Republic of the Philippines
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
College of Social Sciences and Development
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
Sta. Mesa, Manila
MONTES, Tracy Lianne Marie P.
BA History 2-3
Prof. Daisy G. Villarante
The Contemporary World
Assessment 2
Contemporary situation by applying both World System Theory and Dependency Theory
Is the Philippines a progressive or regressive country?
The Philippines is considered a third-world country wherein people are incapable of
sustaining resources and remain under the control of different well-developed countries in the
world. Before becoming a democratic country, the Philippines suffered from colonization by three
countries: Spain, the United States of America, and Japan. They manipulated the country and
exploited our natural resources due to the extreme acquisition of lands for the purpose of
accumulating proprietors’ wealth and power. Even after slavery became prevalent, Filipinos were
forced to work despite hazardous or unhealthy conditions.
As the Duterte administration entered office in 2016, they highlighted some of his notable
accomplishments in infrastructure development as the country continues to face global challenges.
Duterte has pushed the different government agencies to continue programs started by the
Aquino Administration, from Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to the Build, Build, Build (BBB)
program, which resulted in the construction of several infrastructures and services nationwide and
is intended to ease the congestion of heavy traffic in Metro Manila and improve rural development.
Despite his key accomplishments, his controversial anti-drug campaigns led to a worse
situation. The country’s efforts to eradicate prohibited drugs have resulted in countless human
rights violations that have become bloody and violent as unknown individuals lost their lives.
Another thing was that President Duterte laid his hands on China to improve the economy. In his
most recent issue, he strangely deviated from his prepared remarks and addressed the nation
about the ongoing disputes with China in the South China Sea. And when the pandemic began
to alter people’s lifestyles, the Philippines suffered a slew of socio-economic and political
problems due to the inadequate preparedness for the COVID-19 response. The question would
be, is the Philippines becoming a progressive country or remaining a regressive country?
For various reasons, the Philippines has been one of the countries in the world that have
struggled with hunger and widespread poverty under this present administration. This is validated
Republic of the Philippines
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
College of Social Sciences and Development
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
Sta. Mesa, Manila
by the deterioration and decline in most socioeconomic and political development that has been
evidenced in the last four years. It has dropped in several aspects, such as competitiveness with
other countries; economic freedom; failure in eradicating corruption practices in the government;
and even the failure to uphold the rules of the law, wherein wealthy and powerful people are
always favored and more protected than poor ones who are suffering behind bars.
Following the rule of his predecessor, former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, his
presidency began in 2016 with a 7.1% economic increase. Economic expansion dropped by a
percentage point in 2019, from 7.1% in 2016 to 6.1% in 2019. The growth in the subsequent years
slowed to 6.9% in 2017 and 6.3% in 2018. The economic pediment began with a serious trade
deficit and a reduction in foreign investment. During the present administration, trade deficits
increased as imports rose by an average of 14% from 2016 to 2019, while exports only expanded
by 5% on average. It surged to a record 50.02 billion dollars in 2018, before declining slightly to
41.98 billion dollars in 2019, which represented 11.61% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and
21.84 billion dollars in 2020. Although a significant share of imports was credited to resources or
materials for infrastructural development, this situation was aggravated by huge shipments of
consumer goods. In 2020, economic development dropped by -9.6% as expected. It was caused
by an overall slowdown in the trade as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, as well as initiatives
to gradually ease tight quarantine restrictions. In 2021, the Philippines remained in a recession
as the economy shrank again by 4.2% because of inflation and the increase in unemployment
and underemployment brought by the widespread health crisis.
Furthermore, the government debt as President Duterte took office in 2016 was P5.9
trillion. However, by the end of 2021, it had accumulated P11.7 trillion in debt. On March 4, 2022,
the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) reported that the latest outstanding debt had reached a new high of
P12 trillion for the first quarter of 2022 and a record of P1.67 trillion in the budget deficit, or 8.6%
of the GDP, higher than P1.37 trillion in 2020. Yet, it was lower than just the targeted 9.3%. This
enormous budget deficit was inflicted by massive public expenditures to combat long-term
pandemics and insufficient tax collections. Prior to the pandemic, the government’s public
infrastructure spending had already exceeded almost a trillion pesos in charges. This shows clear
evidence that the huge response is very frugal, especially in the public health and educational
Republic of the Philippines
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
College of Social Sciences and Development
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
Sta. Mesa, Manila
systems. Debt-driven programs have become more bloated as the Philippines has pushed more
debt and overspent funds for other economic activities, despite the fact that the economy is
deteriorating, with unemployment and underemployment rates increasing, unexpected inflation,
and the agricultural and industrial sectors still facing persistent challenges that affect the
economic cycle.
