.3 billion metric tons. Additionally, we have vast timber and agricultural resources, especially in Mindanao, as well as rich marine resources due to the archipelagic nature of the Philippines. Over 2,000 species of fish and also marine products such as corals, seaweed, and pearls are found in Philippine waters. However, also because I have traveled the Philippines extensively, I have witnessed firsthand the grinding poverty of a large segment of our population, which is contrasted with the abundant wealth of a very small group of Filipinos. So, is the Philippines really poor? I asked this question to my friends and the general sense, for most people, is that our country is not poor, at least not in terms of resources; however, our country has been mismanaged and there remains great inequality. Moreover, corruption undermines efforts to minimize poverty. Another way to look at the issue of whether or not the Philippines is poor is to ask how poor are most Filipinos? The statistics are stark and raise serious issues about social justice in the Philippines: In 2006, about a quarter of Filipinos more or less 20 million of our countrymen lived on a little over one $1 a day. Also, nearly half of Filipinos about 44 percent of the population survived on less than $2 a day. These facts are sobering indeed, particularly when you realize that your cafe latte costs more than the amount it takes almost half of your countrymen to survive. Even more worrisome is the fact that although poverty incidence meaning roughly the number of people living in poverty as a ratio to the entire population has been reduced in recent years, the actual population or the real number of Filipinos living in poverty has actually increased in the last 20 years. With regard to social justice, how equitably

or how fairly is income or wealth distributed among Filipinos? A tool economists use to assess economic inequality is the Gini Index or Gini Coefficient. Essentially, the Gini Coefficient measures the income inequality among a country s population. Thus, the higher the Gini Coefficient, the greater the inequality, meaning that wealth is not equally spread across a country s population. According to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in terms of the Gini Coefficient with the country with the most unequal distribution being the highest (in this case, Namibia, which is ranked number 1) the Philippines is ranked 37th out of 134 countries. Sadly, countries like Thailand (ranked 50th), Indonesia (ranked 66th), and Vietnam (ranked 78th), whom we benchmark against, fared significantly better than the Philippines. What the data shows is that, similar to the African situation, the Philippines is resource-rich but is poor in the sense that only a small population of Filipinos enjoy the benefits of the country s resources. Yet despite this hard reality, like Prime Minister Odinga, I too am a Phil-optimist, meaning I remain solidly optimistic about the future of our country. Part of this optimism is rooted in the very richness of our country. We have the resources for development in abundance, unlike some countries, such as Singapore, which despite the lack of natural resources have reached first-world status. In terms of human resources, we have high rates of literacy and our English proficiency is still above many of our neighbors in Asia. Simply, we have the resources and so the next step the most important and difficult step is to get our political act together. On this point, we must remember that the Philippines is a young nation; we have only been an independent state for 65 years and 20 of those years were spent under martial law. So the mistakes and missteps in governance, while painful and unjust, should be understood in this light. Of course, getting our act together politically, minimizing social inequalities, addressing social injustice, and moving this country forward is much easier said then done. But always, the doing will be much easier when we keep our optimism and when we realize how rich and blessed the Philippines truly is.

Questions:

How did the author prove that the Philippines is a rich and a beautiful country? According to the writer, our country is not poor but mismanaged. Cite 1-2 examples that the country is truly mismanaged. According to Gandhi: Be the change we want to see in the world. Today it is difficult to be PHILOPTIMIST in this country considering that we are surrounded with pessimists, mediocre minded people and corrupt officials. What values should you possess to improve the present economic condition of our country?