The Philippines EXPO 2008
See it. Believe it. Experience it.
In a recent survey from Social Weather Stations, 50% of Filipinos rated themselves as poor. This percent is higher than the previous one of 46%. A majority of the people are still not satisfied with the attempts of the Arroyo administration to ease poverty in the country. The article continues to point out the different information extracted from each region of the country and give a statistical view on the life of a poor Filipino.
To access this article, click here.
Click on the link to access the Venn Diagram.
Article 3:
Why a rice shortage in the Philippines?
Upi Asia Online
Mong Palatino / April 2, 2008
To access this article, click here.
Article 4:
Is there a rice shortage?
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Cielito Habito / April 13, 2008
To access this article, click here.
b) Personal Response
When I first read these two articles on the rice shortage problem in the Philippines, I was taken aback for a while because I didn’t know we have this dilemma right now. Therefore, I thought the government is doing a great job in hiding this fact because it doesn’t feel like we are running out of rice until now that I have encountered there articles. I noticed the major difference between these articles right away because one is arguing the fact that there is a decreased in rice supply in the Philippines and the other maintains that this country is very self-sufficient in rice production. I think the conflicting viewpoints and some of the disagreeing information given by these two articles are based on their origins. The article that shows a negative image of the situation, titled “Why a rice shortage in the Philippines?” is not a local newspaper but a global news site on the internet. The “Is there a rice shortage?” article was extracted from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a major local newspaper in the Philippines. The global news site is not from the Philippines and is free to paint a picture of a situation without thinking about the reaction of the government. Local newspapers, like the Philippine Daily Inquirer, have more pressure to make the government look good and would probably want to steer away from controversies and criticisms from the government. However, there are still similar information given such as the corruption of the rice markets, but I still think the people of the Philippines needs to know the truth. When’s all said and done, it is the government’s responsibility to declare valid facts whether there is a rice shortage problem or not.
c) Questions
1) Why is the Philippines, one of the top rice producers in the world, importing rice from other countries to feed its people?
2) How can the traders and government officials’ mistreatments towards the farmers be related to the quantity of their rice output?
3) Why is the act of increasing the rice production sector in the Philippine economy not helping to improve the national rice shortage problem?
4) If there is no rice shortage problem, why are the companies increasing the prices for the rice now especially when the population is starting to grow at an overwhelming rate?
5) What do you think the consequences the farmers, the government, and the public are going to pay due to the dishonesty in the rice markets, where imported rice from other countries are bought in a much lower price than the same rice sold to the Philippines?
6) Why isn’t the government charging the officials that are creating corruption in the rice markets when that fact is clearly obvious to the public?
Article 3:
Guimaras declares state of calamity over worst oil spill
Philippine Daily Inquirer/ August 15, 2006
To access this news article, click here.
Grave concern has started to rise concerning a giant tanker that managed to spill two million liters of oil into the sea near Guimaras Island.
Undeniably a disaster that was waiting to be rendered, the Philippine coastguards sensed the urgency to promote this issue to the public.
Innocent sea creatures are suffering due to the harmful oil that is swathing their habitat.
Many marine reserves have been polluted in the Philippines over the years and Guimaras Island is merely one of these places.
Affected areas by the oil spill consist of fishing grounds and diving spots, harming the Philippines’ environmental and tourism factors.
Rainstorms were the cause of this problem for they made the tanker sink and eventually leading to the oil spill.
Appeals for help have been sent to Japan and Indonesia in order to request their assistance in clearing out the oil.
Sadly, the oil is beginning to spread at a rate too rapid for the coastguards and environmentalists to clean it efficiently.
It is believed that the oil will take three years to be taken out of the water.
Sources said that two members of the crew is missing at sea due to the sinking of the tanker.
Lack of competent equipment is a major obstacle for the goal of getting rid of the oil and stopping the spill.
A submerged tank is still lying on the floor of the ocean, waiting to be found.
Numerous amounts of cash are what the Philippine government needs to get a hold of so that they can fix the destruction created by the oil spill.
Definite results have been recognized over the past years as the damages are slowly beginning to be repaired.
