Problems in the Philippines and Their Solutions Problems The Philippines

What are the problems facing the Philippines?

35 ANSWERS

Steven de Guzman, experienced the hassles made by the Philippine government

Updated Apr 28 2016

1. Corruption in the government. The people are charged with taxes but we end up having
inefficient implementation of road and traffic rules, lack of a flood control system, and "road
constructions" (They destroy some roads then immediately "fix" it, as a tactic for kickback). Even
if, let's say, we have a good president, it would still be difficult for him to implementOpen
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governance practices nationwide because the rest of the politicians would not support something
that has nothing in it for them. This problem is passed from generation to generation, more so
considering the fact that the strongest politicians form dynasties. The problems in the
government, collectively, is the primary reason for the rest of the problems.

2. Poverty. How did the Philippines collapse from being the second most progressive country in
Southeast Asia (vying behind Japan) to a third-world country amassing billions of debt in the
course of a couple of decades? It is also sad to see that the rich and the poor exist side by side (For
example, when I was studying at De La Salle University, I can see the neighboring slums from the
4th floor; when I worked at IBM in Eastwood, the poor residential areas are just a stone's throw
away; Makati City also has this problem)

3. Inefficiency in processes, particularly when government is involved (e.g., the story here ).
Because of this, bribery is a common shortcut to avoiding the hassles of unnecessary waiting. To
be fair, some of these problems are now easily exposed through social media.

4. Education system. What's wrong with the education system of the Philippines?

5. Confusing cultural identity as a nation. Nowadays, it is more difficult to define the stereotypical
"Filipino", considering that our culture has been a combination of asian and western cultures. Can
we say that the Philippines has no culture and identity of its own because it was colonized by
different countries? What do sociologists say about this? As you go up the social ladder, more
western values are prioritized even if they may conflict with the traditional "Asian" values. This
can cause significant cultural conflicts between the rich and the poor.

6. Brain drain and lack of local opportunities to promising graduates. For decades, the
Philippines has always had large populations of migrant workers abroad. From a purely economic
perspective, working elsewhere will always be more financially rewarding. In fact, many doctors
 Stillgo back
have to school
a question? Askto study
your own!BS Nursing, hoping to work abroad in a lower level. In addition, with the
advent of the call centers that can pay higher than some local managerial positions, many college
What is your (even
graduates question?
the board passers in nursing, accountancy, and engineering) choose to take a
 dead-end path. Other business processes are outsourced here, particularly software, but they may
not be as promising as the ones in Silicon Valley (e.g., software enhancements/maintenance
instead of building a new and exciting product from scratch).

7. Colonial mentality. Why is Philippine society so classist?

Related topic: Steven de Guzman's answer to Would you prefer to stay in the Philippines or would you want
to be a citizen of a foreign country? Why? Why not?

649k Views · 152 Upvotes · Answer requested by Brenda Eam Viceral and Inigo Sarmiento

Oliver Jader Contreras

A sad but very good discourse of the Philippines that am used to. It's just that one gets to real...

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IN OTHER LANGUAGES

En español: ¿A qué problemas se enfrenta las Filipinas?

En français : Quels sont les problèmes auxquels les Philippines sont confrontées ?

⽇本語で⼊⼒: フィリピンが抱えている⼀番の問題は何だと思いますか？
OTHER ANSWERS
 Still have a question? Ask your own!
Anonymous
What is your question?
Answered Jan 3
 The Biggest problems the Philippines is currently facing?

Corruption - From the national government to local/provincial/city governments. Imagine how

many politicians deduct their kickbacks from the funds for their self interest! Even former
presidents have plunder cases yet they’re not condemned for their scandaluos and face slapping
theft of the people’s taxes! They got even re elected as mayors and congressmans!

