Why did the Philippines, the second richest country in Asia, become so poor now?

Jan Krusat

German,in close contact with Filipino culture since 30 years Updated 3y

Why did the Philippines, the second richest country in Asia, become so poor now?

Originally Answered: Why did the Philippines, the second richest country in Asia, be so poor now?

Answering Dayang Marikit (who deleted my comment):

1. Iligan City is not rural but used to be an industrial city with heavy industry (e.g. National Steel Corporation). Unfortunately, much of this industry has been forced to close due to Chinese competition. Therefore a lot of unemployed. Similar events happened e.g. in Bislig City in Surigao del Sur.
2. It happens that my girlfriend lives in a squatter area of this city. She is better off than many people there because she runs a small business. I know people who make their living by driving a trisikad (a kind of bicycle riksha), or by washing other people’s laundry for a few pesos.
3. The picture posted by Dayang Marikit shows a wealthy area in Metro Manila (most likely Makati). There are also plenty of rough areas in Manila (Cebu and Davao, and Zamboanga and Iloilo, etc.). It reminds me of Mainland Chinese, who show the skyscrapers of Shanghai, but not the rural villages without electricity and road access, as proof of how developed they are. A few rich people make no developed country. The important thing is reasonable equality.
4. In most developed countries there is not a big divide in wealth between urban and rural regions. I live in a rural village in Germany and can see no difference in life between the city I was born in (Berlin) and my village. We have POTABLE water from the tap, electricity, and sewage removal systems as standards. There is much less of a social divide, especially in Europe. In fact, the few farmers left working the land in my village are among the richest people there.
5. The Philippines have wealthy areas, but also very poor ones. I happen to know plenty of Filipinos from poor and middle-class backgrounds but had no contact so far with really wealthy people, who seem to be mostly hiding in gated communities with armed security guards protecting them. I know people who would have died of e.g. kidney failure, if not for OFW relatives.
6. I have seen plenty of progress in the places I visit every few years (mainly in Visayas and Northern Mindanao), but it is going on quite slowly.
7. I still like your country and its people and still plan to retire in the Philippines someday. but I prefer the provincial Philippines.
8. Metro Manila is not the Philippines, but just a part. The attitude of Manila and Southern Luzon being the center of the country and everything else being unimportant province annoys many people, especially in Visayas and Mindanao.

EDIT: I know that the Philippines is not the poorest country in Asia. but do not look towards who is below you in development and rest on your laurels, but to those who are already better off and try to get there as well. I know that there are many obstacles, including many in your own country, like corruption and political dynasties.

I could post pictures here from within my circle of friends and acquaintances, including the house in the squatter area I’m staying in at the moment, visiting my girlfriend and her neighbours. But I don’t do poverty porn. I could also post pictures of the houses of the closer family of my Ex in another Purok across the highway, which would not be out of place in a warm southerm European country, like Italy or Spain.

Edit (17.May.2019):

This picture was taken by me two days ago in Cebu City It shows the pretty luxurious Raddisson Blu hotel in the background (right beside it is the SM City shopping mall). In front there is an industrial area and squatters living in plywood shacks. Both places are less than 200 meters apart. Right outside the Raddisson Blu there are people living on the sidewalk. I could point out many places like this in Cebu, Iligan, or any other Filipino city.

My girlfriend (back visible in the picture) lives in a squatter area in Iligan City. Her parents came there in the late 1960s to work at National Steel Corporation but lost their jobs when the company went bankrupt due to Chinese competition (Like most of the people in the squatter area there). She gets along with her children due to her having a Pisonet shop, which pays the bills, and her aging parents are also supported by her brother, who is a nautical officer working abroad, as are the husbands of her sisters. But any incident like a serious illness could throw them into absolute poverty. For the last two weeks, I have been mostly staying in her house with her and her family.

But I know people in this neighbourhood, who are hovering on the edge of disaster, and after I heard of a classmate of her oldest daughter dying of pneumonia because the parents could not afford the treatment, I told the family to tell me if they hear of such a case again, so that I could provide help. €100 can make a difference between life and death. I’m supporting some teenage girls there with their education, with the aim that they can get out of life in a squatter area.