Why is the Philippines poor?

Regie Mercado

Just one word: Manila.

Fundamentally, it's the single reason why the Philippines keeps competing on poverty class.

Here's why:

1. It's figuratively a sinking region where people fight for space in an extremely congested place.
2. The cost of daily traffic congestion alone can feed the entire population.
3. It's a magnet for people looking for employment.
4. If people in no. 3 cannot find employment they will attempt to co-exist with relatives, friends, even strangers or mostly just squat and a space below a flyover will do. They're so creative in rationing food and water for survival. The river is their septic tank.
5. People in no. 4 usually opens up a business selling anything & everything to survive just beside or taking a lane or two of a highway which worsens no. 1 and 2.
6. The rich and affluent, politicians, celebrities, Church leaders and people that practically control the lives of the majority, controlling it's economy etc, lives there. A tiny percentage group of people that monopolize the country's wealth, the prime mover for corrupt practices who gets richer and richer, people just emulate because they want to be in their shoe.
7. Essentially new college and university graduates gravitate going there in search of job, opportunities and success which aggravates the problem in no. 1, 2 & 3.
8. Squatters living there pretend to live in the promised land, it's a sham living condition they attempt to portray to families they left behind.
9. People in no. 4 and 7 rarely go back to their respective region and repeats the cycle of failure.
10. They put their baby-making skills to new heights shaming even the rabbits. And then they leave their kids on the streets to fend for themselves.

Any improvement i. e. highway & transport system, living conditions, strict observance and implementation of laws etc will barely breach an impasse. Their priorities are misplaced or are upside down and getting things right side up to this predicament is a losing battle especially with the people's indiscipline stance, open defiance on clear laws, idiosyncrasies on perceive offense, they go full battle gear if you hit their sensitive nerves.

I'm afraid it will take a revolution or possibly a war to straighten things out.

It did to Japan, Germany, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam and even China.