Personal Response
This oil spill, which occurred near the Guimaras Island, can only be defined in one word and that is miserable. I feel sadness and distress that this incident had to happen. There are various reasons why I feel this way. The event is overflowing with grief because some of the crew members are still missing, the oil has murdered a majority of the marine life, and the Philippines cannot even afford to completely clean up the leak. Having crew members being lost at sea is devastating for family and friends because they do not know if they will ever see them again. I shudder to think how despondent it was like for a relative to see their loved one this morning and then finding out later that they might never see them again. Along with humans being lost at sea, the oil spill damaged and killed several parts of the ocean life. Since this occurrence, the fishing grounds, diving spots, and the national marine reserve have been closed to the public. In addition, countless of sea creatures have died because of the dispersal of the oil that is not a natural part of their habitat. It is very depressing to realize that the small amount of the beautiful nature Philippines has left are dying due to a man-made cause. To make this issue even more unfortunate is the fact that the Philippines, being a third world country, does not have the financial support to fully clean up all the oil from the sea. I sense a terrible urgency about this because if the oil is not being efficiently disposed of, then it will just keep spreading. The chilling result will then be that the sea critters living near Guimaras Island will continue to suffer and slowly die. Just like Philippines’ deforestation problem, the oil spill in the Guimaras Island just goes to show how incapable the Philippines is at protecting its environment. This is why this issue is upsetting; humans are missing, floras and faunas are dying, and the Philippines is not competent enough to entirely clean up the mess.
Questions
1. How do you feel knowing that countless marine animals died by a cause that could have been avoided?
2. If you are given a chance to go back in time, what would you do to prevent this oil spill from happening?
3. How can this accident affect your daily life together with the rest of the population’s lives in direct and/or indirect ways?
Article 1:
The War with No End
TIME magazine
February 5, 2007
Summary
Deep inside the forests of Mindanao, which is located in the south of Philippines, an unrecognized political party began to assemble. They are commonly known as the N.P.A (the New People’s Army), and consist of guerrillas and soldiers all fighting to overthrow the Philippines’ democratic government structure and create a communist nation. The members are typically poor people who show no obedience towards the upper class and are battling for the underprivileged. Some participated in the insurgence for personal rather than political reasons as well. The N.P.A. was formed when the Philippines’ domestic issues such as poverty, corruption, and unemployment were triggered and several Filipino civilians thought that the only thing the Philippines needs is communism as the philosophy for a well-organized government. A few years after the People Power demonstration, the N.P.A began fighting for their beliefs. They resorted to terrorist tactics to draw attention and warning to the Philippine government, currently the Arroyo administration. Numerous terrorist attacks and civil wars have taken place in the nation since the late 1970’s. The European Union and the United States of America have both recognized the N.P.A as a terrorist group, although some countries such as China widely consider that communism is the best first step to take in order to eradicate the issues in this third world nation. Although the N.P.A. is still fighting for their cause today, many guerrillas and rebels have been killed by the government and fewer people are joining the squad due to lack of enthusiasm. However, the N.P.A. still remains a symbol of the Filipino’s perpetual discontent for their government.
Personal Response
The New People’s Army is, what I believe, an unnecessary pain to the Philippine government. If the political party consists of some rebels who only joined in for personal reasons and a majority of the group is dying, the rebellion is not really worth it. The government should just declare the N.P.A. failure as a reasonable political group. Most former political groups have failed and retired from their campaigns, so why shouldn’t the N.P.A. just follow that rule? To prove my point further, communism is not a good ruling system and will definitely lead to instability and further injustice in this nation. This article published by TIME magazine does not contain sufficient information on the N.P.A itself. Although the article describes the different theories and thoughts behind the rebellion group’s desire for communism, it lacks details such as the real reason as to why the N.P.A. was formed. Apart from the lacking of basic information, the article was very interesting and hooked me from the start. The images and words contained in this article really mirrored the situation between the N.P.A. and the Philippine government.
Questions
1. Do you think the N.P.A members, who fought against the Philippine army, died for good reasons? Why or why not?
2. What could be driving these members of the N.P.A. into persisting to fight for communism until the very end?
3. How will the Philippines and its citizens’ reactions be like if the government gets overthrown and the N.P.A. becomes the new government, ruling the Philippines by communism?
Article 2:
Philippine Population Climbs, Food Problems Loom
Reuters
Raju Gopalakrishnan / April 18, 2008
To access this news article, click here.
Summary
The main subject of this article centers on the increasing population growth of the Philippines and how in spite of that, policies are not to be expected to change because of the Catholic Church’s domination over the government. The author points out that due to the escalating population, the price of Filipinos’ main food staple, rice, is rising to a point where the poor cannot pay for them. To emphasize the seriousness of this issue, the article draws attention to the fact that the desertification of agricultural land in order to build developed building is being stopped so the country can achieve the food requirements. The author also sat with the nation’s top economic planner, Augusto Santos, to converse about the situation. Santos stated that the government needs to reconsider its guidelines and give education for sensible parenthood and family planning, but he also highlighted that the encouragement of artificial birth control will unlikely to be used. This is because the Catholic Church, who supports natural family planning over the use of contraceptives, is a major influence to the decisions made in the government. Another obstacle is that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a Catholic who has strong association with the church, does not want to ignore them and refuse to get contraceptives. The article ended with a feeling of urgency that the population growth is not decreasing enough and that unless the government breaks out of the religious barrier to help, the population growth will continue to be a threat to the country.