Education! - promising quality of education is expensive (although not all). Most Companies hire
and interview applicants from prestigious schools(not all). Children from rural and remote areas
hardly get proper education. Education in the Philippines needs to improve. Professors are lazy, so
what do you get? Lazy students. Students are rarely encouraged to do more esp. in public schools.
Poor laboratories, shortages of apparatuses, outdated books, and lack of competitiveness. There
are many more problems in education that need to be addressed. Education should be one of the
main focus. Why? To help kids in remote areas get jobs to help their parents and community to
rise, to lessen the kids roaming around the metro naked with a bag of solvent ready to sniff
anytime, so these kids can have a bright future instead of becoming a drug addict, so that the next
generation could also have a brighter future…then the brighter cycle repeats.

Crab mentality - passed to generations to generations. Pulling each other down.

Lack of opportunities/ Unemployment -notice there are millions of Filipinos abroad (Overseas
Filipino Workers -OFW)? Just to seek higher pay even though they get violated, molested, raped,
and worse..killed. There are also millions of immigrants and illegal immigrants in the US just to
seek a “greener pasture”.

Transpo, and metrorail system - the Philippines does not ride at the backseat of the car, she is at
the trunk of the car. Left behind. Very behind compared to its developing neighbors. Lrt/mrt
malfunctions and stops before it reaches the station.

Infrastructure - buildings, housings, bridges, skyways, roads, canal systems, & etc. these are just
one of the projects that are poorly supervised and under funded. The roads in the provinces can’t
even stand a 10 wheeler truck and several buses for a month. Provinces in the north are 8–19 hrs
long drive to reach the metro!

The mayor is my father’s ‘kumpare’ system. - even on applying for a job, the recommended people
gets the job even though you’re at the office at dawn.

A wide gap between the rich and the poor

Drug cartels - courtesy from the biggie neighbors of the small Philippines.

Crooked Politicians - The elites of the country. Some politicians are working for themselves and
not for the interest of the people. Yet the mass keeps on voting for them.

Political Dynasty - Each city, each family. Impossible to penetrate the family-ruled city.

There is an absolute justice……….. for the richest.

 Still have a question? Ask your own!
Low quality healthcare - scarcity of doctors especially for the people at remote areas. Government
What is your question?
hospitals does not provide well. Expensive hospitals have the highest quality of service.
 Monopoly of businesses

Filipino businessmen are overshadowed by large foreign businesses. Too hard to penetrate the
market for small Filipinos. There is a chance to make it up to the top but it’s a small chance.

Lacks innovation and initiatives - Technological advancement almost non existent. Needs to
improve in this area.

NO MILITARY power - the country can’t even protect its islands and boundaries. The result → the
philippines gets bullied by bigger neighbors. She just watches as countries violates the sovereignty
of the ‘pearl of the orient seas’.

Sits at the pacific ring of fire - prone to tropical super typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic
eruptions.

Lastly, the people were spoon fed by democracy. Too.much.democracy.

16.3k Views · 10 Upvotes

Anjeanette Jose, lives in The Philippines

Answered Oct 29 2016

I won’t explain anymore on points already discussed by others. In case of clarifications, feel free to
comment on this answer. I may or may not add to this answer. You won’t see poverty as a problem in this
list because poverty is an effect, not a cause, at least in my opinion.

Political corruption - cronyism, necropolitics, narcopolitics, political dynasties

Lack of agricultural reform and national industrialization - without these we will not attain
food security and would not be able to establish proper heavy industries

Rise of neoliberalism in a non-competent economy - Oversaturation of foreign goods in the

market resulting in local industries dying. Becoming a part of an assembly line of products
without actually producing industrial goods for our own benefit. Privatization of social services.
Monopolies are allowed to exist even though it is illegal.

