Philippines: Diversification&globalization as The Keys to Future

Globalization is the interconnectedness and interdependence of nations. It helps in spreading the products, technology, information, and jobs that transcend the national border and its cultures. The Marxists believe that globalization is a capitalist scheme that advances the transglobal connectivity of the 1st world countries that give them opportunities to accumulate profit by controlling the whole economy. Capitalist globalization causes inequalities that make a further gap between the two classes. The Philippine economy has become integrated with the global economy. Globalization in the Philippines positively affects the country’s economic growth but still has an impact on inequality and poverty.

The Philippines is in the predicament of having to face globalization while going through the process of nation-building in a diversified society. Facing these challenges resulted in widespread poverty and shows the shortcomings of one’s country. The Philippines is a developing country that is mainly based on anti-colonial beliefs than the connection that is formed through common knowledge, beliefs, race, language, and experience. The nature of the Philippines is credited to the activities of the 1st world hegemon country, the United States of America. Some Filipinos contested the concept of a Filipino national identity especially those in Muslim, Cordillera, and Cebu areas. It seems that Filipino regionalism is beyond its nationalism. During the pre-Hispanic era, the natives viewed themselves as what they are called in their regions. The Philippine nation is a weak country that results in the political privilege that causes corruption and mismanagement of the Philippine political economy. It produced a weak institution of governance that caused weakness for their failure to forge a national consensus necessary for nation-building and socio-economic development. The Philippines has a diverse ethnicity that is mixed with foreign influences. An American writer described the Filipino culture as a “damaged culture” since the majority of families that have power over the economy and politics have foreign blood. The political parties of the Philippines mainly focused on their self-interest than changing the country’s system. The majority of the political leaders came from prosperous clans and families. The political parties of the Philippines are weak and it mirrors the whole nation which prevents the country from managing the tension between the culture, religions, and socio-economic status of individuals. The nation will continuously suffer these national crises if there will be no clear program from the government and a strong party system.

The Philippines became more open to trade policy in the 1980s. The country's trade openness improved by 88.1% to 101% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). This is also reflected in improved information and communications technology that supported the development of electronics and electrical components that allows the business to manage and operate their production more efficiently. The rapid growth in information and communications helps in establishing the Philippines as one of the two major BPO industries in Asia. The trade openness of the Philippines helps the country to easily access information and communication through electronics and the internet. The trade openness and foreign portfolio flow in the Philippines contributed an increase to the GDP growth following the implementation of FX liberalization reforms. The GDP growth rate of the Philippines in 2019 decreased but remained high which resulted in a slowdown due to the deceleration in investment growth and a weak external environment. The inequality in wealth distribution and underemployment continuously boosts in the country that increases in the poverty rate. Even before, the Philippines has been offering workforce mobility to the 1st world countries that resulted in a good reputation for the country based on the decades of experience of the overseas Filipino workers. The main reason why Filipinos continuously migrate to other countries is to seek employment overseas. Aside from having employment opportunities abroad, Filipinos seek to have higher compensation, better income, and health benefits that will help them as well as their families.

Human right is a protection against the overpowering state and was adopted in 1948 under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It protects the dignity of an individual against the state’s power to arrest people, make them disappear, and discriminate based on their background, skin color, sexual orientation, etc. It was established to protect the right of every individual and let them live free from oppression, cruelty, social want, despotism, exclusion, and exploitation. Globalization opens a wider gap in protecting the human rights of an individual. The rule of President Duterte abuses human rights with his campaign against the war on drugs that resulted in extra-judicial killings. His campaign to end drugs resulted in massive killings in the country and didn’t end the widespread drug problem that supposedly ends in six months. Duterte’s campaign abused Article 3 of the Human Rights of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Globalization transformed Filipino culture in a lot of aspects from food, music, clothing, language, entertainment, way of living, and many more. The use of the English language is more prominent and one of the most evident results of globalization in the Philippines. English is a language widely used globally but it undervalued the native languages of the country. The growth of access to the internet in the Philippines created massive changes, especially to the youth that are used to playing outside with their friends or doing productive work at home. The youth tend to socialize virtually and spend more time with computer games rather than socializing with family and friends. The globalization paved way for our culture to be appreciated globally through international fair trade, cultural shows abroad, and other international activities.