Personal Response
It was mind-boggling to me, as I read the article, why the government is hesitating to take strong actions now against the overpopulation issue in the Philippines. I then presumed it is because I am not a strong devout believer. However, I still believe that one’s religious conviction should not interfere with one’s choice to improve a nation’s health. In my opinion, President Arroyo is pretty much in a cornered situation since she is divided between her religious belief and her duty to think about the good of the people. Even if the Philippines’ overpopulation issue is not as dangerous as other countries’ dilemma such as China’s, this country faces an obstacle that China doesn’t. It is the fact that the country’s main religion, Catholicism, prevents the nation to improve its population growth. China’s Communism allows them to at least take action against overpopulation. The Philippines’ population is also growing closer to Russia’s figure (more that 100 million), but the Philippines needs to worry more because this country is not as big as Russia. At the end of the day, these obstacles the government is facing will still put them beside the other bigger, crowded places in the list of countries threatened by overpopulation.
Questions
1. Why do you think the government is so focused on solving the overpopulation issue with the use of contraceptives? What other methods besides that would work as well?
2. What would happen if President Arroyo chooses to get contraceptives for the people and ignores the Catholic Church?
3. If you were President Arroyo, what would you do regarding the issue and explain why.
Juliana Tan
May 8, 2008
Analyzing “Nobility versus hyprocrisy”
A Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper article titled, Nobility versus hypocrisy, discussed about the Catholic Church’s line of attack on poverty in the Philippines. The writer, Jose Ma. Montelibano, works as an opinion columnist for the newspaper. This article was written on April 25, 2008 and depicted a problem that has been happening in the Philippines for a long time. The date that the article was written implies that Montelibano was able to have quite a time to see the situation worsened, detect how it was affecting the country’s poverty, and then conjure up an angle of his own. He is from within the country and this fact greatly indicates the relevance of the article. Being a citizen of the Philippines, he would probably be well-acquainted with the things that are happening because of his personal experiences and that can put a sense of deep purpose into the article. Montelibano knew that his judgment on the situation will be read by people who are interested in the controversial rumors about the church. At some point, especially at the conclusion, he voiced out a hope that the bishops and cardinals will stop dishonoring the country. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that he wanted the church to pay heed to the article as well. Montelibano’s article was written in order to reveal another side to the story of poverty in the Philippines. It sought to emphasize the fact that not only is the government corrupt, but the church might be as well; a proof to show that he wrote this article with his own perspective. Montelibano was trying to convince the audience into believing his personal viewpoint by transmitting negative details about the other face of the church. Even though he made no strong and aggressive comments, his emotion about the state of affairs was still apparent, especially when the subject of impoverishment cropped up. His point of view was at its peak when he directly presented his whole thought in one sentence, “What is generally known but not so talked about is the participation, by commission or omission, of the Catholic Church in causing and perpetuating the situation of poverty and corruption.” All things considered, Montelibano’s article can cement many Filipinos, who also share his viewpoint, together on the issue of fraudulence in the Philippines.
To access this article, click here.
Sona Choi
May 8, 2008
Analyzing “All Hope Lost for 1,800 in Village Buried by Mud”
The information text I chose to analyze was ‘All Hope Lost for 1,800 in Village Buried by Mud’. It is a magazine article published by Nelly Sindayen in on-line edition of Sunday Times. Nelly Sindayen, who is reporter of Sunday Times wrote this article in the Philippines. I know because she is telling to people what happened in the Philippines to give information to people who are living in the Philippines of living outside of the Philippines.
The audience of this text is people who are living in the Philippines or living aboard. The purpose of this article to tell informs people outside and inside of the Philippines. People would know about what had happened.
The article was written on 2006 because hundreds of schoolchildren and their parents died of mudslide. When the local mayor went there to gather information, mud was everywhere and 1,800 people buried under the mud. There had been small earthquake measuring 6.4. Environmentalists and scientist blamed deforestation caused by loggers who have stripped away the terrain’s natural defences. And in November 1991,about 6,000 people were killed in Leyte by floods and landslides triggered by the tropical storm. And she said that Leyte is no stranger to natural calamities. She was objective because she was just reporting what happened in Leyte. And she is not having any strong emotions in her writing. I think she is not persuasive because she is not sharing any of her opinion about the article.
The article was published on February 19, 2006. This publication date is important because it helps us to know what happened in current event in the country.
