12 - Poverty in the Philippines

                Poverty in the Philippines is a serious issue. Although it’s more fun in the Philippines, poverty became a serious issue because of the corruption of the government, the people lacking discipline and the high cost of living in the country. These are actually the root causes of poverty in the Philippines.

               

First, Corruption of the Government. Did you know that not all your taxes are being used for the Philippines? Most of it goes to personal use of governments. The Philippines is actually a rich country if only the taxes goes to the Philippines, imagine the salary of the employees, the products, the public transportation and businesses are all taxed by the government. And we have around 156,789 businesses/companies being run in Manila, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). We are actually being taxed by the government multiple times already and all of these goes to the pockets of the government while the economy of the Philippines suffers, because of the corruption of the government.

                Secondly, we have undisciplined people, who do not know how to follow a simple rule. The Filipinos have the habit of throwing their garbage wherever they feel like throwing it, even though there’s a clear sign that says “no littering.” Despite of their undisciplined action, they still find a way to blame the government for the poor hygiene in the Philippines, even though they provided trash cans on the streets and houses. Because of undisciplined Filipinos, most of them are uneducated. Uneducated people doesn’t help the economy in the Philippines, they actually bring it down, because they don’t have a proper job, they receive minimum wage and they are low on ethics. Those factors are enough to contribute for the rise in poverty in the Philippines.

Lastly, the high cost of living is one of the main root causes of poverty in the Philippines. The prices of foods and utilities we need for daily living are higher than the minimum wage offered to the employees, which is P14,430. Because of that, there are lots of poor citizens in the Philippines. In order for a citizen to live an average life, you need to have an income of at least P55,428 a month. Few employees only make that amount of income, that’s why the high cost of living In the Philippines is one of the factors of poverty. (Incomes are based on the PSA)

Those three factors: corruption in the government, undisciplined people, and high cost of living are the reasons why poverty in the Philippines is a serious issue. Damage is done, families broken, employees fired, but it’s not too late the change. The change starts with you.