Philippine Economic Issues with Solution

1. Corruption- To show his aversion to corruption in government, President Duterte on Tuesday promised
he would step down from the presidency if Congress can come up with his desired changes
to the 1987 Constitution, which include provisions that would guard against government corruption. “As
long as we come up with a Constitution that would guarantee first that the money of the people should go
to serve the people, I’ll be okay,” the President said in a speech at the Volunteers against Crime and
Corruption Anti-Corruption Summit
at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Duterte ran for president on a platform of anticorruption in government. So far, he has

fulfilled his campaign promise by firing officials close to him over allegations of graft. In October Duterte
signed Executive Order (EO) 43, creating the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission. “There is a need
to create a separate commission under the Office of the President solely dedicated to providing assistance
to the President in the investigation and hearing of administrative cases and complaints, and in the conduct
of lifestyle checks and/or fact-finding inquiries concerning presidential appointees and other public
officers allegedly involved in graft and corrupt practices, or have committed other higher crimes and/or
violations of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees,” the EO
read.

The word corruption derives from the Latin word corrumpere, which can mean to bribe or to destroy.
Indeed, corruption destroys society by diverting resources that could help the poor. As graft also deters
foreign investors who are wary of bribes, it drives away capital that could help create jobs for Filipinos.
A 2014 report by Global Financial Integrity said the Philippines lost about $410.5 billion between 1960
and 2011 on illicit financial flow.

Duterte said corruption in the country has flourished because the Constitution was “crafted to allow
accountability to escape most of the time.” And he wants our lawmakers to help correct this by amending
flawed provisions of the basic law. In his speech, he cited examples of practices that can lead to corruption
in the government. The President mentioned the practice of awarding government projects to the lowest
bidder, and the supposed lack of checks and balances on agencies like the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Nobody can investigate the Ombudsman. Everyone in the government can be checked and be checked
upon. That’s how it should be,” he added.

Transparency International (TI), a global movement with a vision of a world free of corruption, said there
is no silver bullet for fighting corruption. But it cited strategies that have worked wonders in countries
like Finland, Denmark and Sweden—perceived to be the least corrupt of all the countries that TI
surveyed—where their respective integrity systems function relatively well. Apart from a strong
commitment to anticorruption by their political leaders, these countries provide workers with fair working
conditions, decent salaries, social security, health benefits and other things that contribute to giving their
 citizens reasonable living conditions. The fact that it is possible to live on one’s salary in these countries
makes it easier for government workers to refrain from corruption.

It would do well for lawmakers who will be tasked to amend the provisions of the 1987 Constitution to
remember these ideas from TI, and to adopt solutions against corruption that are supported by a solid legal
framework and strong law enforcement, among others. It also pays to remember that there is a broad
consensus that fighting corruption involves public participation and transparency mechanisms.

2. Poverty- So how to end poverty in our country? Can we dictate the Philippine islands to have fear in God?
Should we go to the streets and shout night and day to the Malacañang Palace they need to become God-
fearing? Or shall we teach ourselves to have fear in God? The Philippines are made of Filipinos. Hence,
if we want to end poverty in the Philippines, we need to end poverty in all the Filipinos. And who is the
nearest Filipino from you? Isn’t it yourself? Therefore, to end poverty in our country, we must start ending
our own poverty – we must start to have fear in God within ourselves.
Now, what will fear in God cause us? Will it make us slaves and take away our freedom? The answer is
that it will make us slaves and free at the same time. The fear of the Lord will make us slaves of diligence,
wisdom, righteousness, kindness, self-control, patience and love. However, it will also make us free from
indolence, foolishness, deceit, selfishness, lack of self-control, impatience and hatred. In other words, it
will cause us to make God our Master, while rejecting the evil. If all the Filipinos have fear in God, they
will obey God’s commands. God commanded us to be patient, honest, diligent, humble, knowledgeable,
wise and understanding – all of these will overcome our poverty and will give us riches in life.
If all our workers are diligent, if all our political leaders are honest, if all the voters are wise, if all the
business owners are not greedy, and if all the spiritual leaders are selfless who teach the right religion,
then we might be living in a rich country. All of these could happen if we truly have fear in God, and if
we really God love by following His commandments.
Going back to the definition I shared, which says poverty is “the lack of principles, attitudes, values,
actions and habits to become rich”, the fear of the Lord will give us wisdom which are made of powerful
principles. These principles will give us the light to guide us in making the right decisions in life towards
development. When we made the right decisions, we make the right actions that will make our lives better.
And when we practice those actions consistently, those become our habits shape our lives to long-term
development, personally, spiritually and financially.
3. Illegal Drugs-
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