Lack of separation of Church and State - The Church maintains influence on the state

Unemployment and Housing - Lack of affordable housing in job hotspots; lack of job hotspots in
rural areas resulting in Rural to Urban migration thus causing overpopulation in cities

Lack of reliable infrastructure - interrupting transportation, logistics and commerce

Red tape in the government - part of corruption but this also affects legal branches of the
government too

Lack of reliable, affordable, and quality social services - Healthcare remains expensive, public
 Stillschools are overcapacity
have a question? and the quality of education leaves much to be wanted, mass transport
Ask your own!
remains shitty
What is your question?
 Politics remains to be a popularity game - this is an issue of voters that do not feel a personal
responsibility towards the nation and the System which allows mediocre politicians who do the
bare minimum to continually run for public office

Lack of regard on the usage of natural resources - the mining industry remains extractive, we
do not have the necessary industries to process them and they are exported to be processed by
other countries to become products that will then be sold to us.

80.3k Views · 16 Upvotes

David Celestra Tan

Answered Aug 1 2014

Good answers already, but may I add that the Philippines is facing energy problems - particularly in terms
of its high price. The main power distribution utility company which is Meralco charges its consumers very
high prices which groups like the POWER, Matuwid na Singil sa Kuryente, and other civic society groups
condemn.

According to available data, the Philippines ranked fifth in terms of how expensive electricity is. The
country is behind four European countries.

Along with the high price, the country is also expected to face a power crisis in 2015 due to several power
plants shutting down because of maintenance schedules. Decades past, there is still a standing power crisis
in Mindanao which several administrations have failed to address properly.

The article titled Mindanao's power problem needs a Mindanao solution tells you why a region-specific
solution is very much needed.

107.9k Views · 7 Upvotes

Richard Messenger, lived in The Philippines

Answered 29d ago

Most of what most people have said makes sense to me. Some of it is utter nonsense in my opinion.

I used to be among the many who blamed corruption as being the biggest problem in The Philippines.
However, if you look at any list of ‘Most corrupt’ The Philippines tends to sit somewhere near the middle.
But those lists are talking about the ‘big ticket’ corruption, the building of a hospital, the telecoms
contract, the provision of education etc. What seems so corrosive to Filipino society is the corruption at
every level. The danger of someone looking to make extra money, gain some undue advantage, in almost
every transaction. From obtaining a driving licence, to parking outside a bank and finding some fella has
decided that he owns that stretch of road and is going to charge you, to any conversation with far too many
of the policemen.

AND that,a the

Still have last example,
question? is where the problem lies with The Philippines. No, I do not mean just the
Ask your own!
police, I mean all aspects of the law. There are rules, there are laws in PH, but they are very rarely enforced.
What iscivil
There is your question?
and criminal law, but trying to access it is a decision which will test your financial resources,
 it will stress your patience to the extreme, and it will often seem that you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole
into a wonderland where due process is a stranger. I have seen some of this with my own eyes, I have seen
how society has a couple of large groups in this respect. Those too poor, too uneducated, to lacking in
esteem, simply not having the time to access the law. Then those who are rich, do not give a damn, because
they know they will get justice in their own way.

If you think I am wrong, watch Gary Haugen’s TED talk. The lack of consequence, the lack of rule of law is
the greatest contributor to poverty.

I come from the UK, where one of our strengths, (AND one of our weaknesses) is that we follow rules. It is a
mark of civilisation! It is also largely about doing what is for the common good, not acting in a selfish way.
One example would be, as a few people have mentioned, the driving. People do what, in my opinion, are
the most disgustingly selfish things, endangering all for their immediate selfish gain. But, it goes much
beyond driving, when your neighbour can conduct a commercial business with not a care for any
regulations, when it takes 16 years to settle a property dispute, when the police investigate a crime like they
are having a picnic … when the law does not work, it becomes the wild west, the land where the lawless
individual rules. It costs society dearly, it is the hotbed where corruption flourishes.

What to do? I believe in the presumption of innocence. But, Singapore sets a very interesting example, by
saying that in matters of accusations of corruption, your are guilty until you prove yourself innocent.
Where did that police commander get the resources to build such a large house, with swimming pools, and
to run a couple of Mercedes cars, and go on long holidays to foreign parts? He needs to prove that he really
did win the lottery!

