Globalization and the Philippines

Globalization and Economic Development

Globalization has opened up many opportunities for the Philippines. Since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, the Philippines has been a crucial player in the globalized economy. Globalization has taken hold and has allowed substantial changes in the country to help in the country’s economic development (Boquet 57). As a result of globalization, the country has seen a significant increase in education levels, especially English literacy, as well as decent savings rates and an export-focused agricultural sector that generates more adequate foreign exchange. Moreover, the country’s industrial sector has seen rapid growth and the nation has had one of the biggest per capita incomes in Southeast Asia (Boquet 57).

Insurgencies and Corruption

Internally, the Philippines has over the years endured insurgencies and terrorist attacks. For instance, the Moro Insurgency in Southern Philippines came to the international limelight with proof of major al-Qaeda attacks which were in the planning stage at Mindano with the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group utilizing the region as a training base for attacks in Indonesia. There has been massive corruption in Philippines over the years and in spite of spirited anti-corruption campaigns by the Philippines government, the Ombudsman reported that the number of individuals and businesses getting corrupt is growing (Boquet 67). For instance a 2013 survey claimed that 5.3 percent of the families that reported corruption incidents in terms of being asked to pay bribe was nearly 7 times the proportion of families in 2010 (Boquet 67).

Global Communications and International Organizations

On the other hand, most global communications re handled by Department of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Philippines. In addition, Philippine international and global communications have major influences from the Southeast Asian neighbors, the Middle East and the US. Philippines is a member and a signatory of several international organizations such as the FAO, UNESCO, and the UN (Tyner 85).

Global Influence and Environmental Concerns

Philippine has been affected by many global influences such as consumerism mentality which has been mostly been propagated by mass media. Thus due to social media and globalization, Filipinos have taken to the now easily accessible international brands which include Starbucks and phone brands such as the iPhone and Samsung (Boquet 77).

Moreover, there has been a marked decrease in some of their traditions with many western practices being adopted. There has also been a rise in the business process outsourcing to the Filipino with BPO industries having considerably assisted in increasing the GDP of the country. Philippine dethroned India as the world’s Call Center Capital, several years ago (Boquet 77).

Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Development

Historically, Philippines has been prone to natural calamities, especially floods, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, landslides and earthquakes. Nonetheless, apart from the natural disasters, the country also suffers from major human-related environmental degradation propelled by an increasingly high population rate that has led to loss of agricultural lands, soil erosion, deforestation, water and air pollution, inappropriate disposal of toxic and solid wastes, coral reef loss, overfishing and abuse and mismanagement of coastal resources (Tyner 15).

Seeing the need to address the environmental issues and the need to sustain growth and development, the Philippine government designed the Sustainable Development Strategy that encompasses assimilation of environmental considerations in biodiversity conservation,. administration, population growth control, ecosystems rehabilitation and encouragement of environmental education via increased citizen participation and promotion of the small and medium sized enterprises (Boquet 67).

Works Cited

Tyner, James A. The Philippines: Mobilities, Identities, Globalization. London: Routledge, 2010. Print.

Boquet, Yves. The Philippine Archipelago. , 2017. Print.