Under President Benigno Aquino, in office since 2010, unemployment has fallen.

The latest figures show

the rate at 6.4 per cent in the second quarter of this year, down from 7 per cent a year earlier. But
progress has been uneven and the Philippines still has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the
Asean region.

One reason is that job creation has struggled to keep pace with an ever-expanding population. In three
of the past five years, the number of people entering the job market has been greater than the number
of jobs created.

Participation in the labour force remains relatively low. Only about 65 per cent of the population aged
15 and above is looking for work, one of the lowest levels in the region. This compares with 78 per cent
in Vietnam, 72 per cent in Thailand and 68 per cent in Indonesia.

low quality of jobs available. Last year, just 58 per cent of workers — in both formal and informal
employment — were in what were described as paid jobs. Of the rest, 28 per cent were self-employed,
with no guaranteed income, and 11 per cent worked on family-owned farms or other businesses where
they typically receive food and lodging but no actual cash, according to official statistics.1

“The Philippine economy’s chronic problems of high unemployment, slow poverty reduction and low
investment are reflections of the sluggish industrialization,”2

Filipinos, like many Asians, love their gambling.

But making wagers at games such as “sakla”, the Philippine version of Spanish tarot cards, is particularly
common at wakes, because the family of the deceased gets a share of the winnings to help cover funeral
expenses.

“It has its functions, it is a way of keeping mourners around,” said Randolf “Randy” David, a sociology
professor at the University of the Philippines3

“From the humblest barrios to the most affluent villages, Filipinos are into gambling,” they observed,
citing the abundance of casinos, lotto and bingo outlets, municipal cockpit arenas, card games and “cara
y cruz” on city streets, and bookies that go house to house for the illegal numbers game called jueteng.4

Many would however justify gambling as just a form of recreation, a “harmless” pastime, as if the
amounts they’ve already lost to wagering haven’t already cost them a fortune. Such hard-earned
money, Castell and Tanchuco said, should have gone to more productive pursuits like savings.5

At least 53% of adult Filipinos (62% of men, 43% of women) engaged in some form of gambling6

1
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/01/unemployment-in-philippines-an-issue-despite-rapid-economic-growth.html
2
http://opinion.inquirer.net/71695/solving-unemployment#ixzz3ueyD2khh
3
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Labor&title=filipinos-gamble-at-wakes-to-keep-mourners-
around-sociologist-says&id=110367
4
http://pcij.org/stories/gambling-nation/
5
ibid
In the Philippines, gambling participation amongst the bottom rungs of society was 45%, but this figure
rose to 58% for those on the more fortunate end of the pay scale.7

The group of unemployed people can be classified under the lower rank of the society by reason of the
absence of permanent job to provide even their basic needs. With the given statistics, it is can be
inferred that a large number of them engage in gambling. What are the possible reasons on why does
this group of people, among others, really like to gamble?

As mentioned earlier, as Filipinos, it is “natural” to be engaged in gambling. UCLA study does suggest
that gambling has its roots in traditional Asian culture. The Chinese, in particular, are said to hold strong
beliefs in luck, fate, and chance — concepts that many Filipinos, given China’s strong historical influence
in the Philippines, also live by, and thus explain their gambling ways.8

However, based on observation, those low in life engages in games of chance for the “instant” fortune it
brings. It is the most obvious reason and the most evident one. But is that bad? Is it bad to put your
trust on “fate” rather than to work hard for living? Folr most p

6
http://calvinayre.com/2010/10/02/business/philippines-gambling-survey/
7
http://pcij.org/stories/gambling-nation/
8
ibid