Causes and Effects of Poverty in the Philippines

Poverty is the state of not having enough money to provide or to take care of basic needs such as
food, clothing and housing. Poverty remains the most critical social problem that needs to be addressed.
It is a very serious problem that must immediately be dealt with in order to minimize its effects. Poverty
takes a great toll not only on the poor but also the country as a whole. Thus, the Philippines, its
government and its agencies have to undergo major reform to fight poverty.
Poverty in the Philippines arose from the rapid population growth in the country. Millions of
Filipinos live below the poverty line. As Philippines has limited resources and an existing high poverty
rate, the rapid increase in population has become a problem because there are already insufficient
resources to support the population, which leaves much lesser resources to improve the economy.
In modern times, vices are common in the Philippines like playing cards, mahjong, smoking
cigarettes, drinking day or night even if there are no occasions, and betting on a cockfight. Some people
depend on these in making a living instead of looking for a job but their chances always leads into
nothing.
The government until today is still corrupted because of politicians and persons in authority that
forget their responsibility to the nation to satisfy their personal interests. That is why we also have debts
in the World Bank because of them. It is pitiful to see educated Filipinos that dont do what they have
said during their campaigns.
Lack of quality education can also cause poverty. Families below poverty line cannot let their
children go to school. Even the parents have no experience to wear school uniforms and have allowance
to study. They have no diplomas. They do not wear any graduation gown in their life.
Because of lack of quality education, high unemployment rate and job mismatching are present.
In order to have a permanent and good salary job, you must have a bachelors degree. You must finish a
tertiary education or at least a vocational course. Poor people are contented picking junks and garbage
everywhere, being beggars, and searching foods in every trash bins. Some have jobs but seasonal, and
even they are contractual workers with low salary. Is their salary can feed their children three times a
day?
The effects of it are very visible in nature. Poverty causes many Filipinos to not pursue their
education. Others seem to be contented of their lives as poor. While others seem to work by labor, the
economy of the country is also affected in such a way that the economic activities are too domestic in
nature, and decreasing the country's ability to make a way to international economics. However, many
foreign investors are helping domestic laborers in terms of providing jobs locally.
The nutrition of many children in the Philippines is greatly affected by poverty. People living
beside polluted places are affected by their improper hygiene and urban dwellers are even more affected
by their insufficient intake of healthy foods.
Poverty also affects the daily lives of the Filipinos. As much as many Filipinos depend on luck, it
is triggered by their low-lifestyle favors and bad living conditions. People use drugs and perform crimes
as their escape to poverty. It contributes to the high crime rate throughout the world.
There are many solutions in suppressing poverty. Government must change and take reforms
first. Government should reform its institutions to enhance coordination, improve efficiency and lessen
corruption.
We should improve coordination between the involved agencies and key stakeholders as this will
improve efficiency between them.
We should improve poverty targeting, monitoring and evaluation. There should also be increased
funds for data collection, processing and management. This will help us learn more about poverty and
help us prepare more for it. Studying poverty will give us a better chance of avoiding it.
It is said that we should address poverty specifically per area. So that each place receives the
care it needs. Each place is different and treating each place special may allow us to get rid of poverty
more easily by going to the cause of poverty in those places.
The resources of the local government should be enhanced and their coordination with the
national government should be improved. This will allow them to be able to work better and help more in
poverty.
The government should increase available resources for social services, poverty reduction, and
infrastructure. They should also maintain price stability to shield the poor from high food prices and they
should lessen corruption and develop infrastructure in order to boost investor confidence. This will enable
more money to go into the country while the poor are being shielded from high prices. Giving more
money and allowing more money into the country will allow the poor to get more help, and the boost in
the economy will give them jobs as well.

Solution to suppress poverty doesnt show immediate result. It depends on the people below the
poverty line if they want to have an abundant life and escape poverty. So, lets fight poverty as one for
the brighter future of our country, the Philippines.