2.7k Views · 2 Upvotes

Bonifacio Sioson, Born and grew up in the Philippines

Answered Sep 14 2016

The biggest impediment to the country’s development could be summed up in 3 words.

The Catholic Church; Spain’s gift to the Filipinos.

Through repeated intimidation (read: sermons) ignorance has been made a virtue and subservience (opo)
became viewed as respect.

Where kneeling is regarded as a position of strength and praying (wishing) took over the role of critical
thinking.

One only needs to look around and see its results starting with the vehicular traffic; the ubiquitous garbage,
etc.

Chaos abounds everywhere as if the notion of rule is an alien concept

Where resignation to fate and “god’s will” is more honored and accepted and the need for critical thought
completely ignored and disregarded.
 Still have a question? Ask your own!
Consider that the Church through its priests prescribes and dictates how life should be lived; (keep having
babies-
What isGod loves
your them) when to be happy (don’t do this or that) or what to think ( careful what you
question?
confess).
 And all because they wear a different uniform and believed that they speak for god. Really?

But the fault is not entirely theirs for as the old saying goes: it takes 2 to tango.

One who engages in deceit and the other who buys into it

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19.3k Views · 10 Upvotes

Oliver A. Almero, member, Filipino Inventors Society

Answered Dec 18 2016

The Philippine educational system is the common denominator of all Filipinos. Unless educators will
believe that Filipinos must be educated and trained as the most important God fearing, patriotic and good
managers of our country’s resources and the whole world and not the most important resources for cheap
quality exports, then and only then that this country can be redirected to productivity, progress, prosperity
and peace.
We have seen as of this day, the results of the present educational system of our country or where this
system has taken us. Our political leaders who passed this system are trying to solve or minimize they
consider as problems. Their solutions: War On Poverty, War On Drugs, War On Terrorism, etc. Little did
they know that they are not problems but rather results without any solutions. Results of an educational
system that will not primarily benefit our motherland. Parents have invested so much on education that
the fastest and highest returns must be realized as quickly as possible. Thus the enticement of the fully
developed countries is so appealing that further helps in exacerbating poverty in our country. Now, they
call the overcrowded Metro Manila as the imperial city after their graduates’ emigration to the detriment of
their own hometown.
Therefore, education is the only key problem that must be solved first and foremost.

1 View

6.6k Views · 2 Upvotes

Rebecca Hernandez, A Filipino by chance but still a responsible citizen

Answered Feb 9

Read my answer on this question. I consider this a big problem.

Rebecca Hernandez's answer to What are the social issues in the Philippines?

I'll also add some more that I missed to say.

Most Filipinos are too dependent on government. They expect the lawmakers and politicians to give them
all of their needs and wants. That is a naive and lazy thinking. That is why most would believe everything
the politicians would promise and succeptible to manipulation to get votes.

The
Stillnotion
have a question? Ask your own!
that extrajudicial killings and reinstating the death penalty is ok. No, it is not okay! Just
because you, your family and friends does not get killed then you don't care about EJK? The death penalty
What is your question?
 is proven to be an obsolete mode of decreasing the number of crimes committed and criminals. There is no
solution existing within a democracy that will result in 100% crime free.

A great model of dealing with criminals is education of their soon to be jobs and some European countries
methods from Germany, Norway, and Milan, Italy to some South American nations like Venezuala. They
are just models and the Philippines could create their own version of it by constituting socio-cultural
aspects of the rehab program.

Poverty.

And the lack of proper utilization of people. We are considered a nation of world class people and yet we
don't use it to our advantage. If only the government would implement free education to all and that give
the poverish adults some free workshops to get a job then the economy will grow. That is why it is also best
to give criminals a better way of getting money for a living.

114.5k Views · 15 Upvotes · Answer requested by Dana Gabrielle

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