The Filipino believes in the pantheon of gods, spirits, creatures, and men that guarded the streams, fields, trees, mountains, forests, and houses during the pre-Hispanic period. They believe in Bathala as the creator of the world and human that is superior to these other gods and spirits. During this period, Filipinos used to offer sacrifices and prayers to placate the deities and spirits. The wood and metal images are used as a representation of their ancestral spirits. In 1350, the Islamic religion spread northward from Indonesia into the Philippine archipelago. By the time the Spanish arrived in the Philippines, Islam was firmly established in the area of Mindanao and had outposts in Cebu and Luzon. Before, the Muslim areas have the highest and the most politically integrated culture on the island. The colonization of Spain brought the Christian religion in the Philippines. Islam was contained in the southern islands while Spain conquered and converted the remaining islands to Hispanic Christianity. Christianity became the most dominant religion in the country.

Even before the Spaniards colonized the Philippines, the practices of the natives were connected to science and technology. The Filipinos was already knowledgeable of the medicinal and therapeutic properties of plants. They are also well-informed about the method of extracting herbs that will be used as herbal medicine to treat illnesses. The natives had their own alphabet system which is known as Alibata, a numerical system, weighing and measuring system, and calendar. The occupation of Spain in the Philippines enhanced science and technology in the archipelago. The Spaniards established formal education in the country and created scientific institutions that are headed by the Priests. The study of medicine was given priority in the regime of Spain as well as in the later years. The field of engineering was also contributed by the Spanish. During the American period, science was inclined toward agriculture, food processing, forestry, medicine, and pharmacy. Americans do not give much focus on the development of industrial technology due to the trade policy with the United States. Ferdinand Marcos gave importance to science and declared the advancement of science and technology should be a national priority for the development of the country. Corazon Aquino had given science and technology a priority to the government for economic recovery. She aims to regain the Philippines’ former position in the field of science and technology.

During pre-Hispanic times, the Philippines uses traditional and alternative medicine to cure illnesses and diseases. The country used medicinal plants as an alternative medicine to cure illnesses. The natives believed that the illnesses were caused by the conflict between the human and spiritual worlds. In order to restore the health of the sick individual, they believed that an individual must appease the gods through rituals such as dances, offering sacrifices, and incantations. Natives are known as good physicians and can create a remedy for every poison using herbals. The colonization of Spaniards taught Filipino Western medicine. Spaniards built the first hospital in the Philippines which was named Hospital Real and located in Cebu in 1565. It was established to cater to the needs of the Spanish army and navy, casualties from military campaigns, and for those who suffered tropical diseases. The colonization of Americans brought formal medical education, better healthcare, implementation measure to prevent the spread of diseases, and more medical benefits for the Filipinos. The colonization of Spaniards and Americans brought a massive change in the country and lead to the development of a better health care system. It also brought the advancement of technologies and medicines that helps to cure illnesses and diseases easier than before.

Filipinos used to have no formal education before the colonization of Spain. They are taught what is fit for the needs of their time. The parents taught their children different activities that will eventually help them for their survive. The kind of education given to them was given value in order to survive in the community during ancient times. The colonization of Spain replaced the tribal tutors with the Spanish missionaries where education is for the elite only. The regime of Spanish changed the education system of the Philippines to a more religion-centered type of education. Globalization resulted in the Philippines being more globally competitive in terms of education. The K-12 curriculum was added to the education to keep up to international educational standards. The Philippine's eye on becoming a study destination for students in the Asia-Pacific region who would like to study the English language. The enhancement of the education system’s agenda aims to provide more classrooms, and jobs for teachers, and train Filipino students to become ready and well-equipped to join overseas universities and the undergraduate level.

The Philippines experienced massive changes in capitalist globalization that affect the different aspects of the country in various ways. It resulted in both positive and negative in the country. The 1st world countries help the Philippines to advance the country’s transglobal connectivity and continuously globalize the country today. Fujio Mitarai says that diversification and globalization are the keys to our future. We must adapt to move forward but we should not forget the past where it all started.

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