To access this article, click here.
Daniel Viray
Language Arts 8G
Ms. Mowat
May 09, 2008
Analyzing “Philippines Prepares for First Execution in Decades”
After researching articles about my country, the Philippines, I stumbled across one that immediately caught my attention. It was an article, published by CNN News, called “Philippines Prepares for First Execution in Decades”. The name of the author of this piece is still anonymous, but I distinguished that the creator is a professional journalist, as CNN (a reputable source) published his or her work. This article was written in the Philippines. I know this because at the very beginning of the article, it says “Manila – Philippines”. Although this published writing was written in the Philippines, the author is not Filipino. I assume that he / she is not Filipino because throughout the piece of writing, the journalist talks in third person. He or she says things like, “The Filipino people”, “The Philippines last executed…”. If he / she were to be a Filipino, then he / she would use first person phrases like, “our country’s people”, “We last executed”, etc. That is how I know that the author is from out side of the Philippines. It is important that we acknowledge that the writer is a foreigner because the story in the person’s piece might be over or under exaggerated. The reason being is because the author is not a primary source of this event. Thus, he / she needed to ask other locals to get there perspective on the event. The locals might have given a false story depending on their feelings about the said incident. Hence, the published article is also ‘false’. The public of the Philippines, along with other high class foreigners, were intended to read this. This text was written so that the vast majority of Filipinos can know what was happening in their country and also to discourage more crime. It was significant to know that some one was being executed as this has never happened, in the Philippines, for ten years. The nation should know why this man is being murdered so that they could distinguish the level of violence to receive such a severe punishment. This article was written to make the citizens see that there are consequences, even harsh ones, if crime is done. Therefore, it discourages other people, in general, to do crime. It was also written so that the wealthy foreigners, who usually read CNN, might be able to persuade a change in the plan (killing the culprit). Wealthy foreigners could have altered the execution as they often have power. They usually have power because of their affluence. These rich people might have been able to stop the execution. Because they are foreigners, it also helps persuade the court. It can influence the government because they are getting feedback and perspective of what they are doing from other countries. Since majority of the government in the Philippines agrees with the execution, then they will assume the execution. But, if other country’s governments tell them to not proceed with the execution, then the Philippine’s government will have a second look on what they are doing. That is why this text was also written for wealthy foreigners. The author is not being persuasive about this event; he is being objective. He or she is objective because the author clearly shows multiple opinions on different sides. Also, the writer does not have strong feelings / opinions about this incident. He or she just tells the facts that he / she knows. There are no sentences in the article where it says how the author feels about the execution. “Wife: ‘It will not stop crime’” In this quote, it shows that the writer is showing the wife’s perspective. It is showing us that the wife does not want the execution to happen. “Victim: ‘I want him to die’” In this quote, it shows that the author is giving a different perspective on the execution. He is showing the point of view of the victim. Because the journalist is showing both points of views, he is being objective in his / her writing. The journalist is telling us about the people who do not want the execution to happen and the people who do want the execution to happen. He does not involve his own personal feelings; he tells only about other’s emotions and how they differ from one another. This text was written in January of 1993. It was published before the execution happened; or during the time when the decisions of execution was still being made. The date of this piece is significant because the decision of whether or not the man will be executed was still in play. This article may have affected their decisions because it stated various opinion’s of citizens. Thus, the court’s opinion may have been altered. So, because this article was published before the actual execution, it could have changed the outcome of this event.
Read “Philippines Prepares for First Execution in Decades“
Loris Cohen
May 12, 2008
Analyzing “Rice shortages heigten political crisis in the Philippines”
This edifying article written by Oscar Grenfell of the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS), is addressed to the rice crisis in the Philippines. Oscar Grenfell anticipates adults 18 and over interested in global economics and business to read this article. One negative aspect to Grenfell’s article is that he wrote it from outside the Philippines. The fact that he is writing the article from a distant country may cause the information to be slightly inaccurate or false. Not only might the information be imprecise, but it may also be bias towards a certain perspective taking part in the issue. For example, numerous parts of the article state that the cause for the increases in Filipino rice prices are because of foolish governmental acts, and the instability and corruption of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s ruling regimes. Oscar Grenfell’s intention is to persuade the Filipino people and everyone else that the reason for increasing rice prices in the Philippines, is because of the political corruption, and the overabundant exports of Filipino rice. He also portrays his strong thoughts and emotions on the issue by adding quotes from Political officials, and local newspaper publishers. Overall, this article written on the 8th of April 2008, explains in great detail the rice crisis and the different perspectives of the victims and the people responsible for the rice prices’ increase.
