What do you think are the causes of poverty in the Philippines?

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We are not terrorists ÙŠØ§ Ø¹ÙŠÙ†ÙŠ

In a country with so much natural resources, and mostly a hard working and educated workforce, what else could it be? Corrupt politicians, at all levels of government.

Edit: yeah, you can close your eyes and blame people for voting for corrupt politicians. That's too simplistic and complacent. Many irregularities in elections, that's a known and documented fact in the Philippines. Politicians will lie through their teeth and make promises to get elected, that's a known and documented fact, in the Philippines and elsewhere. I agree with one of the posters below that GREED is the root of the problem, and these corrupt politicians are there for a reason: to advance the "social' agenda of greedy corporations who will rape, pillage and abuse the resources of the planet, and by the same token, advance their own "financial' agenda. So for those who are saying that people vote for these politicians, open your eyes and look at the real problem. Don't blame the people for being taken by a free ride.

fakebobjones

Too many kids. It is estimated that 60% of pregnancies in the Philippines are unplanned. Solution is to have comprehensive sex education mandatory in schools, countrywide access to government subsidized birth control, and access to outreach workers and clinics to teach people about family planning.

The infrastructure here cannot keep up with the population. In addition as more and more people move to cities, it no longer makes economic sense to have a large family (versus in the province where a large family can help run the family farm, etc). In the last election, a local study found that 72% of people in Manila supported government subsidized birth control (and this includes birth control other than "natural family planning"), yet none of the candidates made it part of their platform.

Randomly, the most notable politician who is publicly trying to give women in his district the access to (artifical) birth control is Ed Panlilio (Gov. of Pampanga) who is a Catholic priest. He is starting to look like the best hope for the future of the country.

julius

I think it's corruption(yes it's politics); becuse of corruption the money allocated towards improvement were spent in wrong way thus result to inadequate job oppportunities thus result to more jobless filipinos thus result to less educated filipinos thus result to less competent filipinos thus result to less confident filipinos thus result to poverty.
We have many resources (they are more than enough) but they were not used properly.

Hank

Are the politicians keeping you poor ? In what way ? Do they come to your store or your house and rob you ? Quit blaming the politicians ! There are some in Philippines that have made it in business and are doing great in their lives . How did they do it ? By applying themselves to what they believed in ; and this ,dear friends ,is the key . Many just work to live , come home , do kareoke , play fireworks and go back to work . Not many really "apply" themselves to getting out of poverty . Look how many ( above ) want to blame someone else . It's not their fault . It is your's .
If you want to get out of poverty , study hard what business you want to be in , or what products to sell , then put your all into it . Until you can get past this , you will likely remain in poverty .

OK everyone says that it is the graft and corruption brought about by the politicians--that is only part of the cause.
ASK yourselves who voted these people in and keep them in.
That's where the problem lies.

John W

Universal problem. GREED of wealthy people and politicians.

screech888

so many causes, where to start. illiteracy, crab mentality, lack of facilities and funds to aid and educate the lower class, insufficient job openings at the end of each school year, inadequate wages, laziness, corruption, greed, fluctuating economy.

maybe you should be more specific with your question.

i agree that the government has had a huge impact in increasing the poverty level of the country. and hello it is not the fault of the people because they elected the politicians. i mean, who else is there to choose from. kinda like choosing the lesser of two evil choices if you ask me.

the government can clean up their dirty, skeleton-ridden closets.( im sorry, there are several politicians i have respect for, but they are so few in number ) ... i will give one ridiculous example. an acquaintance of mine was asked to run for counselor in the recent elections. why you ask. because he had charm!!!! i almost fainted when i found out. he had charisma. it didnt matter that he knew next to nothing. being in government is like being in a different kind of business. lining of ones pockets. not really caring that they are inavertedly creating a domino effect which affects everyone else.

the government can start emulating all the NGOs who are trying to balance out the mess the government is creating. non-profit, only for the people.

