Comment the following post. Substantive comments should be scholarly, probing, e
ID: 3488292 • Letter: C
Question
Comment the following post. Substantive comments should be scholarly, probing, extend the conversation by beginning a dialogue, and continue exploring the concepts
“Hey Joe, where are you going?!” This is a common phrase that an American visiting the Philippines will here during their travels through the Philippine islands. While the people of the Philippines are very friendly, the accommodations for tourists visiting the country are not quite the same. About one-eighth of the population in the Philippines lives within the capitol city of Manila (The World Factbook.). Manila is heavily polluted and difficult to navigate for those unfamiliar with the area. The rest of the Philippines are sparsely populated and portions of the country are difficult to access due to a poor or deteriorating infrastructure. Despite these limitations, the Philippines provide its citizens with a decent education and life expectancy.
I lived in the Philippines for five years during the early 1990’s. My experience during those years was one that I will never forget. I spent the majority of the time living in Manila, but about two months out of the year I would live in the rural areas of the Philippines. The differences between those two worlds were shocking. Manila was a bustling city with strong infrastructure and industry, but with high pollution. The rural areas were sparsely populated with vast sections that did not even have electricity, but the people were extremely friendly and pollution was almost nonexistent.
The Philippines has an established government with about 90% of the citizens registering with the government at birth and notifying the government upon death. The vast majority (95%) of the citizens are able to read, with about 90% of the children attending school (World Health Statistics 2015). For a country where the majority of the citizens work in the service industry or the agricultural industry, this is a very high number of children in school each day (The World Factbook.).
The Philippines has seen significant improvement in the health of its citizens over the past decade and a half. In 1990, about 4% of its infants would die. In 2013, a little over 2% of its infants would die. Additionally, in 1990, about 6% of children under the age of five would die. In 2013, only 3% of children under the age of five would die. Essentially, the Philippine government has been able to cut the death rate of infants and young children in half from 1990 to 2013. During that time, the life expectancy of its citizens has increased about 2-3 years (World Health Statistics 2015).
The people of the Philippines are relatively poor. The average Philippine citizen makes $7,820 per year; while 19% of the population lives on less than $365 per year. This is essentially 19,000,000 people living in extreme poverty (World Health Statistics 2015). Most Philippine citizens work in the service industry, and it is not uncommon for its citizens to provide physical labor to wealthier countries like Saudi Arabia in order to provide for their families back in the Philippines. This means that the countries the Philippine citizens work in are getting wealthier off the cheap labor the Philippine people provide; while the Philippine people receive just enough income to survive.
The Philippines appears to be moving in the right direction. The healthcare system has seen significant improvements in a short amount of time. The citizens are being educated; which will attract companies to the country. When companies move to the Philippines, it will create more jobs and greater opportunities for the Philippine citizens. It is very likely that over time the typical occupation of a Philippine citizen will move away from the service and agricultural industries and closer to the industrial and technology industries. This will improve the quality of life for the Philippine citizens.
Explanation / Answer
The article is about Philippines. The article puts forth the information regarding the population, infrastructure and socio-educational structure. Manila is the capital of Philippines and is more densely populated than other areas of the country and has better facilities and infrastructure than rest of the country. The author of article has lived for five years at manila and for some months during these years at rural areas during 1990s. the author perceives huge differences in the two areas. There are well established governmental policies which make it mandatory to notify the government about life and death (approximately 90% of births and deaths are recorded). There has been a decline in infant mortality rate in Philippines over the last many years. The citizens of the country are mostly in the service sector as well as they provide labor to wealthier Arabs. Over the years there has been a tremendous improvement in the healthcare sector as well. The author puts forth the view that the growth and development of the country is on the right track.
The article succinctly provides the facts and figures related to Philippines. Majorly all the areas of socio-economic growth are well described in the article. The language used is simple and effective. Overall the article is well-written.