There are other social and economic problems in the Philippines that negatively affect the
economy and need to be addressed. Poverty remains one of the prevalent issues that the
Philippines is facing. As Filipinos are more reliant on agriculture for income and there is inequality
in wealth distribution, about 17.6 million Filipinos struggle to access basic resources. They cannot
afford to have enough food and a poor quality of education leads to young people being
uneducated, unemployed, and may suffer from discrimination due to financial inability. Moreover,
corruption is still prevalent and an obstacle to good governance that limits economic growth.
Corruption has been proven in numerous cases and is prevalent across the state
apparatus. Even before the pandemic, some Philippine politicians misused their power by
systematically siphoning off vast amounts of public funds into their accounts for personal interests.
Instead, they must focus on solving current problems rather than stealing public funds, which
would affect marginalized and unprivileged individuals and the country itself more.
Unemployment is another persistent problem encountered by many Filipinos because of
the government’s incompetence and lack of support. That is why many Filipinos opt to work
abroad as a means of survival and to have better opportunities than in our country. According to
Albert (2020), the unemployment rate climbed to 17.7% during the first quarter of 2020 and
declined to 10% during the second quarter and 8.7% during the third quarter of the same year.
The instability of the unemployment rate highlights three premises: First, most Filipinos would not
be able to return to their previous jobs. Second, most Filipinos are unable to re-enter the labor
market. And third, some of them have a lesser chance of finding a stable job due to the pandemic.
These current circumstances have brought me to my viewpoint that the government’s inability to
provide concrete, humane, and efficient measures led to the crucial re-opening of businesses,
which caused unemployment and, subsequently, a massive economic recession. Business
establishments like fast-food restaurants, grocery stores, and pharmacies continued to thrive
Republic of the Philippines
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
College of Social Sciences and Development
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
Sta. Mesa, Manila
because they sell goods that people require to survive, while recreational areas and amusement
parks remained closed. Six months after stringent lockdowns were imposed in the previous year,
the country is already recuperating, and some businesses are permitted to operate. However, the
pandemic is still having a detrimental effect on small and micro-businesses. As a result of these
declines, GDP dropped by 0.7% and is expected to shrink by 16.9% and 11.5%, respectively, in
the second and third quarters of 2020 (Albert, 2020).
The Philippines' dependency on foreign investment is the last major issue in economic
progress. Filipinos prefer to purchase and support international items over local products. But our
reliance on foreign investments and loans can have a severe impact in the future with the current
state of the country’s government. This is associated with theories of global inequality known as
"The Dependency Theory," which explains how developed and developing nations are linked in
world relations. Well-developing countries like the Philippines are still dependent on wealthy
countries like the United States and China, while well-developed and powerful countries have the
ability to influence and dominate poor countries. It is always in the Filipino’s mindset that products
made by other countries have a higher quality than ours, even though they have the same
resources to create a product, but they sell it at an expensive price and without knowing the fact
that Filipinos are skilled and knowledgeable enough to produce their own good-quality products.
Immanuel Wallerstein initiated these two theories of global inequality in order to
understand the subversive. The "Dependency Theory" was developed and can be used as an
approach to rationalizing the existing division between well-developed and undeveloped countries
and understanding economic underdevelopment that emphasizes the conceptual limits imposed
by the international political and economic structure. "World System Theory", on the contrary,
suggests that wealthy countries benefit other countries while citizens in poor countries are
exploited. This theory, as per Wallenstein, was divided into three international categories of areas
or countries: core, semi-peripheral, and peripheral. Cores are classified as "social elites" or
powerful countries that can benefit most from the world economy and exploit other welldeveloping countries for labor and raw materials. They are also developed countries with strong
and competent governments and highly intellectual and skilled individuals. Semi-peripheries are
"middle-class countries" that are exploited by core countries, but they can also exploit
Republic of the Philippines
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
College of Social Sciences and Development
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
Sta. Mesa, Manila
peripheral countries. In other words, these semi-peripherals both have the classification of core
and peripheral countries. He suggested that the way a country is integrated into a capitalist system
determines how economic development takes place in the country. and peripherals that are
considered "third world countries". These countries have weak and incompetent governments
and are being manipulated by core countries.
