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Kristine Ann B. de Guzman
BSEd-IV

What can I contribute for the transformation of the Philippines?

Have you ever asked yourself that why all these years, the Philippines is still considered as a third world country? We have 7,107 islands that have bigger and more resources than other countries. We do have a great number of manpower and we have a lot of tourist destinations that we can be proud of. There are tons of factors that contribute to why despite all of these, we are still considered as a third world country. When Ferdinand Marcos became the President, our country turned into a third world country. Before he became President, the Philippines was considered an economic tiger in Asia - second to Japan. Meaning, our country underwent rapid economic growth and an increase in the standard of living. Then when Marcos was elected President, the country altered from being an economic tiger in the 1960's to a developing country in the 1970's and eventually to a third world country from the 1980's to the present. Marcos was said to have accumulated more than $10 billion in his 20-year rule as a President. Unfortunately, when he was dismissed in 1986, the Philippines never recovered from having debt on other countries. It is saddening that it is not the Filipinos who benefit of having rich resources but the foreign investors. Take mining for example. Our country is rich in minerals and there are a lot of mining activities but it is the foreign investors who are benefitted. The government can gain a lot of money by tourism alone if the government makes the Philippines a tourist-friendly place. If the Philippines at least developed more tourist attractions and only if the cultural heritage areas are preserved, we can attract many people especially the foreigners. Graft and corruption is very common among politicians. The ongoing financial hardship throughout the nation and economic and cultural development constraints were led by the corruption of government officials and the failure of government leaders to use their position of power wisely. Today, it is rampant for government officials to embezzle money for their personal wealth. Innumerable laws defining plunder and establishing punishments for corrupt officials have contributed to some modification of conduct and reformation of behavior. However, the country still loses billions of dollars of tax revenue each year to transactions relating to graft and corruption. Our economy fails because we do not even export our own goods; rather, we consume imported products like from America and China. Another reason is that there is a great mismatch between jobs available and job finders. Additional to that, we lack a sense of patriotism and love for our country which is the complete opposite of the Japanese who are well-known for the sense of patriotism. On a lighter note, I do think that we can do something to improve the condition of our country. Our current third world label can no longer just be blamed on wealth but also with how our people conduct their business. We cannot deny that several extensive consistent bad business habits exist here. And as a Filipino, we don’t need to always have the kind of unacceptable mindset that those things are done here naturally. We should come up with solutions to end these things. I, as a student can contribute for the transformation of our country. One thing that I can contribute is not following the cliché “Filipino time”. We Filipinos are very fond of going late to our designated meetings and it is nothing to be proud of. Actually, why are you going to be late in the first place if you allotted enough time doing and getting ready for that particular meeting? In other countries, people are fifteen minutes early as a sign of their basic request. One thing that I can do to help our economy is to buy Filipino-made products. I need to patronize our own products as these affect the employment rate and tax revenues, creating a vibrant economy. Buying Philippine made products support local businesses and economy. By doing so, I can help improve Gross National Product (GNP) which is the value of goods and services made by Filipinos and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the value of goods and services made in the Philippines that are the two measures of the development in a country. As a Filipino, I should be more sensible with the products I’m buying. I am going to choose locally-made products so that I can give entrepreneurs the reason to develop their businesses and create more revenues. This will then generate more jobs, which can help ease the unemployment rate in the country. I need to be proud that I am a citizen of this country. I should take pride in talking about Philippines especially when talking to foreigners. The Philippines is a beautiful country with a rich culture. We, not only me, should share and brag about it. We need to help promote our country. Who knows that by giving simple beautiful words in describing our country, we might be bringing in more tourists. We need to be law-abiding citizens. A country’s growth depends on its people. If we follow our laws and if we respect the authorities, we can help maintain peace that can lead to prosperity of our country. To be a good citizen, you need to be involved in your community. It's important to know what's happening in your community. A good citizen would know what's happening whether it's good or bad. If you do the right thing you will be a good member of the community and a good citizen. By doing something to help clean up around the community it would be a way to do something right. Participating in fundraisers is also a good way to help around the community. Supporting local sports will also help make you be a good member of your community. Volunteering in schools is a good way to help your community, too. When you make good choices, people will remember you for it. People will know that you are a good citizen. Being a good citizen is important for the success of a good community. They say that the youth is the hope of the nation’s future. You, as an individual can make the future brighter by sending a child to school. If all families do the same, then it will surely make a difference. Before teaching other children, you need to start from within: to teach your children. Teach them the Filipino values, how to be good citizens of the Philippines, how to love their own country, and tell them that they should be proud to be Filipinos. Some of the small things that I can do to also help improve the Philippines are: to respect others as we have individual differences and beliefs; to dispose the garbage properly- segregate, recycle, conserve; during elections, to choose and support candidates who stand for what is right and good; to pay my taxes; to study well and give the very best in everything that I will do; and to be honest and to report any crime or illegal act. Big things come from small things. These things can help not only me, but the country as well and it may seem simple but doing them can really add up to greater things. Start now and help our country to improve faster.