Myst M

I a Filipino. We belong to the middle class. I think the main causes are :
- insufficiency of jobs and employment
- overpopulation
- the governments role is not properly done
- inadequacy of housing
- starvation
- stunted individual growth and development
-

Aref H4

Poverty is worldwide, not only in my country, the Philippines.

Have we ever SOLVED poverty by successfully finding its roots? Would that a sword from heaven slay all these dirty politicians worldwide, is poverty lessened in any way ?

Or, perhaps, after all the villains are gone, we envision a whole world uniting as one, rich nations sharing their food, goods and services with the starving peoples of other countries? In my humble opinion, I think these richer nations would simply say "No way, Jose!", and again, elect for themselves new villains with cold hearts, but who would protect their food on the table.

EDIT: Therefore, I think it is GREED that is the root cause of poverty not only in my country, the Philippines, but worldwide, Greed that has built national boundaries.

freeverse

In my own point of view,I am going to say that people too has take part mostly of that problem.I won't object of course about corruption in the politics,but if the government can't help,,,we in ourselves should.Just like Papa Chuck asks-who voted those people?
And also..those poor people given a chance to improve their lives,I hope they will think more on the long term...I will cite an example, A certain place where poverty is very serious, NGO try to help them by lending them money to start a small business in a very low almost non interest loan...ask me what most of those people did?After they receive the money they went and buy karaoke...have a one day full of enjoyment and use the remaining money for the supposed business..very depressing but yeah..the concept of solving problem like this should be:''It begins in ME'' and I hope with so much help from the government.

Fugha

corruption and poor education

dave i am

What Poverty? LOL

Emil

Politics, power play and political economics wherein decisions, policies, and practices are typically influenced, driven, or formulated by the rich and powerful. As a result, a few get wealthy while the majority struggle

Ignorance and dependency.

Maybe a revolution - political and economic- is the answer.

First graft and corruption,mismanagement of the resources,second people here have many false beliefs and traditions,too many holidays in this country

deepseteyes

Politicians, politicians and politicians (both senators and congressmen esp. coup leaders )wish they were all dead.

pau

1. no money because no job.
2. have charity money, money goes to corrupt officials
3. it's a trend, the rich gets richer, the pooor gets poorer

THINKER

Well, there are many. We have the resources to rise from poverty BUT we never put it into good use. Well some people are just pessimists and because of them the other people become pessimists. We must be OPTIMISTIC.

Have you watched the movie, The Secret? Well, it talks about the Law of Attraction. When we keep thinking of a thing then it will happen. For example, Person A keeps saying that he will never be rich so he never will be rich. Person B keeps thinking that he will be rich so he is rich now.

Some are not nationalistic YET. They are still sleeping.

Enough with the protests and things. Why don't we just work in that way we can earn money.

Oh yeah, there is conflict in the government.....

dharma_bum

poor choices, not much opportunities.

michael s

It is the diverse mix of culture. It is hard to find a common leader to reach each persons individual needs. We have the MILF, NPA, Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and More!!

Secondly, it is very difficult to enforce laws all on these islands. Some islands have no laws at all. So it always works out that the most wealthy will rule, then benefit the most from it.

Chris

Lack of respect for the individual worth. What I mean is that each person has a value and a purpose, and in the Philippines their is, to a degree, a lack of respect for this persons value. Typically, the law must be the guide to prescribing human value. By having good laws, that protect all, especially society's most helpless, we can set a minimum standard for conduct. Still we see Filipino children sleeping outside shelters, and family's squatting under bridges or literaelly inside garbage heaps.

So we can start by having better laws to protect everyone. Sadly one of those laws needs to be divorce. Not having divorce in the PI is horrible because the alternative is simply permanent separation without judicial review. Often times the children suffer as the other parent never pays for support, and the non-custodial parent is usually barred from seeing his or her child.

Bitter Guy

Lack of money ... as simple as that.

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