Wallenstein noticed that countries that have been exploited ever since are typically on the
periphery. The relationship between America and the Philippines is a perfect example of this
theory. Since then, the United States has colonized the Philippines to introduce the American
system of education and industrial development. During their colonization, they saw the Filipinos
as unskilled, lazy, and incapable of becoming industrialized because it was predominantly an
agricultural country. Perhaps it is true that, despite having an abundance of raw materials, this
country lacks sufficient skills, expertise, and advanced technology to make high-quality products.
They were constrained to sell their goods at a low price or export them to other nations as an
outcome of the inability to strengthen modernization. Therefore, the Philippines remained a
backward or weak country that was being manipulated.
With the recent presidential election results, the Marcoses are presumably back in the
country's highest position to gain power and authority. We know the fact that the Marcoses have
a history of tyranny and corruption for their lavish lifestyle. And when they return to power for their
personal gains, they will have made efforts in an attempt to manipulate history and change the
narrative to absolve themselves of the cruelty they inflicted without being held accountable. But
most people still chose to vote for Marcos because of the greatest legacy from his father, Marcos
Sr., and they wanted to live an abundant life as they had experienced during his father’s
administration. We can’t blame the masses for voting for the dictator’s son since they are the
victims of disinformation and black propaganda brought by the Marcos machinery.
Unless the government takes measures to rectify the current predicament, the Philippines
will remain a regressive country. This brings up the problem that the Philippines is suffering from
difficult challenges as a result of global economic inequalities. As a result, World System Theory
has an impact on the country as well as its economy. If other nations continue to hegemonize,
the peripheral countries will be left with nothing, remaining undeveloped and struggling under their
Republic of the Philippines
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
College of Social Sciences and Development
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
Sta. Mesa, Manila
terrible circumstances. The unfair development of these developed countries has led to a flawed
strategy in the international market. To stimulate economic growth and become a competitive and
highly modernized country, the government must focus on alleviating the problem by
implementing concrete and effective solutions that contribute to increasing opportunities in
different sectors and allocating sufficient resources for investment in human development.
The Duterte administration has failed to address issues such as poverty, the healthcare
system, and overpopulation, and his drug campaign has resulted in numerous human rights
violations. His economic activity is merely focused on debt-driven infrastructure projects, which
negatively affects the economy. As Duterte will leave the country’s highest office with a large
amount of debt, how will his successors be able to repay it? And when the President-elect,
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., will seize power as the country's head of state, how is he meant to make a
change for the betterment of the country, especially in its economic aspect? Even his hometown,
Ilocos Norte, has seen no progress and remained a fourth-class province throughout his tenure.
The core countries' investments are gradually declining, and China is only an allied country
waiting for an opportunity to overwhelm the Philippines with a cycle of debt that can benefit only
the ruling class and their cronies, not the masses.
References:
Albert, J. R. (2020, December 29). Were the Philippines’ COVID-19 responses sufficient?
East
Asia
Forum.
Retrieved
May
15,
2022,
from
https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2020/12/23/were-the-philippines-covid-19-responsessufficient/
Republic of the Philippines
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
College of Social Sciences and Development
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
Sta. Mesa, Manila
De Vera, B. O. (2022, March 5). “PH debt breaches P12 trillion, seen exceeding P13 trillion
by
end
of
2022.”
INQUIRER.Net.
Retrieved
May
15,
2022,
from
https://business.inquirer.net/342425/ph-debt-breaches-p12-trillion-seen-exceeding-p13trillion-by-end-of-2022
Manuel, P. (2021, July 25). SONA 2021: The economy under President Rodrigo Duterte.
CNN
Philippines.
Retrieved
May
15,
2022,
from
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2021/7/24/SONA-2021-economy-underPresident-Rodrigo-Duterte.html
Marasigan, A. J. (2021, July 18). Why Dutertenomics weakened the economy.
BusinessWorld
Online.
Retrieved
May
15,
2022,
from
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2021/07/18/383210/why-dutertenomicsweakened-the-economy/
Peña, K. D. (2022, March 5). Paying record-high PH debt: Duterte team sees higher, more
taxes
as
way
out.
INQUIRER.Net.
Retrieved
May
15,
2022,
from
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